Arpit Patel has run the popular Baramor bar and restaurant in Newton Centre since 2019. While hosting many charity benefits, outdoor music performances, and dog-friendly events, he’s developed a sense of what Newton residents and visitors enjoy and what businesses the community is lacking. So when his brother Ankur wanted to start a new business with him, Arpit thought of an upscale liquor store focused on spirits. “There is nowhere in Newton for consumers to experience truly high-quality, rare-to-acquire spirits,” said Arpit. That has now changed, as the brothers’ new store, Oak n’Barrel, opened today in Newton Centre.
The 2600-square-foot store at 1255 Centre Street (the former Eastern Bank location) underwent a custom buildout to enable it to carry 750 to 1000 individual products. Store offerings include fine wines and craft beer, bringing more options to a market that is already served by a number of Newton Centre merchants, including Italian specialty store Market-tiamo at 36 Langley Road and New England-focused sustainable food and gift store, The Cork and Board, at 1207 Centre Street. Unlike those stores, however, Oak n’Barrel does not carry any food or gift items. Instead, the majority of the store’s business is focused on the major categories of spirits, including whiskey and scotch, tequila and mezcal, vodka, gin, rum, brandy, and cordials and liqueurs. Oak n’Barrel also offers a limited selection of domestic beers as well.
“There’s been a boom in at-home cocktail-making in recent years,” said Ankur, explaining that the store carries all the main ingredients of popular cocktails as well as high-quality mixers, and will help to educate consumers on new and interesting combinations. Most of the store’s spirits are priced in the $20-$150 range, and they include items familiar to many consumers, like McCallan’s 12-year-aged single-malt scotch and Bailey’s Irish Cream. But the brothers also plan to stock several dozen very rare items, with selling prices ranging from several hundreds to thousands of dollars a bottle — unique and unforgettable gifts.
Adapting the model at Baramor, the brothers also plan to have a permanent charity fundraiser from which proceeds will be donated to a rotating list of local charities. In line with that, Oak n’Barrel will host a grand opening charity event on September 22.
