New owner plans to renovate and expand

By Joe Kelly

Making a liquor run in Norfolk is about to get a bit easier. Mountain Spirits, which has served as Norfolk’s lone package store since the 1970s, now has a new owner who plans to significantly update and expand the operation.

Pranav Patel purchased the store from Sue Burke, who was a part of Mountain Spirits for more than three decades, including 13 years as owner. Two years ago, she put it up for sale and last month sold the building and the business to Patel for $485,000.

A native of India’s Gujarat region, Patel, 40, came to the U.S. 13 years ago and worked for a family member who owned a liquor store just outside of Hartford.

“I found the business very interesting,” said Patel. Within a few years, and with financial support from his extended family, he purchased The Center Spirit Shoppe in Collinsville. He then built the 5,000-square-foot Burlington Spirit Shoppe a few miles away on Route 4, opening it during Covid.

After visiting Norfolk with his family he was intrigued by the downtown environment, including The Pub and Infinity Hall, and decided to take the plunge by buying Mountain Spirits.

By Norfolk standards, Mountain Spirits is a relatively recent addition to the local business scene. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that the old railroad bed became John J. Curtiss Road, connecting Station Place to Shepard Road. The post office and National Iron Bank soon moved alongside the new roadway, and in 1976, the Mountain Spirits building was erected as a liquor store and gift shop.

Patel said he plans to keep the exterior look of the building just as it is while renovating the inside and expanding into the space now occupied by Ruthann Olsson Interior Arts and Design.

“He’s been very sweet and concerned about making me move,” said Olsson, who has been at that location for over 15 years and is actively looking for another space in Norfolk. “I think what he’s doing will be great.”

The involvement of Indian-Americans in liquor retailing has become something of a phenomenon. Jean Cronin, executive director of the Connecticut Package Stores Association, estimates that over the last decade more than half of the 1,200 to 1,300 liquor stores in the state have come under the ownership of Indian-Americans. Patel said his extended family alone owns liquor stores in Hartford, Manchester, Tolland, South Windsor and Woodbury.

It’s a development similar to one that took place in the hotel industry. In 1942, Kanjibhai Manchhu Desai left Gujarat for California and joined with two other farm workers to purchase a rundown hotel in Sacramento. He did well and encouraged other transplants from India to do as he had, offering advice and financial support. Successive waves of immigrants followed suit, and Indian-Americans today own around 60 percent of all U.S. hotels, from budget operations to luxury five-star resorts, according to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.

Staying on top of trends in liquor is no easy task. In recent years, categories like ready-to-drink cocktails, spiked iced tea and non-alcoholic beers have come on strong, outpacing sales of traditional wines, spirits and beers.

Patel is prepared to offer a wide selection and is convinced that Norfolk represents an untapped market. “Right now, to get the selection and price that I will offer, you have to drive to Canaan or Winsted. With my store, you will be able to get it all right here in Norfolk.”

Mountain Spirits remains fully open for business. Once the entire space becomes available at the end of the year, Patel plans to begin the renovation and expansion of the interior, with the goal of being fully operational by the start of the summer season.