EDITOR ' S NOTE

Once again we recognize the Top 100 beverage alcohol retailers in the U. S. This exemplary list represents the best of the best in the industry, stores and control state systems that have excelled and adapted in the business. These are market leaders, trend setters, innovators, expanding chains, local mainstays and destination stores.

Which is to say that our 2025 Top 100, as always, contains a broad array of businesses and proprietors. When our editorial team selects these winners every year, we pull from all over the industry, recognizing that success takes on many different shapes and forms in terms of size and scope. From sprawling control systems on the scale of Ohio and New Hampshire, to single-unit private stores, our Top 100 reflects the diversity of operations found throughout the industry.

What all these businesses have in common in 2025 is perseverance through a tricky year. Everyone knows that the market is going through a corrective phase. The Covid−19 alcohol boom is firmly in the rearview mirror, replaced by a time of shifting consumer habits, perhaps away from alcohol. Generation Z, in particular, seemingly drinks less, preferring a“ healthier,” cheaper lifestyle, with cannabis or no / low-alc alternatives. And the rapid rise of GLP−1 weight loss drugs likewise has people of all ages consuming less alcohol.

Are these permanent shifts, or just trends? Weight loss fads come and go. And many Gen Z members who do not drink are of the generation’ s older cohort, who entered LDA during the Covid−19 lockdowns. They grew used to staying home and consuming cannabis, playing video games online with friends, rather than going out and drinking socially. However, if you talk with younger Gen Z, who were under 21 during the pandemic and are now legal age, you do not hear as much aversion towards alcohol. In fact, they seem to be cocktail curious, drawn to the experiential nature of mixed drinks, which they happily post about on social media.

Drinking is not dead. Consumer trends come in waves. Baby Boomers love wine, Millennials love whiskey and RTDs, and Gen Z is inching into craft cocktails. These younger consumers also increasingly reach for alcohol brands that are authentic and socially / environmentally sound. Top 100 retailers understand all this, evolving with the choppy market in a way that keeps these businesses steaming ahead through unsteady waters— an impressive feat deserving of the awards we hand out every year. Congrats again to all the 2025 winners!

Beverage Group Vice President Jeremy Nedelka Tel: 763-383-4413 email: jnedelka @ epgacceleration. com

Editor, Off-Premise Kyle Swartz Tel: 763-383-4447 email: kswartz @ epgacceleration. com

Trade Managing Editor Krystina Skibo Tel: 763-383-4419 email: kskibo @ epgacceleration. com

National Account Director Debbie Rittenberg Tel: 763-383-4455 email: drittenberg @ epgacceleration. com

Associate Managing Art Director Nicole Siewert

Senior Product Manager, Data & Insights Marina Velez Tel: 763-383-4453 email: mvelez @ epgacceleration. com

List Rental Kris Grauer email: kgrauer @ npsmediagroup. com Tel: 203-822-7933

Reprints For more information on e-prints or reprints from Beverage Dynamics magazine, visit https:// epgacceleration. com / marketing-services / or email us at info @ epgacceleration.

Sr VP / Audience Development Joanne Juda-Prainito Corporate Operations Director Bernadette Wohlman CEO Marion Minor

BRAND ACCELERATION

Beverage Dynamics is published by EPG Brand Acceleration Editorial and executive offices at 7760 France Avenue South, Suite 810, Bloomington, MN 55435.

Kyle Swartz Editor, Off-Premise

4 Beverage Dynamics • 2025 Top 100 Issue www. beveragedynamics. com