Wine Barrel: new liquor in the old Santander Bank building

The Village Green reports that the old Santander Bank building at Springfield and Prospect will become a new liquor store, Wine Barrel, in the fall.

http://villagegreennj.com/towns/government/former-santander-bank-springfield-ave-become-liquor-store/

One part of the article jumped out at me: "As part of the licensing procedure, Gupta agreed he would not permit straws, free paper cups or certain size bottles of beer and alcohol. In addition to wine, beer and liquor, customers will be able to purchase crackers and cheese."

Straws? Why would straws be a problem?

There are people who think that providing straws will encourage patrons to stand on a nearby street corner, sipping their beer or wine.

But then again, what do I know? I came of age in The Bronx; in which it was illegal for a liquor store to sell beer.

TomR

It's an urban myth, but some believe that drinking from a straw, displacing oxygen, enables you to become drunk more quickly.

That's a great spot!

I'm looking forward to the large craft beer selection, closer to my house. I hope they have space to hold events, like wine/beer tastings and maybe a craft beer festival like South Orange is doing. Is the parking lot large enough to do something like that?

I am very much in favor of this adaptive reuse project.

That said, it should be good to have a store in town with that kind of square footage. The stores in the village are great, but especially for beer, they just don't have enough room to stock a wide selection. I'm hoping the new store really concentrates on NJ and NYC craft beers.

The restrictions are clearly meant to limit or prevent people from trying to drink in public in the surrounding neighborhood. They don't want patrons pouring liquor/wine into cups, or putting small bottles into paper bags and drinking with a straw. The limitation on sizes is probably meant to limit the smaller (individual) sizes of wine/liquor bottles.

The area where I went to college had similar regulations. Liquor stores could not sell spirits in bottles below a certain volume.

Great news that there will be something moving into that location and not a hair/nail salon.

ArchBroad said:
I'm looking forward to the large craft beer selection, closer to my house. I hope they have space to hold events, like wine/beer tastings and maybe a craft beer festival like South Orange is doing. Is the parking lot large enough to do something like that?

As a nearby resident, I completely agree! Hoping for good things.

ml1 said:
I am very much in favor of this adaptive reuse project.
That said, it should be good to have a store in town with that kind of square footage. The stores in the village are great, but especially for beer, they just don't have enough room to stock a wide selection. I'm hoping the new store really concentrates on NJ and NYC craft beers.

Me too! I'm also hoping for - dare I dream? - growler fills. That would ROCK.

ArchBroad said:
I'm looking forward to the large craft beer selection, closer to my house. I hope they have space to hold events, like wine/beer tastings and maybe a craft beer festival like South Orange is doing. Is the parking lot large enough to do something like that?

That would be fantastic. Suppose roughly the same size as the Farmers Market lot... and in any case suppose they can ask to use that one if their own doesn't work...either way one would likely be used for parking. Sounds like something the SAP ought to be getting on top of, if not already.

If there are no straws, how will I drink my cider?

This is fantastic news. Not that I frequently visit liquor stores...

But there is always a down side. This won't be good for Kaspar's.

What's Kaspar's?

ctrzaska said:
What's Kaspar's?

Another liquor store on SA about 5 blocks away from the Santander building.

Ah, that one. Barefoot and Cupcake central. I dearly hope the new spot isn't direct competition.

meganlibrarian said:

ArchBroad said:
I'm looking forward to the large craft beer selection, closer to my house. I hope they have space to hold events, like wine/beer tastings and maybe a craft beer festival like South Orange is doing. Is the parking lot large enough to do something like that?

As a nearby resident, I completely agree! Hoping for good things.

ml1 said:
I am very much in favor of this adaptive reuse project.
That said, it should be good to have a store in town with that kind of square footage. The stores in the village are great, but especially for beer, they just don't have enough room to stock a wide selection. I'm hoping the new store really concentrates on NJ and NYC craft beers.

Me too! I'm also hoping for - dare I dream? - growler fills. That would ROCK.

Yessssssssss

Link in support of what I intended to say has been found. Text posted below.

I am happy to see something other than a bank go in such a large space (it seems like banks could/should be much smaller these days). But I thought it would make a great building for a brew pub or trendy restaurant, although I will take a great wine store.

Just read the following on Facebook:

Dear Neighbors of Tuscan ProspectThe friends and families on the block of Prospect along Springfield are organizing a petition to oppose the proposed Large Scale Liquor Store on our block, as part of an appeal to the NJ State Liquor Board. Our opposition is simple.Firstly, we do not believe the Mayor/Township made any attempt to notify the community of the proposed Large Scale Liquor Store which we would have expected in a community like Maplewood prior to approval.Secondly, we simply oppose a Large Scale Liquor Store in a family oriented neighborhood filled with young children, what kind of message does that send.Thirdly, historically it has been proven that Large Scale Liquor Stores attract crime, like bees to honey, this has been the case in city after city.Currently we have approximately forty names on the petition, if you would like us to add your name, please email me your name and address.If you support the large scale liquor store in a family neighborhood, that is your choice, but our block does believe it is right.

"Like bees to honey"? You would think a serious message could leave that kind of flowery triteness behind. It would also help if they posted some facts to back up their assertions.

large scale? just how large is that bank? historically proven? Id like to see the statistics. I am not refuting them, but Id still like to see proof of that statement.

Yes, so much better to have empty storefronts in a family neighborhood rather than a conforming use fully leased storefront. We are not a dry town and this letter is ridiculous. Have you seen the rampant crime outside Wine Library and the liquor store next to Staples?

hankzona said:
large scale? just how large is that bank? historically proven? Id like to see the statistics. I am not refuting them, but Id still like to see proof of that statement.

No , it's Large Scale silly

Petitoner seems to be more picturing a small scale liquor store selling Ripple from behind bullet proof glass.

The little liquor store down the street next to the 7-11 was the go to store for underage kids to get booze ( so my now 23 year old had told me). Size really doesn't matter, just adherence to the law

Why would anyone criticize a group who reside in the neighborhood and do not want a liquor store in their neighborhood?

Not worded the way you want ? Listen to their opposition and maybe the truth is there ...maybe just maybe their sensibilities have a foundation even if you do not agree.The language may not be as sophisticated as yours would be but their points are to be well taken ..they do not want a liquor store in the neighborhood they have chosen to live in to raise their families

They do not want a store that they believe works against their values ..they may be correct . How about listening or helping ? Seems they want a family oriented business in their midst ....not one that they see as harmful to the values they hold.

hankzona said:
large scale? just how large is that bank? historically proven? Id like to see the statistics. I am not refuting them, but Id still like to see proof of that statement.

I'd like to point out that, since Millburn allowed the Wine Library into their town, its become the wild west over there ... I don't let my wife drive through Millburn after dark any more ...

I've lived in town for 20 years ... When I bought my house (Maplecrest neighborhood), I understood the proximity to Springfield Avenue, which is a commercial corridor ... For 20 years, I've scratched my heads when folks who bought their house near the Avenue beach and moan about some proposed development ...

Never gets old.

icdart said:
Why would anyone criticize a group who reside in the neighborhood and do not want a liquor store in their neighborhood?
Not worded the way you want ? Listen to their opposition and maybe the truth is there ...maybe just maybe their sensibilities have a foundation even if you do not agree.The language may not be as sophisticated as yours would be but their points are to be well taken ..they do not want a liquor store in the neighborhood they have chosen to live in to raise their families
They do not want a store that they believe works against their values ..they may be correct . How about listening or helping ? Seems they want a family oriented business in their midst ....not one that they see as harmful to the values they hold.

The petition appears to be a knee-jerk reaction with ZERO facts to back their claims. I understand that a person who lives in the area might not want this liquor store, but if they want their petition to carry weight they need to do a better job. It is obvious that the person wrote it off the top of their head without doing ANY research.

I am not criticizing...I am questioning the statements and asked about the actual size of the space and for their statistics on the crime point they made. Why do you see valid questions as criticism?

icdart said:
Why would anyone criticize a group who reside in the neighborhood and do not want a liquor store in their neighborhood?
Not worded the way you want ? Listen to their opposition and maybe the truth is there ...maybe just maybe their sensibilities have a foundation even if you do not agree.The language may not be as sophisticated as yours would be but their points are to be well taken ..they do not want a liquor store in the neighborhood they have chosen to live in to raise their families
They do not want a store that they believe works against their values ..they may be correct . How about listening or helping ? Seems they want a family oriented business in their midst ....not one that they see as harmful to the values they hold.

The Wine Library is in Springfield.

I think that concerned neighbor is right. We have too many liquor stores. We should open a medical marijuana distribution center instead.