max.bowen@northstarreporter.com
It was in 2012 that Samir Patel began his transition from a career in the medical device industry to that of retail liquor.
Eleven years and seven locations later, his business has grown tremendously, and on Nov. 17, he’ll add North Attleborough to the list of communities he serves.
Located at 110 E. Washington St., Denny’s Liquors will be a full-service, 9,000 square-foot business. The property was formerly home to Benny’s a longtime liquor store. Patel said that though there are plenty of liquor stores on E. Washington Street (Route 1) they are all on one side—while his business will be on the other.
“Denny’s is a destination location,” he said, adding that the Brother’s Liquors he owns occupy smaller spots. “We try to cater to the town and surrounding towns.”
Patel said he became interested in the business due to his uncle, who ran a successful liquor store that he worked at since the age of 18.
“I learned (from him) and how to do it better and I kept going with it,” said Patel.
When he came to the U.S., Patel had a background in plastics and engineering and soon began working for a medical device company. The liquor business was a longtime side job for him, and in 2018 he quit his job to work in it full-time, eventually becoming the owner of Denny’s Liquors in Bellingham. He said this was a name the previous owner used, in honor of the first employee, named Dennis, who now works with Patel and helps get every new location going.
“He’s like a good luck charm,” Patel said.
The Brother’s locations are so named because Patel, his brother, his business partner and their brother run those.
Patel credited his success on those he works with—at each location, he has a business partner who manages the day-to-day operations, while a lot of his time is spent on his phone or laptop and checking in with each location daily. When it comes to running a new site, however, he goes all-in, working there for six to nine months.
“I think a lot of the success comes from the people around me,” he said. “I can’t do it all myself.”
When asked how one succeeds in this industry, Patel said that innovation is key. There’s a lot of new product coming in each day, and instead of focusing just on that, he works to come up with new ideas for the customers. Cleanliness and organization are other important elements.
“Each place that we open we try something new,” he said. “You always find something different that you’ve never seen before. It’s been working for us and that way it’s been successful so far.”
Patel said ready-made drinks are what’s popular now, driven in part by the early days of the COVID pandemic. In addition, he said craft beers have been very popular throughout New England and Patel expects craft spirits will be the next to take off. Outside of New England, he’s seen several craft breweries with restaurants and thinks this will be a common sight around this area soon.
When it comes to opening a new location, Patel said there’s a lot of legwork involved, including reaching out to local distributors to ensure area breweries are represented on his shelves. He also goes out to bars to see what people are drinking.
“For the town, we’re going to bring something innovative, more unique, something that you don’t typically find at a liquor store,” said Patel.
