BLACKSTONE – Life goes on, says local businessman Samir Patel, after voters and town leaders opposed his bid to bring a new store to the former Park ‘n Shop property at 2 Main St.
Patel, owner of Denny’s Liquors two miles away on Pulaski Boulevard in Bellingham, asked residents Tuesday to authorize the Board of Selectmen to seek state authorization for the town to add a liquor license for the new store.
In the end, he said, all members of the Board of Selectmen opposed the plan, and voters overwhelmingly followed suit.
Patel had said he intended to open a combined grocery and liquor store at the former grocery location, with the majority of sales coming from groceries, but he said his application, which legally could only state the liquor use, hurt him, with people believing he would only emphasize liquor and not have a true grocery market.
Board of Selectmen member Daniel Keefe was the key person who rose to oppose the application, noting that Patel didn’t approach the board in advance about his application, and stating that what Patel was pitching wasn’t what they were actually voting on, and this isn’t a family grocer or grocery store.
Patel says he repeatedly asked a town representative over the past two months after submitting his application whether he should talk to any officials about it to explain, and said he was told no on multiple occasions. He said for whatever reason the application was only put on the warrant for Tuesday’s annual town meeting last week.
Patel said he believes some local business owners gained the ear of Board of Selectmen members in opposing increased competition, but he said competition from others in the area is what will likely keep the building vacant for some time. The reason he was seeking a combined liquor and grocery store, he previously told The Breeze, was to be able to remain competitive with other stores, including a Big Y planned to open in Uxbridge.
He also previously emphasized that the former Park ‘n Shop store also had a liquor license to sell alcohol. He emphasized how silly it would be for him to open another store selling only liquor so close to his existing store.
“I was just doing it to open it (the vacant Main Street store) back up,” he said.
Residents ultimately voted by a 2-1 margin, with about 100 opposed, to making the recommendation on the license to the Board of Selectmen, but the board is still expected to discuss the matter at its next meeting.
For a Breeze story last month, Patel said he was seeking to open a Trader Joe’s style of store, with liquor and groceries both sold, but groceries accounting for well over half of the 10,000-square-foot store space.
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Some people just don't know what's good for the town !
and I put in a suggestion, and it was never printed……why bother to read this paper if you cannot even put in a nice comment! Censorship craziness…
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