The Star Liquors location in the Wellington Town Square shopping plaza will temporarily close next week as part of a long-planned redevelopment of the shopping center, located at the corner of Forest Hill and South Shore boulevards.
The family-owned liquor store, which has been a Wellington landmark for many years, will close as of May 31. Its building will be torn down, to be replaced by a stand-alone CVS Pharmacy.
Star Liquors will then reopen in the old CVS Pharmacy location adjacent to the Publix store in the same shopping center sometime in the summer of 2019.
Longtime owners Amit and Priti Patel look forward to relocating into the different spot within the same plaza.
“We have a really good clientele; I recognize all of our clients,” Amit Patel said. “We have sold four million-dollar lottery tickets, so we’re our clients’ lucky store.”
While the Town Square location is closed, Patel invites all of his regular clients to visit Star Liquors’ other location in the Wellington Courtyard Shops plaza, located at the corner of Greenview Shores Blvd. and Wellington Trace.
“Our other location carries more or less the same items, so we hope our clients will come visit us there,” Patel said. “We’re going to be closed for about a year, but we are very much excited about the new location.”
The new location will be a bit smaller, but it will still allow the Patels to provide the same amount of merchandise to the public. The smaller location will also reduce the monthly rent, which, Patel feels, will ultimately allow him to compete with bigger liquor store chains.
“Rent will be more affordable, so the move will be a long-term benefit,” Patel said. “I also will be able to better compete with the bigger competition.”
The Patel family has owned the Star Liquors location in Wellington Town Square for decades. They have owned the Courtyard Shops location for approximately six years.
The Patels will be based out of their second location for the next year or so, until construction finishes on the new Town Square space.
“This was our first store, so we will miss it while it’s closed, but we will be at our other location on Wellington Trace and Greenview Shores,” Patel said.
The Patels have built a loyal clientele throughout the years, and, though they know temporarily closing will be inconvenient for clients who live nearby the Town Square plaza, they want clients to know that they can find the same merchandise a short drive away at the Wellington Trace store.
The location at the Town Square plaza allowed the Patels to not only serve the people of Wellington, but also allowed them to raise their children in a safe community environment. The Patels are grateful to remain in the same shopping center that has allowed them to thrive personally and professionally for so many years.
“This is a nice, family-owned business in a nice plaza. I raised my two kids here and was able to send them to school — one of them for computer engineering and the other to become a dentist,” Patel said. “We never had a problem with clients. This is a safe environment and a good place.”
The Star Liquors store in the Town Square plaza is located at 11878 W. Forest Hill Blvd. The Patels will begin their clearance sale on Friday, May 25, selling all merchandise at a discounted price, ranging from 20 to 50 percent off every item.
While the new location is renovated, the Patels’ regular merchandise will be available for purchase at Star Liquors in the Courtyard Shops, located at 13860 Wellington Trace, Suite 27, near Publix.
For more information, call (561) 429-3569 or (561) 790-2432.
