By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
Cheers to a new chapter in town as Club Liquor promises a refined collection of wines, spirits and the coldest beers in town.
Originally from India, Ritesh Patel relocated to Hays almost two decades ago. Since then, he has played a pivotal role in local businesses, such as Tiger Mart, Golden Ox Truck Stop and House of Vaporz.
Club Liquor, 717 Vine St., welcomed its first customers on Oct. 28,. Patel said it was a successful opening.
"It was great. We set records that we've never done at the other stores, and the response has been great too," he said.
Patel said he couldn't offer as many products as he desired in his small store. When the opportunity arose with the available building on Vine Street, he saw it as a chance to expand and bring something new to the south side of Hays.
"I wanted to purchase this to fix it up so people are proud to come to the south end of town and think it's a nice area," Patel said. "A lot of buildings are old, so people might not be comfortable with shopping. I wanted to make it attractive for people."
Additions to Patel's inventory now include scotch whiskeys and an array of high-value wines, offerings that were not available before.
Other liquors offered include tequilas, vodkas, gin, as well as rum.
Manager Juan Coca said there are a limited amount of certain beverages in circulation but emphasized that all their products will be available on their sales floor for customers.
"We're not going to hide it behind the counter. We're going to put everything out on the shelf and available for everyone," Coca said.
Club Liquor extended its selection to include non-alcoholic beverages and both non-alcoholic variants of popular domestic beers as well as non-alcoholic India Pale Ale.
"You still have to be 21 and older to purchase a non-alcoholic beverage, but the idea is for somebody that doesn't want to consume alcohol for the holidays when families visit or in general, we have options for them too," Coca said.
For several years, Patel, a parent, has been dedicated to steering underage individuals away from acquiring age-restricted items. The most common occurrences of fake IDs are at Tiger Mart and House of Vaporz.
"I've been running convenience stores for 15 years, and we sell tobacco so we have always IDed," he said. "They look real, but we're used to doing this for a long time, so it's kind of second nature to us."
Patel has made donations to Hays High and Thomas More Prep-Marian.
Patel credits Coca for being able to establish Club Liquor along with his other long-time employees.
"I have seven employees that I've had for four years, and I really have to give it to them because I just come up here for 20 to 30 minutes a day," he said.
Coca takes pride in fostering inclusivity, aiming to create a welcoming environment for anyone who speaks Spanish at Club Liquor.
"We're surrounded by a wonderful community and businesses aiming to spruce up south Vine Street, and as bilingual Hispanic, I personally feel a sense of pride when I'm able to provide service to both English and Spanish-speaking customers," he said.
Patel is dedicated to ensuring Club Liquor becomes a well-known establishment in Hays. He said he strives to deliver outstanding service and competitive prices to the community.
"We're local. We support a lot of local stuff, and we're going to be here for a long time," he said.
The improvement of the customer experience at the store is an ongoing topic of discussion, with a curbside pickup soon to be introduced.
"Speaking of our customers, we'd really like to express our gratitude for their continued support as we strive to remain highly competitive in terms of pricing," Coca said.
Club Liquor is open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
You can follow Club Liquor on Facebook.