CORALVILLE - When customers complained of limited late night places to buy a beer to take home, Johncy Menezes listened.

Johncy Menezes owns Johncy’s Liquor on First Avenue in Coralville. Press-Citizen/Jason A. Cook

In April, Menezes opened Johncy's Liquor Store Inc. at 412 First Ave. in the Riverview Square Mall in Coralville. His store offers convenience for those looking to buy a case of beer, a bottle of wine, a pack of cigarettes or a can of soda.

"I decided, 'Why can't I open a liquor store here close to the gas stations and hotels so people can come here and grab a bottle?'" Menezes said.

Menezes, 33, is a native of Goa, a country on the west coast of India, where he worked as an accountant after college. He didn't like the work, so he took a job as a waiter at a Holiday Inn in Goa, which sparked his interest in the food service retail industry.

Johncy's Liquor Store, Inc. • Owner: Johncy Menezes • Opened: April • Number of employees: One • Address: 412 First Ave. • Contact: 358-1929

From the Holiday Inn, he worked as a bartender on a cruise line for five years before the company went bankrupt. He moved to Michigan in 2000 to live with a friend, but job opportunities there were scarce. An acquaintance said he had contacts in the hotel industry in the Iowa City area, so Menezes packed his bags once again.

Menezes started taking business courses at Kirkwood Community College, but it wasn't coursework that inspired him to open a liquor store. It was working late nights at the Holiday Inn in Coralville, where Menezes heard customers complaining about a lack of late night liquor stores.

"I thought, 'this area needs something,'" he said.

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Menezes said he will likely hire an additional employee or two to gear up for football season. For now, he is the sole employee, often putting in 17-hour days. However, the long hours don't matter to Menezes because being his own boss outweighs the time commitment, he said.

"I don't care if I'm working 17-hour days," he said. "I'm not working for anyone else and it's my own business."

And after growing up on the other side of the globe and spending five years traveling the world, he said there's no other place he'd rather be than Coralville.

"I love this place," he said. "It's quiet, it's nice and I don't want to go anywhere else."