As a second-generation beverage alcohol retailer, Meghan Cimini-Jones fondly recalls growing up in the business, acknowledging how it has shaped her career, and making her hopeful that the roots of the family business will continue to grow deep. “I remember riding around the warehouse on beverage delivery U-boats as a kid,” says Cimini-Jones, majority owner of Sturbridge, Massachusetts-based Yankee Spirits, with four stores in the Bay State. The daughter of former Yankee owner Don Cimini, she recalls helping out at one of her father’s stores at a young age. “It was the coolest place. There were penny candy jars everywhere, and I would run up and down the aisles.” Flash forward to 2026 and the working mother of four young children can’t help but notice how things have come full circle. “I now see my kids riding on the U-boats,” she says. “It’s very special.”
Yankee Spirits has been long established as one of the largest and most innovative beverage alcohol retailers in Massachusetts. Don Cimini and partner Mike Muratore purchased the then two-unit chain in 1989, and were both named Market Watch Leaders in 1996. Michael Cimini, Meghan’s brother, then acquired Muratore’s share in 2002, and he was named a Leader in 2009. An ownership dispute, however, resulted in the younger Cimini relinquishing his interest in the company in 2010. Don Cimini passed away in 2013.
“Family businesses can be difficult because of the relationships, but one of the great things is that it has allowed me to perform basically every role at Yankee Spirits,” says Meghan, who has been a constant presence at the stores for decades. From stocking bags at the register and moving empty boxes to the front of the store as a child—earning $1 an hour—Cimini-Jones has worn many hats at the chain, serving as a cashier, front-end manager, auditor, and buyer. “Yankee was my first job,” she notes. “When I turned 18, I would work at the stores on weekends,” and after college, she joined the business full-time, first working under her brother and then under her father. Today, she has general oversight of the four stores and oversees the chain’s online sales and delivery functions.
For her vast experience and commitment to ensuring the longevity of a family-owned retail business, Meghan Cimini-Jones joins her father and brother before her and has been named a 2026 Market Watch Leader.
Spirits-Driven Stores
Yankee Spirits operates four generally large footprint stores—ranging from 20,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet—in Sturbridge, Attleboro, Norwood, and Swansea, Massachusetts. With annual sales revenue in excess of $60 million, the chain employs about 200 workers. Spirits account for 43% of the business, followed by wine at 36% and beer at 22%.
Some 5,500 spirits SKUs are offered, priced from $1 a 50-ml. up to $5,000 a 750-ml. of Macallan 30 Year Double Cask. Bourbon and Tequila are showing the most strength among spirits categories, Cimini- Jones says, while ready-to-drink (RTD) brands are rapidly expanding. Yankee takes great pride in its store barrel picks and customers have responded enthusiastically. “We continue to see a lot of success with single barrels at our stores,” she says. “Our customer base trusts us to make a pick. We’re so selective and we stay very involved in the process to make sure the bottles are exactly what we want.” Indeed, the company strives to be the first in the state with a particular brand, the retailer reveals. Among some of the chain’s most successful single barrels are those from Penelope Bourbon, Copper & Cask, Green River Distilling, and Rare Character Whiskey Co.
“Tequila is also making a strong push,” Cimini-Jones says. And the chain has responded, investing in a wider selection. Top performers include Don Julio Añejo ($58 a 750 ml.), Tequila Ocho Reposado ($55), and Lunazul Añejo ($24). And as at other stores, RTDs are increasingly gaining space at Yankee Spirits. “We’ve reallocated space to make room for RTDs,” she notes, including in the vodka aisle. Top-selling RTDs include High Noon ($19 an 8-pack of 12-ounce cans) and Sun Cruiser ($15). Overall, Tito’s Handmade vodka ($20 a 750 ml.) is the top-selling spirits brand at Yankee Spirits. The stores stocks more than 7,000 wine SKUs, priced from $3 to nearly $1,000 for the 2013 Lucien Le Moine Montrachet. Wines priced between $12 to $25 are the stores’sweet spot, but California Cabernet Sauvignons priced at $35 to $60 are strong performers. Top-selling labels include Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay ($12) and Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon ($14). A long-established wine futures program aids the chain in staying on top of consumer interests, Cimini-Jones says. “Wine futures help us with seeing the pulse of where the wine industry is,” she remarks. While the retailer concedes that like other wine shops, Yankee has seen an overall decline in wine futures, she adds that the program “helps us to see what consumers are interested in and what’s moving.” Customer interest in the futures program alone—even if diminished from previous years—is enough to ensure that its continuance is worthwhile, the retailer notes.
The chain offers about 3,000 beer SKUs, priced from $6 a 6-pack to $279 for a 750 ml. of Samuel Adams Utopias. While top sellers include Michelob Ultra, Bud Light, and Heineken, ($14–$17 a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans), Yankee is known for its vast craft beer selection, which accounts for 40% of the chain’s beer sales. Cimini- Jones says the stores take great pride in “working with our customers to have and to bring in the products that they want.” While it’s unlikely a grocery store will go to great efforts to respond to a single customer request, she says, “it happens every single day at Yankee Spirits. We listen to our customers. We also stay connected and follow the trends.”
Customer Service Mantra
Indeed, excellent customer service is a mainstay at Yankee Spirits. Each location is staffed with a wine, spirits, and beer consultant to respond to specific customer requests and needs. “Our management team is top tier and constantly working to improve things,” Cimini-Jones says. Other company principals include Jim Juliano, president and corporate spirits director, and Liz Higgins, director and corporate wine buyer. Joe Santos serves as district manager and corporate beer buyer. Members of the leadership team are in constant communication, Cimini-Jones says.
The company’s emphasis on e-commerce and delivery is an extension of its commitment to good customer service. While online sales were established prior to the pandemic, Cimini- Jones notes that e-commerce sales skyrocketed earlier in the decade. Today, they account for about 7% of sales. Yankee has long offered its own delivery of large orders throughout much of Massachusetts, but earlier this year the chain began partnering with Door Dash for on-demand delivery in the Norwood area. “It’s part of our mantra to be all things to all people,” the retailer explains. “We’ve seen a reluctance among the younger demographic to drive to the stores so we’re trying to meet their needs,” Cimini-Jones remarks. “It seems like the natural next step.”
As part of its focus to appeal to all demographical groups, Yankee Spirits utilizes a mix of platforms to advertise and promote its stores. Traditional forums such as billboards, print and direct mail, as well as radio, are part of the mix, as are digital and social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and even a little “dabbling” with TikTok, the retailer notes. With the Sturbridge and Attleboro stores located “off the beaten track,” and with younger consumers not interested in driving far to shop, social media and on-demand delivery help the chain to meet its customers where they are. A new Yankee Spirits website launched this year on June 1.
Cimini-Jones is particularly proud of Yankee Spirits’ full schedule of large-scale tastings, such as customer appreciation events, Bourbon raffles, and grand tastings, not to mention frequent in-store tastings at all four stores. “I love putting on a big show and seeing how grateful our customers are,” she explains. “It’s great to be able to give back to our customers.” Typically free to customers, the tastings often benefit local organizations, thanks to customer donations that Yankee Spirits solicits at the events. A recent allocated Bourbon raffle, for example, raised $9,000 for the Attleboro Fire Department. Among other organizations that the chain regularly supports is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as well as local organizations in the communities in which it operates.
Changing with the Times
While overall beverage alcohol sales may be languishing these days, Yankee Spirits continues to position itself for change. The chain is increasingly adding food items to its stores, with cheese coolers now available at all locations. Holiday gift baskets are also a growing part of the business, Cimini-Jones says. No new stores are currently planned but the retailer reveals, “we’re always keeping our eyes and ears open.” Store renovations are ongoing, she adds, to best reflect changing consumer demand for various products. Despite the downward trend the industry is experiencing, Meghan Cimini-Jones is “hopeful that the industry will soon be looking at brighter days,” she says. “I’m looking forward to a long career in this industry and evolving along with it.” And she’d love nothing more than for her children to also experience the enjoyment and rewards of beverage alcohol retailing. “I’ve always said that this business is my dad’s legacy for my children,” Cimini-Jones says. “I hope that the same pieces remain in place to provide for that.”
