Laura Pelner

Bucharest, New Jersey, Pennington, United States

Writer and Editor at Freelance

Contributing Editor at Market Watch Magazine

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Articles

The Total Package –

1 month ago | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

There are a lot of reasons why beverage behemoth Total Wine & More stands out in the drinks retail landscape. For starters the company is huge, spanning $6 billion in annual revenue across its 277 stores in 29 states. Reports last year put Total Wine atop the wine and spirits retail pyramid, as the company recently surpassed Costco and Safeway/Albertsons to become the largest wine and spirits retailer in the country.
Deep In The Heart Of Texas –

2 months ago | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

Everything’s bigger in Texas, including beverage retail. The Lone Star State is home to many large off-premise drinks operators, but few have the scope and scale of Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods. What started as a small family shop in Houston in 1962 has grown into a beverage behemoth of 216 stores and $2 billion in annual revenue in the second-largest state in the U.S. The business was started by Carroll “Spec” Jackson, and today his family’s fourth generation is joining the fold.
Craft Whiskey At A Crossroads –

Mar 25, 2025 | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

Craft whiskey has been among the most dynamic segments in the spirits industry for many years, but these days small-scale whiskey makers are struggling. Like many in the boutique spirits segments, small and independent whiskey distillers are seeing declining sales, rising operating costs, and increased difficulties in accessing new markets and customers.
Cannabis Drinks Take Hold –

Oct 27, 2024 | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

Features Beverages containing THC are growing rapidly and gaining increasing consumer support as awareness and availability expand. The cannabis drinks market is growing at an explosive rate. The segment is expected to be worth more than $3 billion globally by the end of 2024, according to research firm Fortune Business Insights, and it’s projected to top $117 billion in 2032, led by North America, which dominates the global market for cannabis drinks.
Minnesota Mega-Stars –

Oct 16, 2024 | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

The Farrell brothers are wine retail royalty around Minneapolis. Ted Farrell is widely known as “The Wine Guy” and he, along with his brother Beau and two other siblings, is making sure the family retail business—Haskell’s—continues to thrive after 90 years. Their father, Jack Farrell, purchased Haskell’s in 1970, and 50 years later the family has grown the business from one shop in Minneapolis to 11 modern stores around the Twin Cities.
2024 Market Watch Retailer Of The Year –

Oct 14, 2024 | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

Beverage alcohol retail wasn’t Jim Shpall’s first career calling but it has definitely been his most treasured. Shpall, a seasoned lawyer, took a gamble on the drinks business in the mid-1990s when his father-in-law, then owner of Colorado’s Applejack Wine & Spirits, decided to sell the store. Now 30 years later, Shpall, a 2011 Market Watch Leader, says managing the business fills him with pride. “I saw this as a fun opportunity,” says Shpall, who at the time had been practicing law for 12 years.
A General Store Survives And Thrives –

Jul 22, 2024 | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

In countless communities around the country, the once-popular rural general store has been supplanted by big-chain grocers and large department stores. But the town of Wilson, Wyoming has fought against the tide—and won. This tiny village at the base of Teton Pass, just 7 miles from well-known ski destination Jackson, Wyoming along State Highway 22, has breathed new life into its beloved general store, Hungry Jack’s.
Non-alcohol Retail Revolution –

May 7, 2024 | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

As the universe of non-alcohol beverages continues to expand rapidly, a new type of retail store has emerged as a hub for consumers interested in these products. Off-premise outlets dedicated solely to alcohol-free spirits, wines, beers, RTDs, and functional beverages are debuting around the country, in markets big and small, carving out a niche for the growing segment of shoppers who want to enjoy the social nature of drinking without alcohol.
Expanding Online Drinks Retail –

May 5, 2024 | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

Over the last several years, the online retail landscape has been on a wild ride. Internet-based shopping had been on a slow but steady upswing for a while, until the Covid-19 pandemic caused an explosion of online activity. During 2020 and 2021, web-based stores benefited from a meteoric rise in shoppers, as people around the globe were encouraged to stay home and make purchases for everything from groceries to luxury indulgences like spirits and wine from the safety of their homes.
Whiskey For The People –

Mar 8, 2024 | marketwatchmag.com | Laura Pelner

Profiles Boasting an encyclopedic whisk(e)y menu across its four locations, Seven Grand Whiskey Bar has been making whisk(e)y accessible for more than 15 years. While they didn’t invent the whisk(e)y bar, the team behind on-premise concept Seven Grand has certainly worked hard to perfect it. Owned by Los Angeles-based Pouring With Heart hospitality group, Seven Grand is an homage to whisk(e)y, both domestic and international.