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Business & Tech

Old Towne Liquors: A Family Business With a Dedication to Customer Service

Old Towne Liquors at 286 Cambridge Street has opened it's doors at the new, larger location

Old Towne Liquors, 286 Cambridge St. has undergone a transformation.

The shop is now in a renovated and larger space next door to their old location of eight years. The new store has more room to house a larger selection of fine wines, spirits and beer and to have wine tastings and classes.

The wine tastings will be conducted by their suppliers. Stonewall kitchen products and Dom’s marinated meats are available at competitive prices. Old Towne also carries a variety of paper products and a good assortment of hot sauces and salsas.

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One stop shopping makes life easy for a busy person when planning a party.  Old Towne Liquors has gone from a basic small neighborhood liquor store to a place to pick out something special in the way of wine, beer or spirits and the accompaniments that go with it. Gift baskets are available for that special gift which customers can put together with their own choices of wines and other products, if they prefer.

Michael, William and Nick Toulopoulos are the owners of Old Towne Liquors. It’s a family business that’s been handed down. Michael is the youngest of the three, working at Old Towne Liquors during the day and the family's restaurant in Billerica, Newtowne Grill, at night.

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“It’s good to be busy,” he said, explaingin his family has always been in the liquor or restaurant business. The original Newtowne Restaurant is in Cambridge, opened in 1966 by his grandfather. The name, “Newtowne” came from the name used at the time for the combined cities of Cambridge and Newton. The family also ran 129 liquors in Billerica in the 1980’s.

Stellar customer service is high priority with Toulopoulos.

“We treat people right,” Michael said, "and want our customers to have an enjoyable experience in our store."The enthusiasm is obvious as anyone can tell that Toulopoulos loves what he does. If a customer needs to find the ingredients to a certain drink or is looking for a particular item, Toulopoulos will help find the ingredients and or item the customer needs. Old Towne also offers free consultations for setting up a bar.

The expanded wine selection is being continually added to based on current trends and customer recommendations.

On staff at is Laura Waugh, who helps customers with their wine purchases. She is knowledgeable about the many wines stocked in the new wine store. Many blends are now popular, says Toulopoulos. Wines are available in Merlot/ Shiraz/ Cabernet blends, for example, which gives a full body taste to the wine.

"We have tasted all of our wines, while taking notes," says Toulopoulos. [That gives] us firsthand knowledge of what we offer. We might not like everything we have tasted but know how to describe the wine;  sweet, dry, full bodied or fruity.”

The “new” Old Towne Liquors opened its doors on May 16th but the grand opening is Saturday, June 11. Red Sox tickets and gift baskets will be raffled off and Tee-shirts and glasses will be given away.

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