The new owner of G. Griffin Wine & Spirits plans to continue the business as a liquor store with the same name and hours — and even continue using the “Winebulance.”
Georgina Wang, the new owner, said that when she first visited Rye two years ago, she fell in love with the quiet and dog-friendly community near the beach and sees the potential for her family to live in Rye at some point.
She and her husband, Frank, and three children now live in Queens. Frank is her business partner as well, but he primarily is involved in a family-owned restaurant, called Kaito, in Bronxville.
Wang acquired the business at 498 Forest Avenue, just south of Playland Parkway, from a popular Rye merchant, Douglas Kooluris. She opened her doors a few weeks ago.
She is capitalizing on the good will Kooluris built over the years, both by keeping the same name as well as the neighborly atmosphere (a yellow lab stopped by for a treat during a recent visit).
She bought the delivery truck that Kooluris dubbed the “Winebulance,” and is maintaining the same business hours: Tuesday-Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closing on Mondays.
Wang is able to spend Mondays with her husband and parents, who take care of their children (ages 9, 7, and 5). Her father was the first to emigrate from China, and she followed at the age of 10 with other family members. She worked at various family restaurants over the years, and considers G. Griffin’s to be family-owned with her husband and children.
Kooluris decided to sell the business after serving his many satisfied customers for more than 10 years. Shortly after he opened, he told The Rye Record why he chose Rye and the location:
“I saw character, great location in a great part of town…. My neighbors are homes, not a row of businesses. I’m not just your wine shop, I’m your neighbor….”
He summed up his intended approach to G. Griffin: “I believe in three simple principles: ser- vice, service, and service.”
Going back much further, to 1962, Tom Hagele and Tom Nordman, both Rye natives, bought the Rye Liquor Store and ran it for nearly four decades. As Karen Butler wrote warmly about the “two Toms” in a story for The Record:
“The Rye Liquor Store, a fond memory for many… served Rye well with two wonderful guys, Tom Hagele and Tom Nordman, at its helm for most of its exis- tence. We herald them for serving Rye so unselfishly for so long as business owners.”
