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Appellation Wine and Spirits to Close After 11 Years in Chelsea, Owner Says

By Maya Rajamani | July 19, 2016 10:29am
 Appellation Wine and Spirits, at 156 10th Ave., will close at the beginning of August, owner Scott Pactor said.
Appellation Wine and Spirits, at 156 10th Ave., will close at the beginning of August, owner Scott Pactor said.
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DNAinfo/Maya Rajamani

CHELSEA — A more than decade-old wine store that was recently named one of the best in the city is closing up shop after failing to get state approval for a move to a nearby space.

After Appellation Wine and Spirits' lease ended last year, its owners had hoped to move from 156 10th Ave., between West 19th and West 20th streets, to the London Terrace complex, near the corner of West 23rd Street and Ninth Avenue, owner Scott Pactor said.

That plan fell apart after the State Liquor Authority rejected the 11-year-old store’s application for a liquor license there, document shows.

“We tried to prove that it was in the public’s interest to allow us to move there, but at the end of the day, the SLA decided it wasn’t,” Pactor said. “I knew I was operating against a clock that could possibly run out, and it ultimately did.”

Since September of last year, the store has been operating on a month-to-month basis with its landlord, the Hakimian Organization. But the rent increase Hakimian requested wasn’t feasible for the shop, and the space had become too big for it, he said, noting the store would close at the beginning of August. 

Hakimian did not immediately respond to request for comment Monday.

Appellation collected 1,700 signatures on a petition supporting its move to London Terrace, but it wasn’t enough to convince the SLA that another wine store in the neighborhood would provide a “public advantage,” Pactor said.

“While we are mindful of the applicant’s predicament and the economic impact that denial of this application might have on its business, the applicant has not made an adequate showing to meet the statutory standard for approval of this application,” an SLA document dated March 1 states.

The area around the London Terrace complex is already home to three “package stores” and a “second [liquor] licensee,” the document said.

“...[T]here is no evidence to support a finding that adding a store at this location, in such proximity to the existing stores, would serve the public convenience and advantage,” the document added.

Pactor and his wife are now in the process of searching for a new space, he said.

“Our customers have been really upset about this,” he noted.

After the SLA turned down the application, the store — which specializes in organic and natural wines —was named one of the best in the city by Grub Street, Time Out New York and CBS New York, he said.

“The [past] 11 years, we’ve always focused on knowing customers by name and recognizing them when they walk in, and remembering what they purchase. It’s more than a transactional relationship,” Pactor said.

“The main thing you hear is how it’s another example of a small business that they’ve enjoyed shopping at going away,” he added.