By Lisa Baishunat
Purdy’s Discount Wine and liquor in Congress
Plaza, Saratoga Springs, recently expanded,
taking the space that was once Scott’s
Hallmark Shop, to increase square footage to
11,000, making room for new wines and spirits.
it is the store’s second expansion since it
moved into the plaza in 1997.
“We were getting crowded,” gail Purdy
Brophy said. The added floor space can house
more product, thus is cost effective, as Purdy’s
will pay less for warehouse storage.
A grand re-opening was held Nov. 1 and 2,
featuring 120 new items, including three New
York state vodkas, new bourbons, malt scotches
and both imported and domestic wines. The
new products bring the number of items in the
store up to 8,000, she said.
The store employs 22 part-time and full-time employees. “I have great employees and many loyal customers,” Brophy said.
Fifty years ago when Brophy’s father took ill, she left college and took the reigns of her father’s new liquor store in Saratoga Springs without an ounce of business management skills behind her.
Her dad, who previously owned a Ford dealership, bought the wine and liquor store, then on Caroline Street, but he never had the chance to see his initial investment grow.
“When my dad took ill and was hospitalized for two and a half years, he had no life or health insurance,” she said. “i left college in 1963 and 50 years later, i’m still here.”
Brophy, a native of glens Falls, was studying at Albany Junior College and was one of the area’s budding golf and speed skating athletes. Though she put her dreams on hold, she brought her competitive spirit to Purdy’s Discount Wine and liquor, which operated for seven years on Caroline Street. She and her husband, Bud Brophy, then moved the store to Broadway for a 26-year stay. in 1997, it moved to Congress Street Plaza.
“it’s an interesting business,” she said. “People buy our products when they are sad or when they are celebrating. it is recession-proof business, if you’re competitive.”
For the first eight years, Brophy drew no salary. She drove her dad’s car and learned the liquor store business.
“When you’re running a business, you need to use common sense,” she added. “Sometimes you win sometimes you lose — my sports taught me that — but you don’t cry about it. you move forward and adjust.”
Purdy’s is open Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. For more information visit www.purdyswines.com or call 584-5400.