LiquorLand’s Himani Patel and KP Patel.

LiquorLand
442 Smithfield Avenue
Providence, RI

Square footage: 2800

Years in operation: 2 years

By Sara Capozzi

After celebrating five years in business this April, LiquorLand continues to serve the Providence and Pawtucket areas with its great selection and competitive prices. Owned by AC Patel and run by Manager KP Patel and his niece, Himani, the store is situated in an eye-catching structure complete with a castle facade on Smithfield Avenue, which was at one time a restaurant and later a computer service store.

Manager KP originally hails from a “dry” county in India and said there was a bit of a learning curve when he first entered the industry. He had first worked under AC at his East Providence shop, Brookfield Liquors, for several years and then went on to work for AC at Providence’s Darwin Liquors, near Brown University.

In search of more space, AC sold Darwin when he purchased LiquorLand. The unique castle had sat empty for years and the two men began renovating it in April of 2019. Given its former incarnations, they were tasked with completely replacing the interior to transform it into a package store, installing new flooring, ceilings, heat, electricity, coolers and shelving.

LiquorLand is centrally located on Smithfield Avenue on the outskirts of Providence, on the Lincoln and Pawtucket town lines. The customer base is “mostly local” and shoppers receive friendly customer service from the store’s team of five employees, which include KP and Himani.

“I love this industry. I’m still learning—every day there are new products and new recipes to learn about,” he said. KP reads industry publications and books to educate himself on new brand news and tasting notes. “I use that knowledge to help recommend products to customers and when I give tastings every Friday and Saturday.”

LiquorLand offers special pricing on some top-selling items, from beers to top-shelf and premium spirits, KP explained, and he chooses a different item to sell at a lower price each month. The shop offers more than 75 SKUs of craft beer. “I try to carry a little bit of everything,” he said of the store’s selection, which includes both big names and eclectic wine brands from around the world as well as well-known, sought-after spirits brands. The team also stocks items based on requests and on buying habits of their local business base.

Shopping is easy, with inventory neatly arranged under easy-to-read signage, and if customers have any questions, the team is more than happy to help. LiquorLand aims to cater to all of its customers and offers a fully accessible ramp leading to its front door. Customer perks include a loyalty program and delivery within five miles via Uber Eats and DoorDash—which keeps shoppers happy and coming back.