The Rite move
At 30 30,000 000 square feet, feet Jersey City’s Buy Rite liquor store is one of the largest in the Garden State (one of the largest in the nation, in fact), and represents the culmination of a journey that started for the Bathena family when its patriarch, Reddy, moved to the United States from India in 1990 and purchased a small mom-and-pop liquor store in Lakewood. In 1992, he bought his first Buy Rite franchise, and went on to own four more. A restless entrepreneur, he wa s, in the words of his son, Adithya, “a vocal franchisee [LAUGHS]. One day, at a meeting, joking around, the company said ‘Hey, if you don’t like what we’re doing, then buy the company!’ Working with some banks, he was able to get some financing to get the deal done in 1997.”
That offhand remark by the former owner has turned into a Bathena family business of 56 Buy Rite stores, most of them franchises (the family owns seven outright), outright) with Adithya serving as CEO. CEO
“Design and construction is what my dad is best at,” he said. “I handle more of the marketing and advertising and dealing with the retailers and supplier partners, and my brother is also involved. I’m passionate about food and wine and enjoy traveling, so the fit was perfect for me. Over the years, some of my customers have also become some of my closest friends and we often travel together or gather together. It is not just a transaction for me…I want to be their go-to source that they can trust.”
You’ve doubtless heard of mega-makers Moët, Veuve Clicquot, and Bollinger, but don’t overlook the smaller producers—ones that apply passion in often fascinating ways. Small vineyard owners who make their own Champagne Champagne, but don’t have the budget for big marketing, have to make themselves noticed in different ways. They actually pay attention to all the fine details, and we call them “Grower Champagne,” or as is stated on the label, “RM,” for “Récoltant Manipulant.” RM wineries also have the option of being members of the Club Trésors de Chapmagne, which, among other characteristics, means that their product comes from the top cuvée of each house. RN Champagne usually gives better value for the quality, and great complexity, and growers like Frerejean (that makes lovely Champagne from a Premier Cru site) is an amazing $29.99. Other smaller producers to keep track of are Georges Laval and Pierre Gimonnet.
When spirits mega-company Diageo announced in late June the purchase of George Clooney and partners Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman’s four-year-old Casamigos brand brand—in in a deal worth wor th rere portedly $1 billion—it capped a decade of what can only be described as tequila frenzy. In 2005, U.S. drinkers consumed $1.2 billion of the distillate of the blue agave plant, while in 2015, we plunked down $2. 3 billion wor th, And though mid-tier brands like Casamigos are selling well (120,000 cases last year), we are also simply drinking more of the stuff, both cheap and pricey—twice as much over the same 10-year period.
A flooded market means, at least to us, it’s harder to separate the wheat from the chaff, but for heirloom bottles, we recommend a legend, Don Julio, specifically it s 1942. E ssentially an añejo (aged) tequila, but without the signature caramel color of age, this drinks like cognac and demands to be savored as such (no tequila sunrises here, folks), with fire and spice counterpointed by caramel and tropical fruit. $100
Learn more at buyritewines.com.