Photo by Joseph Ferraro for Market Watch

Over the summer, I interviewed Christine Elder, head of the family-owned liquor retailer chain, Blanchards Wine & Spirits, based in West Roxbury, Mass. The store was impressive, packing in an unimaginable number of wines, Boston-area craft spirits, craft beers and of course the usual selection of popular spirits from Tito’s to Tanqueray. Here’s my profile, as part of the 2016 Market Watch Leaders issue.

Blanchards Wines & Spirits Builds On A Family Legacy

Christine Elder knows how the Boston-area Blanchards Wines & Spirits operates, inside and out. She began working at the family business as a teenager, starting in the redemption center organizing bottles and cans, as regulated under Massachusetts’ deposit law. She’s been at the three-unit retailer full-time for the past 17 years, filling nearly every role along the way. Today, Elder serves as Blanchards’ principal.

Elder’s experience in the business has given her the ability to anticipate market shifts and adjust inventories accordingly. Whether it’s supplying hard-to-find beers from small craft brewers or offering tastings from a local distillery, she’s always thinking up ways to get new products into the hands of customers. “Our shoppers want high-quality products, but they want to discover them as well,” Elder says. “They want something interesting that’s within their budget, and they want to learn about what they’re buying.” For curating a selection that appeals to a wide array of consumers in a very competitive market, Christine Elder has been named a 2016 Market Watch Leader.

You can read the rest of the piece here.