1909
Louis Glazer moves to Dallas, Texas with his wife Bessie and opens the Jumbo Bottling Company. They distribute flavored soda water from the back of horse-drawn wagons.
1933
With the repeal of Prohibition, three of Louis Glazer’s sons Max, Fritz, and Nolan start Glazer’s Wholesale Distributors. The company is appointed Schlitz Beer distributor for Dallas, population 265,000.
1943
Glazer’s opens in Shreveport and New Orleans, Louisiana.
1944
Glazer’s opens in Arkansas.
1946
Harvey Chaplin, one of the original founders of Southern Wine & Spirits, begins his career in the spirits industry working for Schenley Industries in Manhattan, a leading distilled spirits marketer and the American importer of Dewar's White Label Scotch.
1966
Glazer’s opens in Arizona.
1968
Bennett Glazer joins Glazer’s, Inc.
Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. is established in Miami.
1969
After just one year in business, Southern Wine & Spirits has a presence on both coasts with its expansion into California.
1972
Southern gains statewide distribution for the first time in Florida.
1976
Southern opens up operations in Nevada.
1984
Southern Wine & Spirits becomes the first distributor to gain a statewide network in California.
Wayne Chaplin, Harvey’s son, joins Southern.
1992-2001
Southern experiences a period of rapid expansion, adding: Arizona 1992, South Carolina 1993, Pennsylvania 1995, Hawaii 1996, Kentucky 1998, New Mexico 2000, and Colorado 2001.
1992
Southern ascends to become the largest U.S. wine and spirits wholesaler.
1994
Harvey Chaplin becomes Chairman and CEO of Southern.
1997-2001
Glazer’s adds five states in five years: Missouri 1997, Indiana 1998, Iowa and Ohio 1999, and Kansas 2001.
2002-2004
Southern adds the key states of Illinois 2002 and New York 2004. Glazer’s adds Oklahoma 2003.
2005-2010
Glazer’s adds Mississippi.
Southern begins a five-year period of rapid growth, expanding its footprint to total 30 states: Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia 2005, Alabama 2006, Ohio 2007, Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming 2008, and Indiana, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. 2010. Southern also obtains operating licenses and permits in Nebraska and Texas.
2011
Southern enters Iowa and Michigan.
2011-2013
Glazer’s extends its footprint to Tennessee 2011, Alabama and the U.S. Virgin Islands 2012, and Canada 2013.
2013-2015
Southern deploys leading supply chain technologies, expanding Florida’s Lakeland facility to 1 MM sq. ft. They also establish the first regional distribution center in the wine and spirits industry in Tracy, California as well as a high-tech ASRS-enabled facility in Union City, California.
2014
Wayne Chaplin is named President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern.
2016
Southern Wine & Spirits and Glazer’s win national distribution rights to Bacardi in 44 U.S. markets, the District of Columbia and Canada, becoming the first nationally aligned supplier-wholesaler in the industry’s history.
Southern enters Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits is formed— creating the only comprehensive North American beverage distribution footprint. We now employ more than 20,000 team members, distribute more than 150 million cases of wine and spirits annually across 44 U.S. markets, the District of Columbia, Canada, and the Caribbean.
2017
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits establishes its Youth Alcohol Awareness & Education Foundation, Inc., devoted to the prevention of underage drinking. The Foundation provides funding for programs that support underage drinking prevention in partnership with educational institutions and community-based organizations.
2018
The owners of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits establish Great North Distributors, Inc., Canada’s first national sales broker for legalized adult-use cannabis. This same year, the Company also launches VolunCheers Online, an internal online platform that enables its employees to connect with each other online to easily organize volunteering and fundraising activities, benefitting local and national charitable organizations.
2019
The Company launched Proof™, its industry-leading B2B eCommerce experience for its customers at shop.sgproof.com
2020
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits announces several actions to promote racial equality, from philanthropic grants and community education programming, to internal workplace initiatives and programs to support Black- and minority-owned wine and spirits businesses. These initiatives are in addition to a $1 million agreement with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) – the pre-eminent national organization dedicated to promoting educational excellence among students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) – that initiated earlier the same year.