About Horizon Beverage

Horizon Beverage Company, originally known as Brockton Wholesale Beverage, was founded in 1933 by

Morris Sims, founder

Morris Sims shortly after the repeal of Prohibition. The operation was a simple one with 6 salesmen working out of garage in downtown Brockton, MA. Morris was later joined in the business by his two sons-in-law, Harold Rubenstein and Arthur Epstein. At the time, Brockton Wholesale Beverage was just one of many wholesalers operating on the south shore. The company then started expanding its territory north into Boston and south onto Cape Cod. Morris's grandsons Robert Epstein and James Rubenstein joined the company in the late 1960's and the pace of growth quickened.

The company began acquiring other wholesalers and adding new lines to its growing portfolio. Soon the company was reorganized into two separate sales forces, the Premium Division and the Coastal Division. This multiple sales force model, which was unheard of at the time, was necessary to properly represent the brands of our key suppliers as well as to give our customers enough attention to make good purchasing decisions. We still operate these two sales forces today, and most other wholesalers in the state have since adopted this method.

Original site of Horizon Beverage

In 1986 the company moved into its current headquarters in Avon, MA, a modern facility with over 300,000 square feet of warehouse including 50,000 square feet of refrigerated storage. By 1984 the company had established a presence in Springfield, MA in order to serve the needs of the western Massachusetts retailers. In 1991, the western operation moved into a new warehouse in Ludlow, MA. This is the only full-service wholesaler facility located west of Worcester, MA. The company continued its expansion by creating Horizon Beverage- Ultra Division, located in Bow, NH, to act as a wine and spirits broker in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

In 1998, the company embarked upon a joint venture with Copley-Fradin Distributors, Inc. in West Greenwich, RI, and decided that a new name was required to reflect the truly regional nature of the organization's business. Horizon Beverage Company was selected as the new name and it quickly became synonymous with quality products and first-class customer service.

Today Horizon Beverage Company employs over 600 people throughout MA, RI, NH, ME and VT. The 4th generation owners, Doug Epstein, Michael Epstein, Ben Rubenstein and Sam Rubenstein, have joined their fathers in the management of Horizon, and the company is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of its customers in the years ahead.

Site of Horizon Beverage today