Our 2026 Retailer of the Year: Garfield’s Beverage
In an industry where longevity is hard-earned and generational succession is even rarer, Garfield’s Beverage Warehouse stands as an exceptional success story. Founded in 1951 by Norman Garfield with a $4,000 investment and a single liquor store in suburban Chicago, the company has grown into one of the Midwest’s most respected independent beverage alcohol retailers.
Today, three generations later, Garfield’s operates locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area and continues to expand while remaining family-owned and family-led. And for the second year in a row, they have earned the title of Beverage Dynamics 2026 Retailer of the Year.
While many family businesses never make it beyond their founder, only a small percentage successfully transition to a third generation of leadership. Garfield’s has not only achieved that feat but has done so while maintaining steady growth, adapting to changing consumer trends and building a reputation for strong community connections.
Under the leadership of Bruce Garfield, who succeeded his father and helped transform a small collection of stores into a regional chain, the company embraced expansion. Today, Bruce works alongside his son David Garfield, whose leadership has helped fuel the company’s modern era of growth, including a rebranding initiative that unified the chain under the Garfield’s name, and a strategic expansion that nearly doubled its footprint over the past decade.
It’s an impressive feat. From a single neighborhood liquor store to a multi-unit operation recognized as one of the nation’s premier beverage alcohol retailers, Garfield’s has demonstrated an ability to evolve without losing sight of its roots. Its commitment to family leadership, customer service and long-term investment in its communities has positioned the company as a model for independent retailers nationwide.
Continued Growth
Garfield’s continued its growth trajectory in 2025 with the opening of a new location in Naperville, IL. This store has proven to be an overperformer in the company’s portfolio, flourishing in a convenient setting in an upscale neighborhood.
“We’re situated in the shopping center,” says Adam Silverstein, Garfield’s COO. “That’s really beneficial. We’re near a Trader Joe’s. So it’s a really good shopping center. It’s got great traffic going through there. And the consumer base in Naperville has just been a very strong consumer. They’re very interested in finding small batch, finding esoteric, following staff suggestions, which has been really key to helping expand people’s tasting profiles.”
Wine sales, which have struggled in the past year, have been a positive in the new Naperville spot.
“We sell a lot of wine there,” says David Garfield. “And our main manager there, James Laughlin, is a sommelier. So that helps out. He really you can sell a bottle of wine, and knows what he’s talking about. The customers really, really trust him.”
To wit: Laughlin in spring was named the Chicago Winner of the GuildSomm “Vins de Loire” educational program, earning an educational trip to the Loire Valley. This will further boost his ability to positively impact sales in Naperville for a category that’s struggling elsewhere.
“Obviously wine, overall, is not doing great right now,” Garfield adds. “It’s just the area, it’s a really higher-end area. A lot of old money, too. So they’re wine drinkers to begin with. In regards to where the market is, I think that store’s way ahead in the sales, comparatively, to what we’re seeing in the market with wine and maybe at some of the other stores even.”
Modern Trends
While the Naperville store has been a welcome bright spot, Garfield’s has observed the same struggles facing the rest of the industry.
“It is, as everyone knows, a very tough market,” says Garfield. “We are seeing a little bit of drawback into the comfort brands. We are seeing some slowdown on some of the higher-end premiumization that really drove sales in the early post-Covid era.
“Inflation is not helping right now, and that’s the hard part,” adds Silverstein. “People are getting squeezed left and right. And when your groceries went from $100 to $175, you see customers typically start falling back into those more familiar brands.”
As in other markets, cannabis beverages have taken off in Illinois.
“THC drinks, that has really been on fire,” says Garfield “And that’s good and bad. Because it proves a lot of what we’re seeing in the market, that people are going from liquor to marijuana a little bit. And the other negative is that it’s potentially going to be illegal at the end of the year.”
Garfield refers to the federal government scheduling the closing of the loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, which is a grey area that allows THC drinks to exist. Many industry folks remain optimistic that a compromise is possible before the November deadline, as cannabis beverages have become a lucrative industry with a wide demographic.
“Even in Naperville, I was blown away how much THC drinks we sell there,” says Garfield. “It’s middle-aged women buying them, too. That’s become the main customer base on it.”
Unlike other states, Illinois does not have a hard milligram cap on these products. For the sake of public safety, Garfield’s self-regulates.
“We’ve been trying to really limit to around ten milligrams,” says Garfield. “Obviously there are some instances where customers requesting more. But for the most part, we’re trying to stick to a ten-milligram cap.”
As for RTDs, another category that’s trended in recent years, “you’re finally starting to see some headwind,” says Silverstein. “There are a lot of brands out there. I think the shakeout is really starting to come to fruition now.”
“But then there are still these bright spots, right?” he adds. “Like Sun Cruiser, that has really been something over the last, I’d say, eight months. That’s kind of been a surprise. That’s in a somewhat saturated category, but it is really still growing. I think on the spirit side of the RTD category, it’s a much harder barrier to entry. I think that the consumers there are looking for something that might be a little bit more tried-and-true than getting as adventurous as some of the stuff coming out.”
The Year Ahead
Looking at the rest of 2026 and into 2027, Garfield remains optimistic but cautious, given the industry’s headwinds.
“Hopefully we could see some more positive moves in the market in regards to the lull that we’re all dealing with,” says Garfield. “In regards to our business, I think we’re really trying to focus in on each location and fine tune them and see where we can change things to generate momentum and keep maintaining our customer accounts, and what we can do to get new, people in and keep them engaged.” “In regards to expansion, we’re not doing anything this year,” he adds. “Next year, we don’t know. I think I want to see where the market goes before we start really focusing again hard on expansion. But yeah, I think it’s really just kind of dialing each store in to do what we can to preserve and grow whatever business we have at those locations. You know, we are in a fortunate position where we do see our numbers outpacing where the market is.”
Kyle Swartz is editor of Beverage Dynamics. Reach him at kswartz@epgacceleration.com. Read his recent piece, The 2026 Spirits Growth Brands Awards Winners.
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