BERLIN — With the recently granted privilege to sell liquor and plans to add a deli next winter, Cheers! in Berlin is finally able to use all of its space in the way owner Chris Denny imagined nearly 25 years ago.
Last week Cheers! became the first store in Berlin to be granted off-sale liquor privileges by the Board of License Commissioners (BLC) since Worcester County pulled its own liquor retail in town last September. Denny plans to have the service and a new 25-seat in-store bar ready by July 1, the date the license become active.
“We want to make that date so it should be ready for inspection at least a week before,” he said. “I want to hit that deadline. The plumbing aspect is the hardest part. You’ve got to dig through concrete and asphalt and all of that.”
Denny is also moving around some items within Cheers! to improve the store’s layout once the bar and liquor retail are added. No external changes will be needed. It’s more like cutting the clutter to give the new stuff space to shine, he said.
“It’s like getting the football team ready. You’ve got to make some cuts. I’m making one more cut so there will be plenty of room,” said Denny. “And the place has always been big enough for the liquor anyway. That’s why this counter is so big. This was actually designed by me 12 years ago to accommodate.”
Denny confirmed that after the liquor and bar are added he will be looking to install a deli in Cheers! to really cement the place as a one-stop shop. The deli was also a feature that he’s been planning for decades, but one that he didn’t feel ready until his store got retail liquor rights. Work on the deli should begin sometime next fall or winter and, like the bar, won’t require any exterior building changes. All of the upgrades will mean more employees.
Denny stressed that nothing is really changing about the way the gas station and market operates, at least in the sense that no services are going away. Everything that will be changing over the next year will be in addition.
That’s sure to be good news for the store’s loyal customer base. Watching Denny in Cheers! on any given day could conjure up images of a small town gas station from the 50s with the steady stream of customers greeted by name. Denny can even anticipate orders from a lot of regulars and begins to ring them up as soon as they approach the counter. It’s a consistency that is reflected in Denny’s employees with most working at the spot for years.
“I think it’s the friendliness and the longevity of myself and my employees,” said Denny when asked what makes Cheers! unique. “They have been here full on and hopefully they will be my successors.”
Operating a small business has changed a lot since he opened Cheers! in 1990, especially the pace of everything, which Denny said has quickened. Though he misses the slow days sometimes, progress isn’t bad either.
The next year should be a big one for Denny and his business. He is hopeful the state will ease its impact on his store with recent gas and cigarette tax increases.
“If they continue to put a 7-percent increase in their budget every year, they’ve got to get it from somewhere,” said Denny. “That’s why the deli is going to come into play. I’m finally going to get into the deli business and the state’s going to charge 50 cents an inch in tax.”
At last week’s meeting, following the approval for Cheers! to offer liquor, the Pitt Stop on Route 113 snagged the same privileges. However, Denny believes the two stores serve different markets and the town is big enough for the both of them.