Tri Town Wine & Spirits
39 Putnam Pike
Johnston, RI

Square footage: 8,000

Years in operation: 2 years

By Sara Capozzi

Celebrating two years in business this month, Tri Town Wine & Spirits continues to provide a great selection and best-in-class service to the Johnston area. The store is the first venture owned and operated by business partners and cousins KP and Raj Patel. According to KP Patel, both he and Raj already had experience working in the industry and the logical next step was to get into store ownership.

The Patel cousins found out about the opportunity to purchase Tri Town and its sister store, B&C Liquors in Smithfield, through business partners who run stores in Massachusetts. “And luckily it was a combo deal for us,” Patel said. “The prior owners used to own both places … and both [stores] are really close to each other, not even a mile away.”

The deal closed on Tri Town in January of 2022 followed by B&C Liquors in March of that same year. “Luckily, we found a location that wasn’t too far away from us and we got an opportunity to buy these stores and they’ve been doing good so far,” Patel said. He likes that Tri Town is “a nice big store with a lot of open space.”

At 8,000 square feet, the store has plenty of space to organize its ever-expanding inventory, which includes a wide variety of wines from around the world at a range of price points and 17 cooler doors to keep white and sparkling wines, beer, seltzer and ready-to-drink items chilled. Sorted by category with clear signage, products are found along wide aisles with both bright lighting and natural light, sorted by category with clear signage. “It’s easy for people to walk into the store and find what they’re looking for,” he said.

Patel added: “And if they don’t, we personally will help them out if they’re looking for something.” The Patels and their staff go above and beyond to keep customers happy, often helping elderly shoppers to bring selections out to their cars.

“We [focus on] good customer service because, nowadays, that’s what shoppers look for,” he said. “Like they say, customers are the king. They are the ones who help you grow your business, so we always like to help our customers and take care of them any way we can.”

Demand for items in Tri Town fluctuates with the seasons. In the winter, wine is a top seller, and in the warmer months, beer is more popular, while spirits sales remain steady all year. More customer perks include in-store tastings—especially during the holidays—to introduce customers to their new favorite products.

While Tri Town offers a small selection of craft beer from local and neighboring state breweries such as Whalers Brewing Company or Harpoon Brewery, brands such as Corona and Modelo reign supreme locally.

Tri Town also offers online shopping through its website and app so that customers can place their orders and then pick them up in-store or curbside. Shoppers looking for a bargain will find plenty of case discounts when purchasing wine. Tri Town also stays active in the community, providing donations for events such as golf tournaments and church events throughout the year.

The duo has seen a great amount of success in the past two years at Tri Town and see it continuing to grow. “We definitely see a lot of potential in this store,” Patel said. Plans at Tri Town are to continue to bring in new inventory, including expanding its craft beer selection, and to provide delivery services as they grow more and create the next steps to success.