The pinot certainly beats the commute

Despite the fact that most of the customers at Penn Wine & Spirits are hustling to make a train in one of the city’s busiest transit hubs, the vibe inside is rather Zen. It is calm and dark, kind of like stepping into a wine cellar.

There are all kinds of regulars, said Joe Maniscalco, who owns the store with Bruce Caulfield. There are those who hurriedly grab something for themselves, like cans of premixed drinks or mini-cartons of wine, and those who buy a bottle to split with friends on the train (there are plenty of screw-top bottles to choose from). Then there are those who linger, carefully picking out wine for dinner, or mulling over what’s known as the commuter special, $34.99 for four preselected bottles of wine.

Wednesday through Friday afternoons, wine tastings take place. “The foot traffic in here is incredible,” said Michelle Pietrzak, a sales representative from United Wine and Spirits, part of Empire Merchants, at one such event.

Located between tracks 16 and 17 on the Exit Concourse in the lower level (closest to Eighth Avenue and near the A/C/E subway lines), it’s a place you either stumble onto by accident or hear about from fellow commuters, said Brendan Traynor, an insurance broker, who learned about the store from a friend about four years ago.

Grabbing an individual carton of white wine before hopping on the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Washington branch line, Traynor said he used to wait for his train in another area so he had no clue the store existed. Now he stops by once or twice a week. “It’s a great little place that people won’t know about unless you wait for your train right in front of it,” he said.

Kevin Malone, a sales director for a macro economic data research firm, said he found the store four years ago as he waited for his New Jersey Transit train to Princeton.

“I walked out of there in shock,” he said. “I couldn’t believe the selection and the knowledgeable staff.”

Malone usually buys a bottle of aged rum, and on some occasions, a bottle of wine, about once a month, he said. “It’s a commuter’s dream.”

Most wines range from $10 to about $35, but there are several in the $100 to $200 range said manager Pascual Vilchis, who has been working at Penn for more than 10 years. He said that perhaps the store’s business had increased recently because of the closing of the bar carts on the LIRR this year.

Maniscalco, who was previously an ad designer and illustrator, said he took over the space, a former FedEx store, almost 13 years ago. “I figured it would be recession proof,” he said.

He noted the recent retail changes in Penn Station, where large chains and upscale franchises like Magnolia Bakery, Shake Shack and Pret a Manger, have replaced some of the older food purveyors.

“What doesn’t seem to change is the amount of people that walk though this place,” he said, as he eyed the throng in the corridor.

Store traffic and sales increase as the week goes on, and Maniscalco needs four cashiers and four employees during the evening rush Thursdays and Fridays so everyone can make their trains.

“I’ll put on some Barry White tunes on Friday, and the customers will dance,” said Maniscalco, whose nickname, to the great consternation of his wife, is Joey Grapes. “If they’re not happy when they come into the store, they’re definitely happy when they leave.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.