Hamilton Street Liquors

The service is good– these guys are local and pretty friendly. I usually stop in on way home to pick up Worcester trash bags or an occasional lottery ticket or scratch off.
Their inventory of groceries, soda and the like is pretty pathetic. They do have a large variety of liquor and wine though, and I really don’t think it’s overpriced. Well, the booze, the groceries are about standard as any other convenience store.
The street parking is terrible, and dangerous– right after you go down hill on Hamilton it’s right there, so you have to be careful getting out of your car! Also, I don’t know if it’s just my luck but I seem to get stuck behind a customer taking forever at the counter. The guy at the register doesn’t seem to care about my wait either, which is a bit annoying, but hey, it’s whatever. Also, there’s always someone not working there just hanging out talking with whoever is working– not always the same person, but always there and taking up the limited parking spots.
Tip: go later at night, since they are open late, or just don’t go when everyone is getting off from work– it gets busy and the traffic on Hamilton is dangerous at those times.

Though Hamilton is overpriced and small and has a smaller liquor selection than one will find– I like it for the customer service!
Its close by to my place so this is where I will end up going for butts or emergency Pre-​Patriots game Beers.
I asked the first time for Kamel Reds (if you’ve read basically any of my reviews you know how hard they are to find!) The clerk I think is the owner there — He said they didn’t have them but he’d gladly order them. I said sure, but don’t go buying them just for me, I think I’m the only person in the county that smokes them. He laughed and rang me up.
Before you leave this place, just check out the 80+ different hot sauces they have! Its the craziest thing — they only have a few different sodas, only in the small 20oz bottles or if you are lucky liters– 2 kinds of juice but about a gazillion hot sauces. I’ve tried a few and liked them all — though also overpriced!
I think they charge so much more for their liquor because they give this neighborhood the advantage of staying open longer during the week and the weekends. I can recommend staying away from anything except beer here — unless its a real emergency — like 25 bucks for a small bottle of Jim Beam? ehhh ouch!
So I returned a few weeks later and as soon as I walked in the clerk pulled out a pack of Kamel Reds! «Where ya been ?» He says. HA! I was so pumped I shook his hand.