Trolley Square Wine & Liquor Owners Bob and Meena Jain.

Trolley Square Wine & Liquor
Stop & Shop Plaza
185 Main Street
East Haven, CT

Square footage: 3,000

Years in operation: 14 years

By Sara Capozzi

Bob Jain was contemplating what he wanted to do next in his career after years of working as a project manager for Pfizer. A chance conversation he had with a friend one day led him to his latest endeavor, running and owning Trolley Square Wine & Liquor with his wife, Meena.

“I was thinking of retiring and maybe buying a business,” said Jain. “So, I was looking around and, because of the changes in [my previous] industry, I decided to move on and we invested in this business.” The couple purchased the shop from Jain’s friend in the spring of 2010.

Meena ran the store day to day in the beginning while building up a client base, the majority of whom are women from East Haven, an interesting note of the business’ base. Located conveniently in the Stop & Shop Plaza on Main Street, Trolley Square attracts plenty of foot traffic from people doing their errands nearby, along with a “summer crowd” visiting from out of town. Shopping is easy for regulars and newcomers, with the products neatly arranged with clear signage.

The couple provides a wide selection of well-known beer brands and high-end wine and spirits, along with its most popular items, ready-to-drink cocktails and selections with a lower ABV. “We are very selective in picking out what we stock,” Jain said, noting he keeps his eye on the store’s curation.

“We are noticing there’s a trend toward low-alcohol drinks and beer selections like seltzers and vodka-based cocktails,” he said. “There are people moving toward [these] more so in the last three years. They’re favored by the crowd that goes to the beaches and picnics and doesn’t [want] a really high level of alcohol.” Jain said that the demand for these items remains the same regardless of the time of year. “People are opting for variety and they want to enjoy these items in all seasons,” he said. “There’s [a sense that people are having] more of a fun enjoyment in the drinks and not drinking to get intoxicated.”

The Jains are conscious of the ever-evolving tastes of their clientele, constantly working to bring them the best value. “We try to stay attentive to their needs and try to keep our prices close to minimum so we can compete with the big-box stores that are around us,” Jain said. “I always ask customers how they like what they bought. If we give them a recommendation, I try to follow up with the customer and ask how the product worked out for them. If a customer is asking for advice on a wine, I invariably suggest the best value, anticipating what they are trying to spend, so they feel whatever they spent was worth it so the customer comes back.”

However, the couple doesn’t spend too much time comparing themselves to competitors. “We try not to worry about what other guys are charging. We try to focus more on the value we deliver and we try to keep our prices reasonable,” Jain said. “And we hear from the customer and we accordingly adjust, but rarely do we focus on our competition because everybody has their own business so we worry more about our own customers’ satisfaction. If we get our customer out the door and we see them again, we feel good. We like to have our customers come back and the only way we can do that is if we give them value.”