Franklin Liquors

What Franklin Liquors does

Franklin Liquors Inc. is a family-owned retail liquor store founded in 1978 in Franklin, Massachusetts, and operated by the Lenzi family since inception. The business runs a single physical storefront at 363 East Central Street, Franklin, MA 02038, retailing wine, beer, liquor, and kegs to local consumers. Under the current ownership of Mark Lenzi, who took over from his father in 2007 after a two-decade career in medical engineering, the store has repositioned itself around certified wine expertise, in-store wine education, and community engagement programming. The current owner holds multiple industry designations including Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS), California Wine Appellation Specialist (CWAS, first in Massachusetts), French Wine Scholar (FWS), Italian Wine Specialist (IWS), and Quini Certified Educator (QCE, first in the USA). The business has no parent company, no institutional investment, no disclosed funding history, and operates as a privately held Massachusetts corporation.

The company's offerings extend beyond traditional liquor retail. A dedicated 40-seat wine education and tasting room hosts paid classes and fundraising events for groups of 6-40 people, with three adult education partnerships (Franklin, Medway, Tri-County) functioning as a top-of-funnel acquisition channel. The Franklin Wine Club operates as a recurring community touchpoint on Meetup, and an in-house wine-on-tap dispensing system allows customers to sample wine before purchasing. Technology integrations are entirely third-party: Quini powers wine recommendations and tasting notes, Pointy surfaces online inventory for in-store pickup discovery, and BeerMenus lists beer selection. The company has no mobile app, no public API, no proprietary platform, and no disclosed digital or e-commerce channel for direct purchasing.

Franklin Liquors generates revenue through three streams: one-time in-store retail alcohol sales, paid wine education and tasting events structured as professional services, and recurring wine club membership through Meetup. No pricing tiers or SKU-level prices are publicly disclosed. The customer base is fragmented across individual local consumers, with two primary segments — wine enthusiasts and social groups seeking education or fundraising venues, and local community consumers seeking retail alcohol — and zero enterprise or commercial accounts. The business has no disclosed headcount, no disclosed revenue, and no observed geographic expansion beyond Franklin, MA.

Name

Franklin Liquors

Legal name

Franklin Liquors Inc.

Website

https://franklinliquors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Franklin Liquors is a family-owned retail liquor store in Franklin, Massachusetts, established in 1978. It operates a single storefront selling wine, beer, and spirits to local consumers while offering wine education classes, a wine club, and tasting events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alcoholic Beverage Retail

NAICS

Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320)

akta.pro primary industry

Liquor Stores (General Off-Premise) (CRANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF)

Keywords

• Wine retail store
• Liquor store
• Wine education
• Beer selection
• Spirits retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Franklin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Alcohol Sales: Physical retail store sales of wine, beer, liquor, and kegs to consumers. Revenue generated through point-of-sale transactions.
2. Wine Education Events: Hosting wine tasting and education events for groups of 6-40 people, including fundraising events where the host group receives a percentage of sales.
3. Wine Club Membership: Franklin Wine Club tastings and events for wine enthusiasts through Meetup platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Franklin Liquors is a family-owned retail liquor store in Franklin, Massachusetts selling wine, beer, liquor, and kegs to local consumers. The core retail operation is supplemented by a 40-seat wine education and tasting room, wine club membership events, and fundraising event hosting services, supported by Quini wine tasting technology and an in-house wine-on-tap sampling system.

Product overview

Franklin Liquors is a family-owned retail liquor store operating since 1978, offering wines, beer, and liquor through a traditional retail model. The core product is the physical retail store supplemented by wine education and tasting services. The product portfolio includes the main retail operations, a wine education/tasting room program, the Franklin Wine Club membership, and a Quini-powered wine recommendation system. The company also offers fundraising event hosting services. No digital platform or SaaS product is offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Franklin Liquors Retail Store (Wine, Beer, Liquor, and Kegs) Family-owned retail liquor store offering wines, beer, liquor, and kegs to local consumers; includes wine-on-tap sampling system and lottery sales. Located at 363 East Central Street, Franklin, MA 02038.
• Wine Education and Tasting Services

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• QuinicoreTechnology or IntegrationQuini is a wine tasting technology platform that Franklin Liquors uses in their wine education classes. The technology helps participants understand and evaluate wine profiles. Franklin Liquors was the first in the USA to have a Quini Certified Educator (QCE) on staff.
• Franklin Adult EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFranklin Liquors teaches wine classes for the Franklin Adult Education program as part of their community education outreach.
• Medway Adult EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFranklin Liquors teaches wine classes for the Medway Adult Education program as part of their community education outreach.
• Tri-County Adult EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFranklin Liquors teaches wine classes for the Tri-County Adult Education program as part of their community education outreach.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sherry-Lehmann: Long-established New York specialty wine and spirits merchant focused on premium selection and expert-led service. Closely comparable to Franklin Liquors in operating philosophy — expert curation, premium assortment, and customer education — with a New York City footprint.
• K&J Wine Merchants: Independent wine-focused retailer specializing in curated premium and hard-to-find selections. Highly comparable business model to Franklin Liquors' wine-led specialty approach, with parallel emphasis on staff expertise over volume discounting.

Broad incumbents

• BevMo!: Multi-state specialty beverage retailer carrying beer, wine, and spirits with curated assortments and in-store tasting programs. Directly comparable product mix to Franklin Liquors, with broader geographic footprint but less expert-led education positioning.
• Total Wine & More: National multi-store alcohol retailer offering beer, wine, and spirits at scale with aggressive pricing. Comparable to Franklin Liquors as the same off-premise retail category, but competes on volume/selection breadth rather than expertise and education.

Emerging players

• Wine.com: Largest U.S. online wine retailer with deep selection, recommendation tools, and subscription services. Comparable to Franklin Liquors on wine assortment and recommendation experience, but operates purely online and competes for the same educated consumer wallet.
• Drizly: On-demand alcohol delivery marketplace aggregating local retailers. Indirectly competes with Franklin Liquors by offering same-day home delivery of beer, wine, and spirits from partner stores in the same metro footprint.

Regional players

• Binny's Beverage Depot: Large Illinois-based beverage retailer with deep selection and in-store expertise. Comparable to Franklin Liquors as a beer/wine/spirits retailer emphasizing staff knowledge and premium assortment, though operating at chain scale within one region.
• Spec's Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods: Texas-based multi-store alcoholic beverage retailer with broad selection and event programming. Comparable off-premise model with attention to premium assortment and customer experience, competing for the same educated-buyer segment as Franklin Liquors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/franklinliquors
• Facebookfacebook.com/FranklinLiquorsMA
• Instagraminstagram.com/franklinliquors
• Pinterestpinterest.com/franklinliquors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/franklin-liquors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Franklin Liquors