20 years ago, my parents decided we're going to go and live in the United States.
My dad came to this country with nothing from India.
They wanted a better life for their kids.
They taught my brother and I to work hard, be honest, and make a good living.
If you do those things correctly, I feel no matter what you're trying to do, you'll always
accomplish your goal.
The first thing we did before we opened is put a giant flag of the United States right
behind our counter.
This country has given me everything.
This town has given me everything.
There's no other place on this planet that can give you the opportunity that's here
right here in America.
On top of that, you live in the most amazing town in the country, Kings Park, and that
is a very unique mixture.
I don't know if he studies over the weekend or something, but there's not a single question
I've asked him in terms of something new that I read about or something that, a recipe
that I want to try.
It doesn't matter what I'm serving.
No, you can have it with or without food, but the fact that you want something that's
easy-drinking, the Pinot Noir is one of the best bets.
I always have a culture over here that is built around family.
We don't have employees here.
We have family.
This guy's my brother, man.
I went to his wedding.
I went to, I've been to his house.
He's not my boss.
I'm not looked at as an employee.
We laugh.
I'm the manager, but I'm actually the vice president of asset protection and management.
We're not your traditional store that says, this is what we're going to carry, and that's
going to be it.
If you like a particular item, you let us know.
I'll be more than happy to get it for you.
Andy welcomed me into his home, basically his great store, and found the wines that I
traditionally drink.
Great price.
He's a good guy.
He's a good liquor store.
He's very, very good with customers, and he finds a lot of the things that people wouldn't
normally find.
One thing that sets us apart from other liquor stores in this community is that we deliver.
One particular customer had come in, and he was having a party.
He didn't know what to order, how much to order.
We went above and beyond.
We put the order together for him.
We also delivered it to his house.
In speaking to him, between ordering this and the other thing, I also told him I was
a bartender, and I actually went and delivered the stuff and worked the party for him.
If someone's getting married or having a bar mitzvah or a sweet 16, he's going to have
it all laid out for them, and he's going to help them get there the best way as possible.
If it's saving some money or just having some great ideas, he might even pare down on their
ideas.
Like, listen, there's all you need are these couple things, and the customer I'm sure is
very appreciative.
He's not just that way with me.
He's that way with the whole town.
You know, the wife would be throwing their husband a birthday party, and they say, Andy,
don't tell him.
I bought all this liquor because, you know, it's going to ruin the surprise, so can I
pay for it?
And can I put it aside?
Can you guys hold it for us?
And we said, sure, we'll hold it for you.
And can you deliver it to the venue?
And the venue is not close by, you know.
It's not in Kingsburg.
It might be in Smithtown.
It might be out in Montauk.
I've made a delivery.
We go the extra mile.
What I like about it is if I can say I've never made a white Russian before, for example,
a girlfriend's coming over.
She loves them.
I don't even know if I have the right things.
He'll say, OK, you've got to have, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, and he'll make sure
I have those things.
Like, he's like, I don't think you've ever bought that before.
I mean, we should send you home with some of that.
And the first question is, well, how much is it?
And he'll say, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'll get you a smaller bottle at $6.99.
It doesn't make me uncomfortable at all to ask them those kinds of questions.
They have the answer, and at the same time, they can recommend something that's valuable.
I think it helps greatly me being a bartender, because not only am I putting a product in
their hands that they possibly could like, I can give them 15 other examples of what
they could use.
You want to cook with it.
You want to, you know, drink with friends.
I can even also offer a different variety of that type of product.
And they feel really comfortable at that point.
And not just somebody here try this just to make a sale.
I opened with literally 20 products on the wall.
James Parker's would come in and be like, where's the wine, where's the liquor?
And I said, I have a unique concept.
So I kind of relied on them.
And I would say within a month or two, the shells were packed.
And it was because you'll never see the type of variety anywhere else than ours, because
everybody has suggested something.
I drink this.
I want this.
This is what I get all the time.
So you will see in every section, the major brands, but you'll always see a handful of
different items that you'll never find anywhere else because those are unique to Kings Park.
It's what the community has requested and it's built for them.
If they're having steak or fish or chicken, we like to pair it up.
Sometimes we have tastings going on, we'll let them try it, see if they like it.
And based on that, we can help them find exactly what they need for that night.
Kings Park really takes a pride into their town.
And that is the underlying reason why any small business in this town is successful.
It's because of the residents of Kings Park.
