Wine 34

The openness of the interior along with the sunny disposition of the staff contribute to making one feel instantly welcome in this great little store on route 34. Anmol is extremely helpful without being overbearing. I spied a cosy bar in the back which I intend on habituating in the near future. Overall, a great experience and my new go-​to place for liquor in the area.

Came for a few bottles for thanksgiving, got a great deal and even stayed to have a few drinks at the bar. Prices are very competitive, friendly staff and great atmosphere. Can’t go wrong here!

They now have a bar. Atmosphere is good and staff is friendly. Overall a very good experience

Apparently this place was only very recently taken over by new owners. Formerly S&J Bar & Liquors, the all-​new Wine 34 Bar & Liquors could possibly be the most surgically clean retail store I have ever stepped into. Even the bar in the back is so clean that you could eat off the floors. I never really stop to think how clean or dirty my local liquor store is, but for a highly-​strung OCD guy like me, I couldn’t help but stop to admire the place for a few seconds as I walked in.
I also like the layout of the store. It’s basically one big L-​shaped open space. There are no aisles to go up and down. And while they may not have the largest selection of liquor, I did spy all the key staples.
Alas, I was not there to purchase liquor in the liquor store…
I was there because I, and several of the husbands with me, managed to escape from nearby «All About Fun,» where one of our friend’s kids was celebrating his 6^th birthday. If you have ever been dragged out to one of these kiddie village birthday parties you know it’s about as fun as eating glass. In fact, I would rather sit through a 4-​hour long insurance seminar with hot flames under my bare feet than to have to suffer through another kiddie birthday party.
You see, one of the fathers noticed the «bar» sign outside on the nearby liquor store window and went to check it out. The rest is history. And not only did the husbands make a trip over here to medicate themselves with the likes of Jameson and Makers Mark, even a few of the wives managed to escape and come back a little more giddy. Even the god-​awful pizza they serve at these parties was more bearable after our visit here.
During our brief stint at the bar, we met the woman who owns the place, and she couldn’t have been sweeter. All decked out in green for a St. Patrick’s Day party the bar would be hosting later that afternoon, she was a total pleasure to chat with. We were sure to tell her to keep signs outside pointed toward kiddie village hell to let all the other poor suffering dads know there is a happy place for them to escape to. We even earned a buyback after our second round, which — crazy as it sounds — we could not drink. So the bartender gave us a poker chip with the former establishment’s name etched onto it, good for one drink the next time we come in. That’s awesome. Who does that?!
Unfortunately, Matawan is too far for me to come just to buy my liquor. But it certainly isn’t too far away to visit every now and again for a quick drink with the boys. Normally I prefer my liquor store bars to be extra scary, with fearsome characters grumbling and mumbling and menacing other patrons. But those places are a dime a dozen in the nearby Sayreville/​South River/​South Amboy area. So it’s actually nice to have one that’s clean and decidedly un-​scary one to put into the rotation.
Lots of luck to these new owners who seem to be doing everything right.