A co-owner of Ryan & Casey Liquors in Greenfield and Cold River Package & Market in Charlemont has recently received a couple of reasons to pop the bubbly.
Kristie Faufaw was named the 2026 Retailer of the Year by the Massachusetts Package Stores Association (MASSPACK) and one of 12 Retailers of the Year by the American Beverage Licensees (ABL).
“I was floored,” Faufaw said. “It legitimizes everything that I’m doing. My peers are like, ‘Yeah, you’re on the right track.'”
MASSPACK made its announcement in April, the same month Faufaw visited Louisville, Kentucky, for the ABL’s annual meeting, where the national trade association named Faufaw as one of the top bar, tavern and package liquor store owners in the United States. Faufaw qualified for the national honor following MASSPACK’s recognition.
“While MASSPACK represents exceptional beverage retailers across the Commonwealth, Ryan & Casey Liquors distinguished itself so clearly this year that the selection committee’s decision was an easy one,” Sean Barry, president of the MASSPACK Board of Directors and owner of Four Seasons Wines & Liquors in Hadley, told the Greenfield Recorder. “Under the leadership of owner Kristie Faufaw, the business exemplifies the very best of our industry: strong leadership, innovation and deep community involvement. In particular, Kristie’s unwavering focus on public safety and rigorous staff training for responsible alcohol sales sets a benchmark for retailers statewide.
“Being named Retailer of the Year is a significant honor that reflects the deep respect Kristie has earned from her industry peers,” he continued. “Her dedication to her customers, her employees, and her community makes her an incredibly deserving recipient. We are proud to recognize her dedication to her customers, employees, and the independent beverage industry.”
ABL Executive Director John Bodnovich said in a press release that the 12 Retailers of the Year represent the very best of their industry.
“Whether they are serving customers behind the bar or across the counter, they play a vital role in supporting local economies, mentoring employees and advocating for policies that allow small businesses to succeed,” he said.
Faufaw started working at Ryan & Casey Liquors 33 years ago and now co-owns the business with Peter White. She also owns Cold River Package & Market in Charlemont.
“For the most part, it’s fun work. You just have to stay on top of your buying, and trends — just like any industry,” she said. “It is a lot of nights, weekends, holidays. So there is a lot of sacrifice for anybody working here.”
Faufaw also said she couldn’t be as successful without the help of her 16 employees. She said her ideas would likely not come to fruition without her co-manager and son, Issac Sisum, and the store’s shift supervisors and staff.
Ryan & Casey Liquors opened on Ames Street in 1908 and moved to 55 Main St. in the late 1950s, when it replaced a restaurant.
A Page 15 advertisement in the Dec. 18, 1912, edition of the Greenfield Daily Recorder described Ryan & Casey Liquors as direct importers of “the well-known Duff Gordon sherries” and also Tarragona ports direct from Port St. Mary, Spain.
“The firm has a good business in supplying hospitals for medicinal use and physicians recommend their goods for their purity,” it reads.
Faufaw said the business survived Prohibition (from 1920 to 1933) by bottling soft drinks for Glen Brook Beverages.
“I always wonder what Mr. Ryan and Mr. Casey [would] think of how the stores are going now,” Faufaw said.
