One Stop Wine & Liquor’s Nishant Patel, Permittee, and Purav Patel, Manager.

One Stop Wine & Liquor
247 Connecticut Avenue
Norwalk, CT

Square footage: 1,200

Years in operation: 3 years

By Sara Capozzi

Since its opening on Christmas Eve 2020, business at One Stop Wine & Liquor has continued to grow under the management of business partners and brothers Purav and Nishant Patel.

The brothers have owned the adjacent One Stop Variety convenience store since 2018, and when the space next door became vacant in 2020, they thought it was the right time for an additional endeavor: a package store.

“We started with the grocery beer permit, and then when this location was empty during COVID, we offered our idea to the landlord saying we wanted to do something else,” said Purav Patel. “This is a 1,200-square-foot store and as a small start [for a liquor store] is perfect.”

They also knew they liked the location on Connecticut Avenue, which offers plenty of parking with front and back parking lots. Plus, both their convenience store and the neighboring Italian bakery, Angela Mia, bring in a consistent flow of shoppers. Being familiar with many of their potential customers already was also a great advantage.

“We know our customers,” Patel said. One Stop Variety is a big draw as one of the top five stores in the state for lottery ticket sales. “We know that a lot of people who come [to One Stop] will definitely buy something at the liquor store. The convenience store gets close to 500 customers per day. If we get almost half of that, that’s good for us.”

The brothers opted to open the store for the first time on Dec. 24 to start out on what is typically one of the busiest days of the year for package stores. While the store’s inventory wasn’t full at that time due to COVID-19-related product shortages, the Patels did well on their first day in business. As supplies normalized, the team gradually built new inventory up from there.

In the early days of One Stop Wine & Liquor, the Patels asked customers for feedback on the brands and flavors of their favorite beverages on top of adding items they knew customers would want to buy. They were and remain quick to accommodate their clientele with special orders. The majority of One Stop’s customers are from the neighborhood, while a few customers stop in as they pass through on their way to I-95.

The Patels also worked hard to familiarize themselves with products. Salespeople from local distributors also helped give the brothers advice about which items sold well in the area. According to Nishant Patel, they utilized relationships with wholesalers for the most impact.

Wine and RTDs are top-selling categories, along with beer. According to Purav Patel, any “on-the-go items” sell quickly and everything is sold at minimum bottle price. The Patels work hard to make the shop a pleasant trip for shoppers, prioritizing great customer service and keeping the store neat and organized so that customers can conveniently find what they’re looking for in “one stop.”