NYC liquor stores were ‘crazy’ busy on election night, workers say: ‘We’ve been spending hours just restocking’

The only place that might’ve been busier than the polls on Election Day in the Big Apple were the liquor stores.

New Yorkers eager to celebrate or mourn their presidential candidate Tuesday night raided booze shops across the five boroughs, according to several store employees – many of whom told The Post they noticed one bizarre trend among clientele.

“People were buying sparkling wine and a bottle of liquor for both [outcomes],” said Sebastian, an employee at The Juice Box in Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace, who added that election night was “crazy” busy at the liquor store.

“We were probably three to four times busier than a regular weekday,” he said, pointing out that it was the busiest in the early afternoon and then later as people finished work around 5 p.m.

Niccolo Porcello, an employee at Amaro Spirits & Wine in Park Slope, said business was “super busy” with about three times as many customers than usual.

“I think people felt relatively optimistic,” Porcello, 30, told The Post. “Obviously, Park Slope leans in a particular direction, so there was a certain sense of optimism. But definitely people were stocking up all weekend too, because it was really, really busy all weekend.”

Some longtime liquor store workers, like 38-year-old Edgar of Village Wine & Spirit Shop, weren’t as surprised by the Tuesday booze boom.

“Every election, it’s like that,” Edgar said.

“If it’s busy, it’s usually [in] the afternoon,” he added. “Yesterday, it was [busy] during the day because people were nervous to see the results. We’ll see if it gets busy today.”

Wine was the drink of choice for West Villagers last night, the employee said, noting that “in Manhattan, in general, people drink more wine.”

Employees were still restocking wine at Flatiron Wines & Spirits in Manhattan midday Wednesday after hours of nonstop lines Tuesday night, floor manager Brandon Knapp told The Post. 

“It was kind of slow during the day, but towards the end of the day everybody came in like, ‘I’m so stressed,’” he said. “[During] the last two hours, we had lines – and we had three sales people working … we’ve been spending hours just restocking.”

While Knapp helped several customers select a champagne or a nice burgundy to those anticipating a celebratory mood, wine represented the most sales Tuesday night by far, he said.

“Half the people were like, ‘I’ve got one [bottle] for bad news and I’ve got a good one for good news,’” Knapp recalled, adding that he “drank a lot and went to bed early.” 

Shawn Lowecki, owner of Shawn Fine Wines & Spirits in Park Slope, said he expected the election-related business uptick to continue – and even ordered extra inventory in anticipation. 

Gabor Molnar, Lowecki’s assistant wine and spirit buyer, estimated that Tuesday’s business was three to four times higher than a normal weekday, but has since slowed down.

“People aren’t coming in today saying, ‘oh my God, I need to self-medicate,’” Lowecki said — though multiple customers who came in did admit to him that they took the day off work.

The Juice Box in Windsor Terrance was similarly quiet on Wednesday, employee Sebastian said, but he wasn’t sure if it would be for long. 

“I have no idea if people will be drowning their sorrows or celebrating or just not coming in altogether,” he said.