History

The Magnolia Wine Company is a third generation business run by the Faber Family. The doors opened in the 1930s by the family patriarch, Israel “Izzy” Faber. Along with his three sons, Izzy ran a grocery store which sold liquor too. The original store was located in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood on the corner of Magnolia and Dudley streets, and operated under the name Magnolia Market.

After 40 years, Magnolia Market closed in Roxbury. Then in the mid-nineteen seventies, Izzy’s son, Herb, bought the old McHugh’s Liquors in Watertown.

For the next 20+ years Herb Faber ran McHugh’s liquors, a one stop package store serving Watertown and the surrounding communities.

In the mid-eighties, Jay Faber (Herb’s son) joined the family business and began shifting the product mix to be more wine-forward.

As the new millennium got under way, Jay led the store’s continued evolution. In 2007 he undertook a major remodeling of the building and changed the business name from “McHugh’s” to “The Magnolia Wine Company” as a tribute to his father Herb and grandfather Izzy.

Today, Jay continues to maintain the Faber family legacy, operating a premium package store filled with community spirit. Many of today’s customers have been coming to The Magnolia Wine Company for over a decade. On each visit, customers enjoy a neighborhood store where they can purchase fine wines, first rate spirits, and high quality beer and ales.

McHughs Liquors circa 1950 (above)

Herb Faber with Bruins legend and Moosehead Beer ambassador, Phil Esposito (left)

Meet the team