Beverage alcohol retailers remain a big part of their communities. Beyond their roles in an area’s culture and business ecosystem, liquor stores are often a large contributor to local charities, causes and community service. From donations to fundraising events to participating in civic organizations, alcohol retailers continue to give back in meaningful ways.
Below we take a look at three specific brands, each a member of the Beverage Dynamics Top 100 Retailers, who have gone above and beyond in uplifting the broader communities in which they do business.
The Good Pour
Doing good deeds is built into the name of this chain based in central Florida. With their first store opened in 2024, The Good Pour is a modern retailer with a novel take on charitable contributions, woven into the fabric of their business model.
Many stores at checkout offer consumers the option to give $1 or round up their purchase as a donation to a specific charity. While commendable and effective, this method does also risk making customers feel uncomfortable. What if they shop at the store throughout the week and don’t want to donate every single time? What if they feel guilty that they cannot afford the donation? Or what if they preferred that their money goes towards a different cause?
The Good Pour solves these issues with a clever, robust system. When customers pay for their products at the store, they can choose a charity from nearly 200 different options listed in the store’s app. This way, the consumer makes the choice about what nonprofit or organization benefits. And, importantly, every donation comes out of the store’s profits, rather than the consumer’s wallet. Thus removing any pressure to spend extra money.
“The giving piece of our business is our business model itself,” explains Susan Boucher, VP of business development. “We’re banking on our guests liking it, too.”
Donation partners span a wide range: From local, regional, several national, and even a global option with The Humane Society, which recently rebranded as the Humane World for Animals.
The Good Pour does not donate to just anybody: These partners must go through an application process before The Good Pour accepts them as a recipient for fundraising.
“We’re not as strict as a government grant organization,” Boucher says. “We just want to ensure that the charity is meeting a need in the community, is doing what it’s saying it’s doing, and we want to make sure that they operate with transparency.”
Occasionally, The Good Pour will proactively seek out a donation partner. As store employees are also members of the local community, they will see local needs that arise, or learn about quality nonprofits in the area. The Good Pour will then recruit these selected organizations and causes from the area as potential charity partners. Local aid is always welcome.
“I think aside from the marketing opportunity of awareness, our guests like to give where they live,” Boucher says. “They want to know that the money that we donate is going to the area where they live.”
“This allows the guests to feel engaged in our philosophy, which we accomplish by always letting the guests be the decider,” she adds.
Pioppi’s
Pioppi’s in Plymouth, MA hasn’t been in business quite since the Pilgrims landed in the area in 1620, but the company did acquire its liquor license way back in 1933. That means Pioppi’s was the first liquor license granted in Plymouth after Prohibition ended. Today, the 10,000-square-foot store remains a pillar in its community, eagerly giving back to the town that has supported the mainstay business for more than nine decades.
Pioppi’s participates in The Taste of the Town, which in 2025 celebrates its 20th anniversary in Plymouth. This fundraiser, which ties together numerous businesses and public institutions, benefits the Plymouth Public Library Foundation. As the event’s official beverage partner, Pioppi’s takes part in various ways, including hosting a grand wine tasting attended by more than 100 people.
Pioppi’s also donates products for the event’s silent auction. This is all part of an appreciative community focus for a store that has called Plymouth its home for nearly a century.
“[Owner] Peter is always sharing a sense of giving back to the community,” explains general manager Lauren Papa. “He volunteers on various local boards. I’ve worked here since I was 20 and I have always been involved locally as well. I’m involved with the Plymouth 4H and I’m also the vice president of the Plymouth Schools Music Association.”
“Peter is always talking about being the change that you want to see, and the importance of giving back to the community that treats you well,” she adds.
Accordingly, Pioppi’s hosts Plymouth’s annual Packie Run, a name that references New England slang for driving to your liquor store for a quick pick up. Appropriately, this fundraiser is a classic car show, benefitting the Plymouth VFW Post 1822. The summer event includes raffles, tastings with vendors and local food trucks.
“For us, the reason to do this event is pretty obvious,” Papa says. “Our veterans have made the ultimate sacrifice. They’re pillars of our community and are great role models for local kids to look up to.”
Community involvement comes in many different forms. One nationwide issue that has galvanized beverage alcohol retailers from coast to coast is the problem with nips. Smaller-size alcohol packaging can lead to theft and littering, which has caused some municipalities to propose banning the products. Plymouth itself sought to do so in 2024. Savvy, empathetic liquor stores like Pioppi’s have fought against this bad-for-business measure by becoming part of the solution.
“Ever since the whole attempt to ban nips, we have become involved in the town clean-up day,” Papa explains. “Plymouth has an annual clean-up day.”
After Pioppi’s helped lead a referendum that defeated the local ban on nips, the store ran its own clean-up efforts. But eventually the business folded its efforts into the Town of Plymouth’s existing clean-up day, for efficiency’s sake.
“It was just easier to jump onto the town’s day because the town sends out so much information about it, doing a lot of the marketing work,” Papa says.
Beyond those two events, Pioppi’s also does a lot of standard charitable work: donations, raffles and gift cards for local organizations that reach out and ask.
“We’re always trying to give back to the community,” Papa says.
George’s Liquor
George’s Liquor, a 10,000-square-foot store in Newport, AR, has been in business for 42 years. It operates in a small city with a population of 7,000 to 8,000. It hasn’t always been the case, but currently, George’s is the only liquor store still operational in Newport. All of this adds up to a business that is truly a pillar of the community, a real local fixture.
“I know this community. There’s deep roots here with my family,” says owner Connie Waters. “I’m blessed to have a successful business here. We’re the only liquor store left. People expect me to give back.”
And give back she does, in a variety of ways that helps spread the benefits around the town and broader region.
“For several years, we were huge sponsors of Big Brothers, Big Sisters Northeast Arkansas,” Waters says. “I believe in that program wholeheartedly.”
“Most recently we have become the beverage sponsor for a community college that is incorporating sports into their curriculum,” Waters adds. “Their basketball team and girls softball team are a big to do. It gives these kids the opportunity to go to school and play sports and get an education.”
Speaking of sports, George’s is also a beverage alcohol sponsor for a big annual golf tournament that fundraise for the Arkansas Sheriff Youth Ranch.
“That nonprofit organization takes in takes in troubled teens and tries to get them a mentor,” Waters explains. “They’re trying to get young boys and girls back on the right path.”
George’s has also sponsored children to attend Kanakuk Kamp, a Christian sports camp.
Additionally, Waters and her employees help support Ag For Autism, a nonprofit that helps empower and support individuals and families in rural communities impacted by autism. This is a cause near and dear to George’s, as a staff member has an autistic child.
“And the list of the help we do goes on and on,” Waters says. “This is where we live, and this is a community where we need each other.”
Waters mentioned how a tornado recently devastated the properties of people who live in Newport, and how locals came together to support those affected by the disaster.
“We’re a community-driven town,” she says.
George’s is indicative of how top liquor stores nationwide become embedded in their local culture, happily giving back to the towns where they are as well-known and beneficial as any resident.
Kyle Swartz is editor of Beverage Dynamics. Reach him at kswartz@epgacceleration.com. Read his recent pieces, 8 Beverage Alcohol Trends in 2025 and Our 2025 Spirits Growth Brands Awards Winners.
