From left : shift supervisor Marcel Rochon , vice president Nicholas Pizzonia , assistant general manager Jesse Rochon and assistant manager Victoria Matveeva .
Court Liquors :
AN EVOLUTION IN VARIETY
by KYLE SWARTZ
Court Liquors in Long Branch , NJ , is located at an interesting consumer cross section . A few minutes ’ drive away is Monmouth University , with a student enrollment of around 6,000 . Or head south , and you soon hit the mansion-lined beaches of Asbury Park . A historic vacation area known for its Tillie mural featured in The Sopranos and a famous Bruce Springsteen poster . Asbury Park has also become a coastal hub for young entrepreneurs ; its thriving downtown has a noticeably hip culture .
The result is an eclectic mix of customers at Court Liquors . Celebrities visiting Asbury Park might stop in , along with that area ’ s traditionally wealthier clientele . Students from the university are also shoppers , along with Long Branch locals .
“ Seeing so many different kinds of people makes it more enjoyable ,” says Nicholas Pizzonia , Court Liquors vice president . “ It makes a more interesting day at work . It ’ s such an interesting crossroads of people . And it ’ s something we can build our selection based on . We have to have a good variety . We play into that demo .”
A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
Court Liquors has a familiar past for many modern-day , successful liquor stores .
This seaside New Jersey mainstay is another liquor store with its roots in grocery . The owners , the Zimmerman family , have operated grocery stores in the Long Branch area for more than a century . In 1977 , they acquired a liquor license to open a small shop next door to one of their stores .
Nineteen years later , Michael Zimmerman moved that adjacent store across the lot into what is now the present-day location of Court Liquors . This relocation boosted the shop from 1,000 square feet to 4,600 .
“ It was a considerable jump up in size ,” says Pizzonia , who would join the company
10 Beverage Dynamics • Spring 2024 www . beveragedynamics . com