By COLLIN BREAUX
Ajay Patel and his brother-in-law, Ankit Patel, have been greeting customers walking into Chipley Liquor–the first liquor store in Washington County history.
They are from fellow small town Perry, own the business, and stocking shelves for an anticipated grand opening some time towards the end of April. The store had a soft opening March 11.
It is located along Highway 77 by Wal-Mart and The Shoe Dept.
“It’s pretty exciting. Definitely a lot of hard work, especially with doing everything from scratch,” Ajay said of what’s gone into opening the store. “It’s a learning process because, obviously, we don’t know the clientele here. We don’t know the community. We’re from a small town, so we definitely know how small towns and how it is–laid-back and easygoing.”
The Patels have gradually been going to know people stopping in to buy drinks, though.
“We want to contribute to the community the best way we can,” Ajay said.
Chipley Liquor has been seeing increasing business “little by little as people realize we’re open,” he said.
“We posted it on our Facebook page that we’re open, if they want to come,” Ajay said. “We’re welcoming whoever wants to come by. We started the work in January when we scouted out the place we wanted to be. We hired a contractor who was going to help us build the store.”
Ajay has a marketing degree from Northeastern Illinois University. Ankit has been in business for around 10 years.
“He’s done it all,” Ajay said. “He’s done gas stations, hotels, liquor stores.”
The Patels chose to open a liquor store in Washington County because they saw the opportunity.
“We found out Washington County had gotten wet, so we did our research and started the process,” Ajay said.
A majority of county residents voting approved allowing the sale of alcohol in Washington County in 2022.
The process that went into opening Chipley Liquor was “very long, very complicated,” according to Ajay.
“Constantly on the phone with a lot of people,” he said. “Getting stuff approved on many levels–state, city approval for sure.”
The Patels were also attracted to Chipley since they noted, as have many others, the town and county is growing.
“We definitely want to be here,” Ajay said.
People are excited about the store and have expressed gratitude that Chipley Liquor is now open, he said.
“It saves them the trip out of county,” Ajay said. “I see the potential and I know we can get to it.”
The Patels said Chipley Liquor can provide job opportunities and tax revenue for the area.
“I strongly believe in a family-owned small business. That’s the backbone of our economy,” Ajay said. “At a small business, you get a more personable experience compared to you going to a big store.”
As for the grand opening, that will be April 26 from noon-5 p.m. and have a food truck for customers where they can get a free taco if they purchase something from Chipley Liquor.
“Every customer who buys that day gets a bottle of vodka from us,” Ajay said.
The Patels understand while the store has supporters, there are some people against alcohol sales and use happening in Washington County–an opinion they respect.
“We totally respect that,” Ankit said.
Ajay said there are always people for and against alcohol use.
“Overall, we got good support from the people of Washington County which helps feel at ease,” Ajay said.