East Street Liquors
183 East Street
Pawtucket, RI

Square footage: 1,900

Years in operation: 1 year

By Sara Capozzi

After celebrating one year in business this August, East Street Liquors continues to bring its friendly customer service and curated selection to its close-knit neighborhood in Pawtucket.

Owners and husband-and-wife team T.J. and Sonali Patel have transformed the shop since they took over last summer — the space needed a lot of renovation. “Basically, we started from scratch,” T.J. said. “We replaced the flooring, shelving, lighting and repaired the coolers.”

“And we updated the inventory a lot because we had limited stock,” Sonali said. “We’re in a neighborhood where our customers are repeat customers, and if they don’t find something, we’ll special order it for them. And we say to our customers all the time, ‘You guys are like our family,’ because they’re all from the neighborhood. They’ve turned into family at this point.”

The Patels’ attention to personalized service has allowed them to grow their customer base quickly. From special ordering products to keeping customer orders ready and prechilled in the cooler, it’s these little touches that set them apart from their competitors.

“Customers are liking our prices, they’re liking our selections,” T.J. said. “We’re trying to do everything we can for them. Customer service is our priority.”

The couple has worked to build up the store’s inventory over the past year to meet the needs of the customer base. “We try to carry a range of everything, especially what customers are asking for,” Sonali said. “I know the neighborhood has a lot of people of Portuguese and Hispanic descent, so we try to carry products that they’re looking for … When we opened, the store didn’t have a big selection of Portuguese wines, so we expanded that.”

Top sellers at East Street include Portuguese wines, Cognac, grog, tequila, Columbian beer and Mexican beer such as Corona and Modelo. Ready-to-drink beverages, sweet red and white wines such as Moscato and frozen premade cocktails are also frequently purchased.

Customers hail mostly from the neighborhood, and the majority come on foot. The store functions as a neighborhood corner store, which the couple likes to think of as a “one-stop shop” where people can purchase their drinks for the evening, buy snacks for their kids and catch up with neighbors.

“People don’t just come in to buy things, they come in to talk and have a conversation about how their day is going,” T.J. said.

East Street keeps its clientele engaged with regular in-store tastings, staying in touch with customers through social media channels.