Lafayette Wine & Liquors’ Dipen Shah, Owner,
and Vijay Desai, Store Manager.

Lafayette Wine & Liquors
30 Lafayette Square
Vernon, CT

Square footage: 5,000

Years in operation: 14 years

By Sara Capozzi

Lafayette Wine & Liquors Owner Dipen Shah had a background in engineering and was working for Pratt & Whitney when he decided to go into business for himself, opening up a Subway restaurant location in Lafayette Square in 2006. When the space next door, which was previously a cafe, became available, Shah bought it and opened Lafayette Wine & Liquors in 2010.

In the beginning, Shah admitted he wasn’t interested in being part of the liquor business. “To be honest, I did it to protect Subway, because a pizza shop would have come in here and it would have hurt the business,” he said. “And the only feasible option I thought would be good was a liquor store because it would be economy-proof in terms of downturns. So, I opened it to protect an asset, which is crazy. And it turns out to be my favorite business. I love it. This is the best business—I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.”

Store Manager Vijay Desai joined Shah at the shop about 12 years ago, bringing his 20 years of experience in the beer, wine and spirits industry to the role. Together, Desai and Shah work daily to set themselves apart from their competitors with superior customer service, plentiful selection and low prices.

“We’re very competitive with the big-box stores for someone that’s got a small footprint,” Shah said. “We hold our ground against them and there have been times when we feel proud where customers are at [a big-box liquor store] and they don’t have something and employees tell them, ‘Go to Lafayette—they probably have it.’ That’s a testament to the dedication that we put in.”

Lafayette is known for its superior selection of craft beer, kept cold in the store’s 35 cooler doors, along with its bourbon offerings. The store has participated in private barrel programs from Woodford Reserve, Copper & Cask, Bulleit, Yellowstone, Elijah Craig and Filibuster, among others. Other popular items include nonalcoholic offerings, CBD and THC drinks, and low-sugar wines and RTDs.

“Our selection is more handcrafted,” Shah said. “We have lots of exclusive wines, for example, that you won’t often find in a small town or even a bigger town. When I visit Napa, I find vineyards that are not your everyday mainstream wines and try to find those hidden items that are pretty much undervalued but they overdeliver. Our selection is by far a lot better than our close competitors. Our pricing is good as well.”

Customers hail from Vernon or neighboring towns and many of them support the Subway franchises that Shah owns, along with his coffee shop, Radial Coffee, located about a mile from his businesses in Lafayette Square. “We have a loyal customer base,” Shah said. “They’re always thankful for the services, even if they’re someone who wants just one bottle of wine and we don’t carry it. We bring in the whole case so they can get good pricing on it. I attend wine tastings as well and, really, it’s to think of my customers and what they would like. We support a lot of Connecticut vineyards as well. We’re probably one of the top accounts for Cassidy Hill, which is nearby. We also offer discounts on 6-packs and 12-packs of wine and offer a lot of state-minimum products.”

Lafayette stays connected with customers through its website and social media channels and offers shoppers both in-store tastings and free educational tastings. Shah and Desai prioritize making the store a part of the community, regularly donating to local charitable causes, including the Miracle League Wine Gala, educational foundations and the Vernon Rocks Coalition, among others. Shah also serves on the executive committee of the Tolland County Chamber of Commerce, which Vernon is a part of.