Urban Wine & Spirits’ Zig Patel, Manager; Sheila Patel; Anu Patel; and Rocky Patel.

Urban Wine & Spirits
650 Branch Avenue
Providence, RI

Square footage: 6,200

Years in operation: 4 months under current ownership

By Sara Capozzi

Providence’s Urban Wine & Spirits recently reopened under new ownership. Situated in a bustling plaza on Branch Avenue, the 6,200 square foot retail space is one of the city’s largest package stores. The space has sold beer, wine and spirits for more than four decades with different iterations under several owners and was most recently known as World of Wines before being bought and rebranded in 2019 as Urban Wine & Spirits.

Entrepreneur Saumil Patel purchased the shop in December of 2025, keeping its name and appointing his nephew Zig Patel as manager, with a team of five employees. Zig brings 15 years of experience to the role; he’s spent his career working for Saumil’s stores on Cape Cod: Liquor Locker in Chatham, Main Street Liquor in Harwich and Brewster Farm in Brewster.

Zig was excited about this new business venture and learning more about operating in this new market. “I love working in the liquor business,” he said. “I’ve worked in the industry for a long time and I’m planning to continue. I like that business is steadier here and not as seasonal as it is on the Cape.”

As the new team gets to know their clientele, they’ve opted to keep much of the store’s branding and signage from the previous owners intact. The shop is bright and inviting with neatly arranged products organized with colorful signs making shopping quick and easy.

Zig has replenished the inventory since taking over this store and has continued to stock similar products as Urban’s previous owners to best serve his customer base, offering a plentiful tequila and bourbon selection and a well-rounded collection of wine. Zig said he’ll be evaluating consumer buying habits in the next few months to assess whether he needs to adjust
his inventory.

The store’s loyal customer base hails mostly from the neighborhood, with some stopping in from the surrounding towns of Lincoln and Smithfield, with the busy thoroughfares of Branch Avenue and Route 146 bringing in plenty of new shoppers on a regular basis.

Zig said that his philosophy on customer service is simple: “We make sure to give them nice service,” he said. “And I try to give them the lowest price I can,” keeping Urban competitive with stores in the area.

Top sellers are big name beer brands such as Corona and Modelo. In spirits, tequila is the most sought after and spirits in 50 ml formats sell well. In wine, Moscatos are popular, including brands like Barefoot and Stella Rosa, along with value wine in boxed formats.

In the near future, the Patels plan to expand the store’s cooler space to keep even more of the store’s plentiful beer and ready-to-drink selections chilled. In-store tastings every Friday and Saturday are a draw for shoppers, which along with regular sales and promotions, keep them happy and coming back.