CROWN HEIGHTS — Rogers Avenue just got a lot boozier.
A new wine and spirits shop, J+R Symposium, opened on the corner of Union Street and Rogers Avenue in Crown Heights earlier this month with a wide selection of bottles, a portion of which will be available for tastings every Friday night at the new store, said manager James Lewis. So far, new customers say they're happy to have a place to pick up nice liquor and wines south of Eastern Parkway, he said.
“The first thing that they like [is] the space,” he said. "They like that everything is so spread out. They like that it’s a bigger store where they can actually go up and touch, read labels,” as opposed to other area liquor stores where the offerings are enclosed in Plexiglas, he said.
The shop is the first foray into the spirits business for Lewis and his business partner Ryan Granville, both of Bedford-Stuyvesant, who first got the idea after a trip to California wine country.
“We went to a winery and it started from there. We started enjoying it, tasting all these different wines and then we were like ‘This would be a really good idea to bring to the neighborhood,’” he said.
James Lewis, manager at J+R Symposium, helps a customer choose wine at the new spirits shop on Union Street and Rogers Avenue.
The pair chose the Union Street storefront because they felt Bed-Stuy is already “too saturated” with wine shops and knew the Rogers Avenue area lacked a “boutique” wine and spirits spot, as they describe J+R (named for each partner's first initials).
The store hosts tastings every Friday night — the next is scheduled for Sept. 25 from 5 to 8 p.m. — and hopes to set up Saturday events, as well. The owners said that they carry mostly international and California wines (with kosher options available, as well) and a variety of domestic bourbons and whiskeys, and will rotate the stock as they become more familiar with the neighborhood.
“We’re trying to see what our clientele around here likes,” Lewis said.
J+R Symposium is located at 1148 Union St. and opens at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday, closing at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. On Sundays, the shop opens at noon and closes at 8 p.m.
