Poland Stop & Shop sells liquor after dry 80 years

By BRUCE WALTON

bwalton@vindy.com

POLAND

After nearly 80 years of a dry village, residents now can pick up their spirits at an

ambitious new convenience store.

And it couldn’t have happened without voter support.

Dori Rai and his uncle, Daniel Rai, own and manage Stop N Shop, a small gas station and convenience store at 57 N. Main St. The uncle and nephew moved their business to the states from Canada early last year.

They sought voter approval from village residents for alcoholic beverage sales, and on Election Day, that happened by a vote of 591 to 184 for weekly sales and 542 to 231 for Sunday sales, according to the Mahoning County Board of Elections.

The store received its state liquor license in February and began selling alcoholic beverages Feb. 24. It sells beer, wine and mixed beverages.

When the two first started last year, they wanted to sell the products at their business but couldn’t without the village’s majority vote to approve them to sell it in Precinct 1.

“We didn’t even know that it was a dry town and we were told afterward [by local residents and businesses] that it would’ve been impossible to get it,” he said.

But the two said they were determined to sell the alcoholic beverages for the sake of surviving their first year. For a convenience store, not having a liquor license would have a significant effect on their revenue.

With competition on all sides outside of their area selling beer and wine, Dori said they’d lose any loyal customers who wanted alcohol. If they didn’t sell liquor, “we probably would have never made it here, to be honest,” Dori said.

Ted Heineman, a Poland Township historian with the Poland Historical society, said Poland was a wet area until prohibition in 1920. When it was repealed in 1932, the community had a choice of going wet or staying dry, and ultimately never reversed it for more than 80 years until last year.

The two started campaigning to get the sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages on the November ballot of their precinct, going door to door and gathering support. On Election Fay, residents voted overwhelmingly to approve the sales.

Since then, the store owners have started gathering more supplies and advertising for their new commodity. The Rais said they have found nothing but support from patrons.

Village officials said voters have spoken, and so far they are not concerned about the impact of alcohol being sold in the village.

“It’s been dry for so long, but if that’s what people voted on and wanted, it doesn’t really matter what I think,” Mayor Tim Sicafuse said.

“It hasn’t made any difference thus far,” village Police Chief Russell Beatty Jr. said. “We haven’t had any calls pertaining to underage sales or anything like that, but obviously we will monitor it. We haven’t had any issues with that place whatsoever.”

The store already has seen an increase in revenue since it started selling alcohol, and the Rais said they plan to stay in the village.

“They’re extremely kind to us. They know we’re not from here, and they’re very supportive about it,” Dori said of the community.