The Real Deal New York

From the March issue: Along with starting coffee shops and founding gourmet bistros, entrepreneurs trying to take that perfect ride up the gentrification arc are taking a chance on an increasingly popular retail item: wine. Over the last few years, stores specializing only in wine have been sprouting up across the city. According to the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), there are 24 stores in the five boroughs with wine-only licenses, compared to just eight in 2003. Conversely, licenses for new liquor stores in the city, which allow the sale of both spirits and wine, are up less than 10 percent, to 1,066 compared to 972 in 2003. Retail brokers and wine store owners say opening a wine store poses unique, and sometimes costly, challenges.