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Food

LIRR Riders More Boozy Than Wine-Swilling Metro-North Crowd


By

John Del Signore

Published Sep 27, 2010

Modified Sep 27, 2010


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By

John Del Signore

Published Sep 27, 2010

Modified Sep 27, 2010


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In case you missed this interesting little article, the Times crunched the numbers on beverage sales along the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North lines, comparing the drinking preferences between the two groups of commuters. The takeaway: Long Islanders buy way more booze than the Metro-North crowd, who consume wine at nearly twice the rate as LIRR riders.

Spirits account for nearly 1 in 3 beverage purchases on the LIRR, compared with 1 in 10 on Metro-North. Passengers on both railroads bought nearly three million drinks and snacks from commissary carts and bar cars, generating $9 million in revenue. "They are a very loyal patronage," says Tom Celli, who has managed the Metro-North commissary for 25 years. "I have the same people day in and day out."

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bar car

Long Island railroad

metro north


John Del Signore

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Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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