Suburban Liquor Shop — Local services in Rocky Hill

I've decided to write a review after a series of poor customer service and negative encounters with the owners of this liquor store. Both my brothers have had very hostile and standoffish interactions with the owners. One was accused of lying or passing off a fraudulent driver's license because at the time he had a Puerto Rico-issued driver's license. And before all the busy bodies start questioning: Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States. We are U.S. citizens, and all Puerto Rico-issued licenses are legal and valid in the states. During that interaction, the owner snatched my brother's I.D. and questioned, "Is this even valid?!" My brother plucked the I.D. out of his grasp and responded that yes, it was, and ended the transaction, deciding never to patronize the establishment again. Seeing how unfortunately it's been quite a common occurrence for businesses in the area to be woefully ignorant of the validity of Puerto Rican I.D.'s, the rest of my family chalked it up to a fluke experience fostered by simple ignorance. My father, other brother and myself patronized the store quite frequently in the last 2 years after moving to the area, and while many of the reviews here and on their Facebook allege, "Such a friendly and helpful staff!", we found it to be far from that. When I've gone in, I barely get acknowledged, let alone greeted with a smile. Recently before the latest incident that spurred me to write this review, I walked in and asked if they carried a certain wine. I was told sharply it was down an aisle across from me. Not standoffish, but certainly not friendly. The only staff member who was ever helpful, friendly, and pleasant was a young African American gentleman. The owners should learn from him. Now, again, this was all chalked up to just regular liquor store orneriness, and since the establishment was in a convenient area, we gave them the benefit of doubt and continued to patronize it. That is, until this week. My brother had an issue with a charge of $15 debited to him after a purchase, and went in to point out the issue. He was told it would be credited. After a few days and no credit posted to his account, he returned again to inquire about the status of it. While he was there and one owner checked something in his office, another customer came in and asked if something was wrong. When my brother explained the issue and advised simply, "You should check your receipt before you leave," the owner came out, took personal offense to what he overheard, and called my brother an ahole. Needless to say, my brother questioned the man on his hostility and aggressiveness when he was only in there due to a mistake made on their part that they had yet to rectify. The conversation because heated when the other owner joined in and began insulting my brother, calling him a jackass and accusing him of disrupting his store. At that point, my brother cursed them out, told them they were being hostile and standoffish and it seemed to be clear that the issue was they didn't take kindly to a hispanic patron questioning them. The second owner, instead of saying "it has nothing to do with that" or the like, proudly exclaimed, "Yeah, I voted for Trump! He's president now!" and proceeded to threaten my brother with the police as they cursed at him to leave the store. After such a negative experience, my brother left a review on their Facebook page, and received a barrage of negative responses from supposed family friends of the owners and other patrons, calling him a liar, telling him they couldn't wait for Trump to put him on the other side of the wall, and a whole assortment of bigoted comments and statements. They did the same to me and my mother after we responded in defense of our family member and comments like "I call bullst I know these guys personally they would NEVER discriminate they're not racists what so ever you are the problem you want equality, act like you deserve it," etc. Every single commenter was white, by the way....

Your safety is not a priority to this business. Was told I would "ruin the machine using a key instead of my finger". By the way i was being extra careful because i had just taken a covid test across the street. Lucky for your customers it was negative. I hope you stay safe and treat your customers with more regard for their safety....

It's a nice liquor store. Visited there for a friend. The staff was courteous and helpful. They even let me use their restroom. They are well stocked and everything is easy to find. They are well organized. Ample parking space. Easy to find. Does not burn a hole in...