Founded in 1989 by the Benyamen family, Mar Vista Liquor at 2121 San Elijo Avenue in Encinitas's Cardiff-by-the-Sea district has built one of North County's most extensive single-store selections of craft beer, fine wine, and rare spirits. Three walk-in cooler sections hold single cans, four-packs, and six-packs from San Diego County and imported breweries, a depth of North County craft inventory shared by few retailers outside dedicated surf-town bottle shops like Cardiff Surf Co.'s adjacent Cardiff retail strip. The site traces its commercial lineage to a 1920s beachside cafe on San Elijo Avenue that later became a local convenience store before the Benyamen family conversion. Behind-the-counter and ceiling-mounted shelving displays hundreds of allocated and high-end spirits, and three-business-day special orders fill requests for specific vintages or limited-release bottles not on the floor, a sourcing capability that extends into the same Cardiff-by-the-Sea food-and-beverage corridor as Baker and Olive. The most sought-after inventory includes Pappy Van Winkle bourbon allocations, vintage Cristal Champagne, and barrel-select rye whiskeys from micro-distilleries outside standard distribution.