The downtown liquor wars are over, and Sanjay Patil — booted from one site, fought in court at another — has found a new home. Two homes, actually.
Patil, who owns College Wine on College Street, has been searching for a new place to move his store ever since he was told that Hartford-based developer Bob Landino plans to raze the building to erect a 19-story luxury condo tower.
After a two-year roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, Patil has secured spots for two new, upscale stores — one in the heart of Westville and another downtown on Church Street, at the site of the old Chapel Square Mall.
In his downtown struggle ended with an ironic twist: The store ended up being just a few doors down from a competitor who tried to block him from relocating downtown.
Just a few months ago, Patil was being reviled by some downtowners as a peddler of downscale “loosies” and “nips,” unfit for a spot across from the New Haven Green. In his new digs in Westville, he’s being welcomed with open arms by those who are revitalizing the neighborhood’s main street.
Patil smiled wide as he stood behind the counter at the new Westville Wines at the corner of Whalley and West Rock Avenues Tuesday afternoon. The store opened in May. It’s a big step up from the humble digs on College Street, where students would step into cramped quarters to pick up a six-pack.
A freshly vacuumed carpet still smelled new. In the front of the store, where natural light pours in around a small liquor sign — Bass, not Budweiser — tall plants surround a little lounge. On a small table beside two leather chairs sits the latest copy of Wine Spectator magazine. The sitting area is where Patil invites strolling Westvillers to sip wine at tastings every Friday and Saturday.
“It’s an excellent neighborhood,” said Patil.
Unlike his downtown store, where customers snatch up shot-sized “nips” of Yukon Jack and Smirnoff, the Westville counter holds a glass plate designed by a local artist, topped with a display of elderberry liqueur.
“No nips” at the new store, Patil said. No Dubra. No Popov. No cigarettes. Mostly just wine. Wine bottles rest on new shelves — shelves he had wanted to install at his downtown store, but couldn’t, he said. Downtown, he always operated under a tenuous, month-to-month lease. Times have changed.
Hi There, Neighbor
Patil is close to closing on a 10-year lease on a space in the former Chapel Square Mall, now owned by developer David Nyberg. The site sits at 68 Church St., next to the new Buffalo Wild Wings — and less than half a block away from Patil’s competitor, the Wine Thief.
A years-long battle between those two very different liquor shops appeared Tuesday to have ended on peaceful terms.
Back in January, Patil was a few months away from relocating to a new spot on Chapel Street, on the New Haven Green, when Wine Thief owner Karl Ronne slapped him with a lawsuit blocking the move. (Click here to read about that).
Patil said even though he had zoning approval, he couldn’t risk moving to a new spot with litigation pending. His lawyer told him the case might take up to a year and a half, he said.
“I couldn’t wait that long,” Patil explained. So he hunted around for a new home — and came across the Westville, then the Church Street space.
“I didn’t want it to be so close to the Wine Thief,” Patil said regretfully, “but there is no other choice.” He said he is days away from signing on with Nyberg and hopes to open a new store there by October. The new store will be like the Westville one, he said — upscale, with no nips.
Reached Tuesday, Ronne (pictured) extended an olive branch to his new block-mate.
“I welcome my new neighbor,” he said. He indicated he’d drop the lawsuit against he city if Patil is indeed no longer pursuing that property by the Green.
“I just thought it would be best for the city, [and] the churches,” to keep upscale businesses along the Green, Ronne said. The suit itself used different logic, challenging Patil’s move based on a law requiring liquor stores to be 1,500 feet away from each other.
Patil’s new space sits in the old mall block, which is exempt from that law.
“I think that’s a great place to be,” said Ronne of Patil’s proposed downtown location. “I hope he opens soon.”
In the meantime, Patil is still running his store on College Street, which he plans to close when he moves. The developers, Centerplan, announced he would be evicted nearly two years ago. They have been letting him stay there on a month-to-month lease until development plans become a reality. Plans appear to be stalled: Developers first secured zoning approval in September 2006, then got a time extension until Sept. 30, 2008. An eviction deadline of Marcy 2008 has come and gone.
Landino, the developer, did not return a call for comment Tuesday as to the future of the project.
Great news! Two wine shops are better than one - now people are more likely to go there and comparison shop, which will benefit both businesses.