John Galvin opened his little shop at 7181 Manchester Road — Lot-o-Snaxs — to cater to lottery ticket players.
He said since he sells just snacks and lottery tickets, players can buy tickets and relax and scratch without worrying about holding up someone in line, like at a gas station or liquor store.
“A lot of people like Pick 3 and Pick 4 — a lot of them will come in here and play because there’s no line,” he said. “(At a gas station), they got a bunch of tickets to play, people are in a hurry, taking up too much time — people get irritated with that. That’s the whole reason I opened with lottery, because I want people to come in here and play.”
He said he was surprised at how many more people play scratch-off than buy lottery tickets.
“I think the reason is because the results are immediate; whereas the lottery you have to wait for a couple days for the drawing,” Galvin said. “I was surprised that scratch-off is the backbone of the lottery. I never was a scratch-off player.”
He opened in October 2015 and said business started slow, but the longer he’s there the bigger following he’s getting.
He said he’s planning to add more snacks, and recently lined the front window with antique bottles from his collection at home. He has soda, ketchup, medicine and others. He’s open from 6 a.m. to midnight daily.
Yes, as a matter of fact, I was wondering what that little white shop was. If he hasn’t already, you should line the walls with a small shelf and some bar stools so people can sit at scratch. What a novel idea! I wish him luck.
Tom N
Maplewood
What a great, fun idea! It’s fun just to watch people scratch. I was in line at a gas station and
saw a man win. He displayed so much excitement at the amount of money he won that everybody (about 10 customers) in line wanted to see his ticket. He just said, “NO”. He
was so thrilled that he just had to share his news. He picked me out of line and said “Here,
I’ll show you.”. I was equally thrilled with his win. I must not look like the type who
would follow him and steal his ticket. His win made my day.
Incredible establishment, he really cares about his customers and I would love to see it grow!
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