jccmu,

We carry many different sixtels of craft beer, so please call the store or stop by and talk to Joe, the beer manager. He can give you a list of prices.

Take Care,

Adithya

Wow! I thought that the BJs on 17 which sells alcohol was awesome, but this place is truly in a league of it's own. Thank you for opening in JC and making my happy hour just that more happier!!

Psyched about BuyRite. Haven't been to this new one but have been to others. Good prices and a fantastic selection. Really good prices on Italian red wines if you know what you're looking for.

Took at look at the website and didn't find any kegs listed on there? Does anyone know if the store currently carries or is planning on carrying?

Currently get the kegs for my kegerator from HBSO right now, but you can never have too many options to get some of the smaller brews in 1/6ths.

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The High Life is in the row of cases at the back of the store where all the common and domestic stuff is. There's an entire fridge section worth of it in cans, bottles, and even mini-bottles.

I went in and did some pricing.
First off the store is huge and nicely done.
Except for only a couple beers, Buy-Rite is undercutting Hoboken Beer by a buck or two (or $7 as in the case of SARANAC.)

I looked for two of my favorites, Yuengling's Black and Tan and Miller's High Life (like clunkified, my fave of the "common beers.) I saw tons of Miller LITE (which tastes like cold water to me) at very cheap prices but no High Life????? No Yuengling Black and Tan either. I was a bit overwhelmed and I guess I could have missed them.

The selection of single bottles of microbrewery offerings is ASTOUNDING and a good way to try to find something new to like without a large investment.

Wines looked well priced but I am getting tired of experimenting and getting stuck with one undrinkable $10 bottle after another and I can no longer afford the French "classified growths." So it's Chateau Cardboard for me.

Smallish selection of spirits but the sale price of $19.99 for 1.75L Seagram's VO impressed me.

The place is a WELCOME addition to the neighborhood. Though I appreciate the convenience of Newport Spirits, their markups are dizzying.

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I love High Life...The Champagne of Beers. People like to look down their nose at it, but it's quite good. It has a fascinating history.

@ Buy Rite:
4.49 a six pack for bottles.
6.99 a 12er for cans.
14.99 for a case o cans...not sure if it was 24 or 30.

Just came back from my first visit to Buy Rite. If you like alcohol in any way, shape or form, you will not be disappointed...in fact, you will likely be overwhelmed, but then quite giddy once the initial shock wears off.

Best retail store of all time.

It would be very difficult for me to list all of my beers on here because of the way the data would be extracted from my database.

Some of the descriptions that we use internally wouldn't make much sense.

My website, http://www.buyritewines.com, is being re-launched in a week or 2, but it is fuctional right now. You can't navigate the beers yet, but you can search for beers that you are looking for. Please bear with us because I was more concerned with getting the brick and mortar to run smoothly.

Adithya

Adithya,

While we are waiting for your website to launch, can you please post a list of your microbeers on JCList? This way we can do some research before coming to the store.

Thanks!

i am just hopeful this store forces the liquor store on 7th and Erie to improve, which is the area i live in.


they have the highest prices around, and the worst selection.


i'm prone to walk over to newark, or even further to jersey ave and montgomery street before stepping foot into a store that sells the Georges Debouf for $13+ and a six of Yuengling for close to $7.


i'll be checking buy rite for my personal fave, rarely found in JC, MILLER HIGH LIFE!!!!!!!!

Build it and they will come? Mega liquor store sticks out in Jersey City

TUESDAY, 01 DECEMBER 2009
www.NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Buy-Rite sets up shop on the fringes of the Holland Tunnel

Talk with Adithya Bathena for just a few minutes, and it?s clear his knowledge and savvy of the industry is tremendous. When his parents arrived in the U.S. from India in 1990, they established their American roots by purchasing a liquor store in New Jersey. By 2003, Bathena?s father had purchased the Buy-Rite Liquor Corporation and swelled it to the largest liquor store chain in all of New Jersey with 42 locations.

?I first got into this business to help my father in the corporate office, and then over the last couple of years I wanted to try my hand at retail, so began opening additional locations,? Bathena explains.

Bathena?s newest venture is the largest Buy-Rite to date, which just recently opened in Jersey City adjacent to the Holland Tunnel.
Bathena is confident about his choice despite the obscure location, explaining that ?it is best to enter an area where there are few chains, and hopefully this will be the first successful one in the Northern market, increasing brand awareness and capitalizing on all of the unused market potential in the region.?

Optimism does not blind Bathena to the current economic climate; rather it is all part of his careful strategy. ?If you make an investment now, then when things turn around, people are more apt to remember you,? he points out. He will quickly be putting this idea to the test, as he plans to open two additional stores, both in Hudson County, over the next six months.

Bathena?s aim is to give his chain the warmth and connection more easily afforded to smaller retailers. Bathena says he makes a point to hire highly knowledgeable staff, who enhance the customer experience with their understanding of brand history and flavor profiles. The location will host in-store tastings nearly every day offering consumers tastes of products they may never otherwise try.

In particular, today?s sweet spot for wine sales is in the $10-15 price range, inspiring Bathena to create a successful string of ads touting ?10 wines for under $10.? With, so many great wines out there for that $10 price point, there?s really no need for people to go any higher if they don?t want to. You just aren?t seeing those $100 wine purchases right now,? he says.

Bathena also emphasizes the popularity of microbrews, noting that the category is not only out-pricing the rest of the beer market, but ?some of the microbrews are themselves almost like wines, offering flavors so complex that people can find taste profiles that are nuanced and unique, with a lot of character.? In line with this trend, Bathena aims to further set this Buy-Rite apart by offering a selection of over 1500 distinctive microbrews in a store outlined with 60 different beer cooler doors. This setup will enable him to offer numerous microbrews by the bottle, letting his customers mix and match their own six-pack.

? ANDY LAGOMARSINO, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Did some shopping at Buy Rite Thanksgiving morning. Awesome place. Unbelievable beer selection. Great customer service. Will definitely be back. Soon.

With that being said, having a new place to shop for liquor won't keep me from picking up a bottle of wine or a 6-pack of beer when im walking the streets of my neighborhood.

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I'm Tom. Rich is my sidekick.

Ya know what, I thought the amount we paid was little high but, you're right, I was too goo-goo-ga-ga over the 3 liter bottle of Chimay to pay attention. My bad. I put the purchase on my credit card and still have the receipt. I'll stop by at some point to correct things.

Thanks for being proactive about this and letting me know. Much appreciated.

Adonis, is your name Rich?

I met 2 customers named Tom and Rich last weekend and I am trying to reach out to them because we overcharged Rich by accident. They bought 10 bottles of Dogfish 120, but were charged 28 bottles by accident. I don't think they noticed because they were too giddy about the 3L of Chimay.

I have no way of contacting the customers, so please tell them to get in touch with me if you happen to be friends with them. Rich had mentioned that he is on this board once in a while.

Flannel, all of your Ithaca talk inspired me to purchase a 6-pack of the Flower Power. My new beer consultant, Eric, was right on. This is a perfect beer for Hop Heads.

It isn't just that the beer is cheaper at Buy Rite -- it is that the beer really tastes better! The problem with buying at most of the dumpy liquor stores is that much of their beer is "skunky" tasting -- it has been handled very poorly -- it has been warmed up and re-chilled over and over -- and is often getting older, and sometimes it's even out of date. There is nothing worse! Also Buy Rite is in a really great location for drivers from Journal Square and the Heights -- it's great to get them off the Downtown streets as well!
View Larger Map

Buy-Rite's opening may actually be good for all the local liquor stores. I drink infrequently but all the talk of beer put me in the mood to try something good. I went on the 'Beer Advocate' web site and did some research so I would know what to buy.

After thinking about the long walk to Buy-Rite, I decided to spend a little extra, and just get something nearby. The local store didn't have the huge selection of Buy Rite, but they do have some top rated beers.

My point is, if it wasn't for the interest that Buy Rite generated, I probably wouldn't have gone to the local store to buy a $9 bottle of Duvel.

Adithya,

I met you in Buy-Rite last Friday night. Your store seems fantastic and after spending over $400 for beer and wine in your store I look forward to spending even more. I found some really great bargains in there. And you seem to be a very nice guy and a skilled business owner.

I have lived in downtown Jersey City since 1998 and have been reading this website, JCList, for 4 years. With that being said I just want to give you some advice. Whatever you do, DO NOT start responding to people's negative posts regarding your business on this website. You?re not the first business owner to respond to people's complaints on this website and 100% of the time it ends up being a fruitless endeavor by the business owner. It's like trying to win an argument against a drunk. It can't be done. This website is so full of curmudgeonly malcontents it will make your head spin, especially when it comes to businesses in the neighborhood (or park renovations or real estate or whatever). So please feel free to read other people's negative posts but whatever you do don't respond. As somebody else said let your store speak for itself.

We went to Buy Rite last Sunday for the first time. The variety and sheer size of the place were amazing. I found the store clean, prices more than reasonable, and staff friendly and seemed to really know their stuff. They were also having wine tastings when we were there.

We went in thinking we would just look around, and walked out with 1/2 a case of wine and a few packs of various beers.

Well done. We'll be back.

So is this place really the largest liquor store in NJ? Is it bigger than that place Total Wine in Springfield/Union?

As cool as that is...I don't know, unless you live in the Hamilton Park neighborhood, you can't really stroll over to the Holland Tunnel and buy some beers there. It's definitely not pedestrian friendly to most. There is just something incredibly convenient about walking around the corner to Jersey Wine, where I know the people who work there, and I know they have a decent selection...it's a 5 minute ordeal. Going to Buy Rite near the Tunnel is a big ordeal ... especially since not many people I know in downtown JC actually keep their cars parked RIGHT outside their residence.

That being said, I have not been there yet. As a beer guy, I'll definitely drop by at some point .... but it will most likely be on my way in or out of JC, in a vehicle.

Went to BuyRite last night and had a great time looking through their selection of beer, wine and liquor. Good stuff... I wish them well. As most have already pointed out, the selection is great, the place is well laid-out, it is clean and it has very helpful staff. I almost felt like I was in a different city. :)

Anyway, they didnt have what I was looking for at the moment, but the manager looked it up and assured me it would be back in stock in a week. I was very impressed with this place. Great addition, and a good example of how to run a business.

Went for the first time today and can attest to the mind-boggling selection of beers. This is a must-go place for beer lovers. I could have spent 1/2 hr just going through it all.

The wine selection's pretty good too and prices decent. I'm sure it will only get better since they still have a lot of empty shelf space. Great addition to the area

I dropped in this afternoon. It's just awesome, particularly compared to the competition. I'm sure there's places somewhere with some better prices, but this is HERE! It's huge, and they're still stocking it.

I suggested booze tastings to the helpful guy who spent quite a while with me talking brandy & bourbon, but they said they couldn't legally do it.

I ended up buying a bottle of German brandy he said was cognac quality that seemed interesting, and a hard to find old favorite, Rebel Yell.

I went in for wine last week and was very impressed. There regular prices seemed decent and they had some great stuff on sale. Groth sauv blanc is my fave and I have never paid less than $16 for it and they had it on sale for $12.
I am hoping that they get more varieties in stock, it did look like they had a lot of space to fill in. I will definitely go back.

Adithya or CaptianD22

I noticed that you don't have any wheel-locks on your shopping carts. I'm guessing they might start disappearing.

Buy-Rite carts will be the new BJ's carts.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all of the positive feedback. I just want to add some quick comments about the website and pricing.

The website is going to be completely re-vamped in December, but I just wanted something functional to get started right away. We will have a very interactive website that will try to replicate the experience of coming into the store, for people that prefer delivery service.

Please bear with us on the pricing and missing price tags. We really rushed to open the store before the Holiday, so we are working through some of these issues. I am also in the process of re-pricing many items in the store, because these prices were brought over from a store that wasn't positioned as aggresively.

I welcome all of your feedback; whether it is good, bad or different.

Take Care,

Adithya

FTF, I'm not saying they didn't stock those Victory brews (well, I was saying they didn't have Hop Wollop in a 6), I was just saying their prices were a bit over what I'm used to paying.

The Yakima Twilight was $9.99 at the guy on Jersey over near the library.

Anyhow, they beat the gal over at Buy and Savings any day. In 2000, I looked at her shop at THE place in JC to get "craft" beers. http://www.epinions.com/review/Rogue_ ... orter/content_29688696452

what a blast from the past.

Anyhow, Buy Rite certainly serves its purpose. Best wishes to them.. and to all those who indulge in their wares :)

i've bought 2 self made sixers so far.
i really like the coffee porter and there was some caribbean ale which was very good. sorry can't remember the correct name. the engine oil i thought was very good as well. just my thoughts.

i really wish their chimay was better priced because i would buy it a lot more but it is the same as the local liquor stores. maybe a few cents cheaper at best..........

Healy, I'm pretty sure I saw Yakima Twilight six packs when I went an hour ago, and they definitely have Old Horizontal in single bottles (I purchased one while jumping up and down like a kid at a candy shop!)

As far as our purchases (putting prices for general public's info):

McClelland Islay single malt scotch whisky (22.99)
A large bottle of Bruery Black Orchard Black Belgian Wheat Ale (7.99)

And we made a six pack consisting of (first three my choices, last three my girlfriend's choices)...
Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale (3.25)
Victory Old Horizontal (3.25)
Ithaca Cold Front (1.75)
La Choulette Frambois (5.00)
Dogfish Head Palo Santo (4.75)
Ithaca Apricot Wheat (1.75)

We drank the large bottle of Bruery Black Orchard with dinner, and it may look heavy and intimidating, it was surprisingly light, and crisp. Had it with chicken soup, and regardless of whether or not that's a proper pairing it went well.

We just cracked our first two beers, I'm having the Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale (been DYING to try this, but at 18.00 a six pack at Coles Street, meh). I actually think this has a better taste to it than regular Arrogant Bastard, which I love to death. Same heaviness, but the oak definitely gives it an interesting bite.

My girlfriend is drinking the La Choulette frambois now, and the sip I had was nice. Not as sweet as a lot of other frambois on the market, and it actually tastes like an old bar favorite of mine, the Black & Red (black and tans for anarchists, ahahahaha. Half stout, half frambois. Tastes like chocolate covered raspberries), regardless of the lack of stout.

I'm sure I'll keep you updated on the rest of the six pack through out the course of the night, since our plans are to just hang out, do laundry, and drink beers.

So excited that they carry Ithaca Brewery's beers, too. I absolutely fell in LOVE with this brewery while living in Ithaca, and I have yet to find it anywhere in NJ. And it's also just as cheap here as it is up there, which is REALLY exciting.

Also, ThirdRail, did not see the beer you seek.

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Adithya,

I visited your store. Congratulations to you on the opening.

While you do offer a formidable selection of beers and wines, I find your statement, "...we do feel that the consumers in this area deserve better prices and selection." to be slightly inaccurate.

The selection IS fabulous. You're on par with Gary Fisch as far as alcohol goes. You have space and you surely fill it with inventory. I found Southern Tier brews to be ostensibly absent from your selection though.

As far as prices, you certainly aren't exorbitant, but you're nothing to write home about either. Many of the high gravity Victory sixers are $11.99 at your outlet. I usually can find them for $8.99 to $10.49. Specifically Yakima Twilight, Hop Wollop (didn't see this at Buy Rite) and Old Horizontal.

Your self made six pack is cool, but if you were to make a Yakima Twilight sixpack, you'd be spending $15.00 as you're charging for individual bottles. I understand the premium for the convenience of the six pack split, but maybe offering 15% off at the end would be nice?

i don't know, I am not telling you how to run your business as I haven't a clue on how to run a liquor store.

Your Rombauer Merlot price isn't bad by the way.

Regards,
Rob