Melrose Business Spotlight: Beacon Hill Wine & Gourmet

MELROSE, MA — It was a different Melrose when Rebecca and Gene Beraldi opened Beacon Hill Wine & Gourmet in 2009.

The city had just voted to allow alcohol sales, shedding the dry town label. It took some people a bit of time to warm up to the idea.

"I think overall when the dust settled from the vote, there was a concern that it would be your average package store," Rebecca Beraldi said. "And they wanted it to be different from your average package store."

Ever since that shift, Beacon Hill has been providing adult beverages — along with some unique artisan products and food offerings — to residents downtown.

Now Beacon Hill faces a different time, one unique to its history but shared by every other retailer in America.

The coronavirus crisis has taken a massive toll on local business. Beacon Hill's status as a Melrose mainstay has helped blunt the damage.

"Knock on wood, we have a very loyal customer base, which is awesome," Beraldi said. "We're doing OK."

Her store is still operating under normal business hours, seven days a week. Customers can still walk in (though they must wear masks) and the curbside pick-up Beacon Hill instituted earlier this year is now being used much more.

Beacon Hill is one of two retailers people can buy wine and beer in Melrose — the other is across the street at Buckalew's — and sells glassware, candies, chocolates and an array of food items. Much of what Beacon Hill offers is either from local suppliers or "very imported."

" I think small business-to-small business is what drives the economy even more than consumer-to-business," Beraldi said.

This Mother's Day Beacon Hill is partnering with women-run businesses affected by the pandemic to sell gift baskets featuring those businesses' products, with of course an adult beverage. People can also purchase gift cards online.

Beraldi, like all local business owners, is looking forward to putting these uncertain times behind her. She is eyeing a 12th holiday season in Melrose at the end of the year.

"Small business is not the backbone of America," she said. "It is America."

Related: Melrose City Council Recommends Liquor, Spirits Sales