It might have looked like someone was about to throw the ultimate party to anyone driving by Racebrook Wine and Liquor in the Firelight Plaza, on Thursday, Sept. 3. Cases and carts of assorted beer and alcohol were being loaded into moving vans by the store’s staff.
“We got a notice yesterday afternoon that we had to be out today,” said owner Thomas Smith. The Smith family owned and operated the location at 302 Racebrook Road, Orange, for nearly 7 years.
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Smith cited disagreements with the landlord and a what he felt was a lack of property management as factors leading to the eviction.
However, Racebrook Wine and Liquor was already preparing to move within the next few weeks. The Smith family purchased the former Gavin Pool building on Boston Post Road and was preparing to transition.
“It’s still about seven to ten days away from being ready,” Smith said of the new location. He said the family had wanted to actually own their location instead of rent for quite sometime.
Smith said he did break the lease at the Firelight Plaza location and the owner’s lawyer subsequently filed a writ to have them evicted with the absolute minimum time to act or reply.
While loading vans to carry the store’s bountiful stock of booze offsite, the Smith family seemed in good spirits about the move. Smith said he’s looking forward to getting the new location up and running and moving forward with the business.