Quietly Helping The Community Where He Does Business

Business owner Leslie Hickey is modest about recently being recognized for his involvement in the community.

Hickey, owner of Joe’s Fine Wines and Spirits in East Windsor, was named Business Person of the Year by the East Windsor Chamber of Commerce.

“The product I sell is part of a lot of community events, weddings, funerals, parties, it is part of the fabric of people’s lives,” Hickey said.

He said he thinks it is important to be involved in different community activities, which is why he is happy to host wine tastings and events for community organizations.

“He’s a great guy,” First Selectwoman Denise E. Menard said. “He’s at every fundraiser. He invisibly gives a lot of support to a lot of organizations in town.”

Joe’s Fine Wines and Spirits, 149 North Road, has hosted wine tastings for the Rotary, the East Windsor Dog Park, the East Windsor BMX and Skate Park and has an annual fall Beer and Wine Festival for the Hal Kresge Foundation, which provides for local children and their families during the holiday season through social services.

Since the store opened four years ago on Route 140 in the Golden Gavel Plaza, the store has doubled in size and added a redemption center.

 “It made sense for us to have a redemption center next to the store,” he said, for customers to redeem bottles and cans and as a green initiative.

The store has a walk-in refrigerated beer cove, with one of the largest beer selections in the area, including unique microbrews, Belgian and German beers. They also have 30 different kegs available. A separate area showcases Scotch and Bourbon, with more than 100 different varieties.

The store also boasts a selection of wines, with more than 90 percent of the store devoted to wines. There is a small selection of Connecticut wines, about 10, Hickey said. He said he does encourage customers who are interested to visit the Connecticut wine trail.

Hickey, 42, lives in Broad Brook. He said the store’s landlord has been generous about donating space for the community events.

“There is a real sense of community in the plaza itself,” he said.

This spring he created an American flag display that covered the store window, made from Budweiser, Bud Light and Bud Select 55 cases. The timing tied in with Memorial Day and the visit from the Wall That Heals, a travelling half-scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial that came to East Windsor.

 “It was a way for us to say thank you without really saying anything at all,” Hickey said. “We got a lot of customer feedback about it as well.”

Menard presented Hickey with a proclamation from the town thanking him for his dedication and involvement with community and business events. He also was presented with a proclamation from the state.

“He said to everybody “I don’t deserve this,”’ Menard said.

Windsor Locks-East Windsor Patch Editor Larry Smith contributed to this story.