In July, Beverage Dynamics published a special Top 100 issue of Beverage Dynamics magazine, which recognized Lakeville Liquors among the winners of its third annual Top 100 Retailers Awards. These awards recognize retailers from throughout the U.S. who demonstrate innovation, excellent customer service and superior beverage alcohol industry knowledge.

“Lakeville Liquors is extremely proud to represent the community of Lakeville as one of the top retailers in our industry,” Lakeville Liquors Operations Director Tana Wold said. “We would not be where we are without our loyal customers. As an operation we will continue to strive for excellence and provide the best customer experience possible.”

The nominees are judged by the Beverage Dynamics editorial team, and winners are chosen to represent a diverse cross-section of the industry. Award winners are those who take pride in their store, care about their customers and employees, and stay involved in the community and the industry at large.

In the last 10 years, Lakeville Liquors has placed over $10 million of revenue back in the community through the purchase of snowplows, police cars, fire stations and other safety equipment and needs of the city. Customers are also very active through in-store fundraisers and quarterly membership drives that allow donations to be made to a variety of community organizations. In July, all donations benefited the Lakeville Fire Department’s efforts to purchase a set of high-performance and life-saving LUCAS 3 Chest Compression Systems. Donations of $23,038 were raised in support of purchasing the new equipment.

“LUCAS devices provide automated chest compression to patients in cardiac arrest. First responders can apply the device before medics arrive on-site, saving heart muscle and improving the patient outcome with consistent efficiency. It also aids from responder fatigue and safety, frees up responders to provide other lifesaving care and can help calm a chaotic scene," added Lakeville Fire Chief Mike Meyer.

Also in July, a new fundraising and outreach opportunity was held. A one-day pet adoption event was co-hosted with Last Hope Pet Rescue of Farmington in the new Keokuk store Emporium Room event space. This event brought in customers who visited with adoptable dogs, turned-in adoption applications, and learned more about the adoption and fostering process with Last Hope. Lakeville Liquors accepted pet supplies, food and toy donations for the pet rescue.

“We’re all pet lovers, so we were excited to utilize the Emporium Room for this type of event. It was a goal of ours to host a pet adoption event, since breaking ground at the Keokuk store,” Marketing & Event Coordinator Leah Pihlaja said. “It’s the start of a great partnership with Last Hope Pet Rescue. They’ve been in the community for over 35 years and are expanding their presence, so we’re planning an even bigger adoption and fundraising event for 2023.”

With community outreach and fundraising efforts in Lakeville Liquors’ past and future, the Top 100 Retailers Award comes as a welcomed recognition of community service, professionalism and industry innovation.

“We’re proud to name these successful retailers as winners of our prestigious award,” says Beverage Dynamics Vice President Jeremy Nedelka. “They join some of the best and brightest of the industry and deserve the recognition they’ve received.”

The awards were presented to winners at the sixth annual Beverage Alcohol Retailers Conference, held on June 15 in Orlando, Florida. For historical information about the Top 100 Retailers’ predecessor, the Retailers of the Year Awards, visit BeverageDynamics.com/top100.

Beverage Dynamics is the largest and most respected national magazine dedicated to the needs of the off-premise beverage alcohol retailer, whether it’s the owner of a single liquor store, the general manager of a warehouse store or the buyer for a large supermarket or drug chain.