SALISBURY - After the Salisbury Package Store closed last fall, consumers of potent potables in the village had to look elsewhere for wine and spirits. But later next month, a new establishment will open in that vacant storefront and sell many of the same items as its predecessor.

Warren Carter, one of three business partners from Norfolk who bought the package store from Joe Mulligan in late November, hopes to open Salisbury Wines by the end of February. As its name suggests, oenophiles will love the place.

"The focus will be on wines - interesting and moderately priced wines," Carter said in an interview. He defined "moderately priced" as between $9 and $20 per bottle.

But Carter emphasized that, despite its name, Salisbury Wines will be a full-service store offering liquor and beer, as Mulligan's package store did before it.

Right now, Carter (who was until recently the manager of the Little Gates wine shop in Millerton) and his associates are renovating the small Main Street storefront to make it more inviting and even a little more rustic. Fresh hardwood floors and new racking and shelving systems are being installed, for example. A back room will be used for occasional wine tastings.