west main wine & spirits

T.J. Woodward acquired West Main Wine & Spirits from Chris Blossom 2 1/2 years ago with an eye toward eventually moving into the retail space next door.

Now located at 343 West Main St., Batavia, the move has enabled Woodward to expand the shop's inventory and upgrade the store's appearance.

"We've added a lot of new products and expanded some of the lines," Woodward said on Saturday during the store's grand opening in the new location. "We've had an opportunity to grow, for sure, in a new space because it's two and a half or three times the size of the old one.

The move was slowed by red tape, Woodward said.

"It took forever because the state was really difficult to get everything lined up with the state as far as permits and then doing all the work," Woodward said. So, it took a lot longer than we thought, but finally, we got through all that paperwork."

Woodward owns the building, which was a key factor in his decision to purchase West Main Wine & Liquor.

"I wasn't necessarily looking to get into the liquor business as much as it was, I own the building, and Chris was looking to sell," Woodward said. "I thought it made sense to buy it. I knew that NAPA (auto parts) was eventually planning on moving out, so I figured it would be a good opportunity to take the liquor store and move it over."

Store hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The phone number is 585-344-2717.

Photos by Howard Owens

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Chris Blossom has sold his business, West Main Wine & Spirits to T.J. Woodward.

Blossom provided this message for the community:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Batavia community and the surrounding areas for supporting our business for the past 13 years.   I could not have done it without the support of my family, friends, amazing staff and especially our loyal customers of West Main Wine and Spirits. 

I would like to wish the new ownership all the best.  The store may be under new ownership, but you will still see familiar faces.

I couldn’t have had the success that I did without all of you.  It has been fun, challenging and more than I could have ever dreamed possible.  I have built friendships with customers and sales reps that I will always cherish.

A special thank you to my wife for her support behind the scenes and all staff members past and present.  I will forever have fond memories of being a business owner in Batavia!

Thank you!  Wishing you all health and happiness!

Chris Blossom

Customers who shop at West Main Wine & Spirits on 341 W. Main St. in Batavia will have the opportunity to shop with an app, thanks to a company called More On Tap.

More On Tap is a company based out of Massachusetts with an interactive application for liquor stores and their customers. Their application can be viewed on a store kiosk, computer, tablet, mobile phone and the store’s website.

Chris Blossom, the owner (pictured), said he was contacted by Robert Pais, from More On Tap, with the idea of using a mobile app for West Main Wine & Spirits.

“When we first got coordinated with them, we were the third store in New York State to [have an app],” Blossom said.

Through the app, users can browse products, view drink recipes, food and wine pairings, current specials and staff picks. If the user is in the store, items can also be scanned to view product information.

Originally, there was going to be a kiosk put in the store, but Blossom liked the mobile app instead.

“More people are tech-savvy now,” Blossom said. “A lot of people are on their (smart) phones.”

Customers can sign up on the email club and Blossom will send special promotions through the app every few weeks.

“Before you come to the store, you can look up the wine you want,” Blossom said. “If you’re drinking a liquor and you want to make a drink, you can look up everything before you get to the store.”

Blossom said a challenged he faced was not having all of the New York State wines on the app.

“The biggest thing was trying to get our inventory coordinated,” Blossom said. “As far as the liquor and spirits, it’s the same mainly everywhere.”

The app is compatible with all smartphones. If customers don’t want to download the app, Blossom said there will be an iPad in the store to join the email club.

Through the app, customers can sign up for an email newsletter.

“I wanted something where people can figure out what they want before they get here,” Blossom said. “People are busy in life.”

On the web: westmainwineandspirits.com