Determination. Perseverance. Dedication. These three qualities are essential for a profitable business plan, and the Patel family are no strangers to this. Dharmesh and Jaimini Patel immigrated to the United States in 1997 with the hopes of owning a successful business. Fast forward to 2020, and with the assistance of their son, Radhik, the Patel’s now own numerous establishments in the South Jersey area.
Maro Brothers, located in Hainesport and formerly Canal’s, is the newest acquisition for this hard-working family. Most prominently known for its wide variety of craft beer, premium wine, and spirits, Maro Brothers is consistently replenishing products to ensure customers are satisfied with its selection. They try their best to be ahead of the curve by carrying newly released products and in high demand to give customers the best variety possible.
Heady Times sat down with the Patel family to discuss starting a business, coincidentally, in the middle of a global pandemic.
Heady Times (HT): Acquiring a new business in the middle of a global pandemic must have been difficult. What made you choose this particular store?
Jaimini Patel (JP): We primarily chose this store due to its amazing clientele and prime location. We are positioned directly on bustling Route 38 with over 22,000 square feet of space to work with. We are incredibly excited about how the area is developing around us, including a brand-new shopping center built to the right of us and a commercial building to the left.
HT: What sets Maro Brothers apart from the other locations your family owns?
Dharmesh Patel (DP): The ability to provide the widest selection of beer, wine, and spirits for our customers certainly sets this location apart. We have over 1,300 craft beers and 5,000 wines, which helps entice customers to visit from all over South Jersey. Some will travel to our store and spend hours watching the television, strolling through isles to view our endless craft beer section, or discovering some of our brand new premium wines.
HT: Can you tell us some of the improvements you’ve made since acquiring Maro Brothers?
Radhik Patel (RP): We recently re-launched our website with a new, integrated system to help with inventory and point of sale. With the assistance of our Wine Manager, Roman, we have started our wine samplings at the store and began distributing our newsletter to over 4,000 customers every week. The newsletter informs our customers of our new high-end wines and our increasingly wide selection that’s consistently changing. We offer free delivery on orders that exceed $200 and are located within a 10-mile radius on our website. Lastly, due to COVID-19, we have implemented curbside pick-up, and we are beginning to see an influx.
HT: What innovations or beer styles do you think will be the big hit for 2021?
DP: We’ve certainly seen hard seltzers succeed at our store and believe that category will continue to thrive in the future. Our store is prominently beer-driven, and with our knowledgeable staff, we believe the craft beer category will continue to excel for us. This is why we offer such an array of craft beers for our customers to choose from daily.
HT: What are you most excited about in 2021?
JP: Since we are new owners, we hope to see success and growth after the wild year of 2020. We have continued to implement new marketing efforts, improved our social media presence, and expanded our product selection, particularly wine and spirits. Most importantly, we hope to host more in-person events that are key for our customers to sample products.
1500 NJ-38, Hainesport, NJ 08036 · marobrothers.net
About Kramer Beverage
Kramer Beverage is South Jersey’s largest beer wholesaler, owned and operated by four generations of the Kramer family since 1924. Kramer Beverage is based out of Hammonton, Atlantic County, and services eight counties in southern New Jersey with top brands from MillerCoors, Constellation, Yuengling, Boston Beer, Heineken USA, Pabst, Diageo, FIFCO, and more. Kramer Beverage also distributes a wide variety of craft beers, from suppliers such as New Belgium and Sierra Nevada, to local favorites including Flying Fish, Double Nickel, Evil Genius, Glasstown, Sly Fox, 2SP, and Dogfish Head. For more information on Kramer Beverage, please visit www.kramerbev.com.