Patience Rewarded!

They say good things come to those who wait and that patience is a virtue. But for Joe Sessock, owner of the Beverage King Market & Deli in Bomoseen, it had begun to seem like the waiting would never end while the patience might.

He waited so long to get his opportunity to sell Vermont spirits, he just about gave up. He decided it was better to put it out of sight, out of mind. “We have been trying to get spirits for 28 years,” says Sessock, which is also the number of years he has owned the store. “I didn’t think I

BY ROBERT COOK

in getting a fair price, he recalls. At the time, Sessock explains he had two houses: one where he resided and another that he was renovating. The former store owners asked him if they could trade their store for one of Sessock’s houses.

Sessock explains. He recently renovated the deli inside the store.

The store is about 4,000 square feet with an adjacent 2,000-square-foot building that houses a bottle redemption center. Customers who return their bottles for cash will often come into the store to buy craft beer, wine or sandwiches, and now spirits.

them closer to home in Bomoseen. Being able to sell his customers the spirits they enjoy is a good feeling, Sessock says.

“I enjoy interacting with customers, and I enjoy making them happy."

would ever get the opportunity, and I sort of wrote it o .”

Then, out of the blue, Sessock’s time to sell Vermont spirits nally came when an agency store in nearby West Rutland closed. Thanks to a Vermont legislator and health o cer in Castleton who really advocated on Sessock’s behalf, the folks at 802Spirits gave him the green light. Agency Store 2058 was born.

Sessock and his 15 employees rang in the new year with a new line of Vermont spirits and, slowly but surely, word is spreading that the store that has always been known for o ering one of the Green Mountain State’s most extensive selection

Sessock, 69, is really looking forward to his summer sales when the villages that make up Bomoseen and Castleton nearly doubled in population from 4,500 year-round residents to as many as 10,000 thanks to the many summer cottages on Lake Bomoseen. This seasonal surge in population, combined with the in ux of 2,000 students and faculty at Castleton University, is a real boon to Sessock’s store.

“When the summer comes and people come to Lake Bomoseen, business is going to take o ,” says Sessock. “We’re just trying to get ready for it.”

Bomoseen is part of Castleton, which consists of Castleton Village, Castleton Corners and Hydeville. Beverage King Market & Deli, which serves up Boar’s Head meats and cheese with the same air of a New York deli, is located on Route 4A just south of Lake Bomaseen, Vermont’s land-locked fresh body of water.

“Nobody can come close to the subs and sandwiches that we make at our store,” says Sessock. “We bake our own rolls," and they also sell homemade macaroni and potato salads, which customers love.

Sessock is originally from Monmouth Co., N.J., where he worked as a home builder. He decided to move to Vermont when he was 36, in 1989, to get away from the hustle and bustle and live the quieter life.

Sessock initially worked as a home builder in the Bomoseen area until his current store went up for sale, and a number of people in town urged him to buy it. The former store’s owners were not interested

Sessock traded the home where he was living and moved into the 1850 home where he still lives today. There was no cash involved.

Sessock was able to use his carpentry skills to renovate the store and expand it as needed. “If you put e ort in, you get something out of it. I have put 10 di erent additions on my store since I bought it,”

When Sessock purchased the Beverage King Market & Deli, he steadily built up a strong inventory of Vermont craft beer when that movement was taking o . He hopes to do the same thing with Vermont spirits. “I saw the craft beers coming out and that people were willing to pay for them, so I added a whole entire cooler to stock up,” recalls Sessock.

If the store generates strong spirits sales this summer and shows steady growth, 802Spirits will track those sales and supply the store with greater inventory to meet customer demand.

Patrons who were accustomed to going to West Rutland, Rutland or Fairhaven to buy spirits are pleased to learn they can get

Sessock is also grateful that he has a great team of 15 employees — ve full time and 10 part-time workers — who provide great customer service and demonstrate good product knowledge. “I enjoy every day seeing my good, dedicated employees come to work and do a ne job,” he adds.

He is con dent that, as more area residents learn that his store is now selling spirits, business will grow. Depending on customers' preferences, Sessock plans to work with the state to make sure they have the most popular spirits on hand. Just like he did with Vermont craft beer, Sessock says, “I just try to bring in all the ones that people really like.”

Beverage King Market & Deli 334 VT-4A, Bomoseen (802) 468-8917