About Us

J.A. Bellavance & Co. was born in 1902 as a saloon and beer/liquor/wine wholesaler located at 2-4 Canal Street in Nashua, NH. The company delivered cased goods and wooden kegs throughout the city with a horse and wagon and served patrons these same brands on the saloon portion of the premises. Early brands included Pickwick Ale and Old Eye Opener whiskey. Prohibition began in 1920 and during this time, the business moved to 21 High Street and stayed afloat by selling soda and hand rolled cigars. With the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the company resumed its wholesale beer business and relocated to 47 Elm Street.

In 1935 the business was formally incorporated as Bellavance Beverage Co. (BBC) by Joseph Bellavance Jr. and his brother Samuel J. Bellavance. While on Elm Street, much of the beer arrived by rail car. The unloading yard, however, was located several blocks away and it was a day long process to unload, transport and re-stack by hand each rail car full of product. The Company’s big break came in 1954 when it secured distribution rights for Anheuser-Busch products. At the time, Schlitz beer was the market leader and BBC’s largest supplier, but Anheuser-Busch was an innovator and closing in on Schlitz’s market position. A fateful meeting over business practices caused BBC and Schlitz to end their agreement and paved the way for a successful relationship with Anheuser-Busch that continues today. Several years later, after seasonal and part-time jobs with the Company, Joseph III and his brother Samuel P. joined BBC full-time. In 1962, the Company built a new warehouse at 31 Quincy Street, the site where rail cars used to be unloaded, which now allowed for the unloading of those same rail cars directly into the warehouse.

BBC’s growth continued which led to the construction of new facility at One Bud Way, across from the Nashua airport, in 1976. The building was expanded further several years later as southern NH became a destination for out-of-state shoppers and demand for beer surged. Joe IV and Sam J., the fourth generation of family, joined the business in the late 80’s, learning the business as their fathers had by working a variety of positions.

By 2004, BBC was again in need of a larger and more efficient space as the growth of craft beer accelerated and the size and complexity of the portfolio grew. The Company acquired a 12-acre parcel of property on Northwest Boulevard for the construction of a 76,000 s.f. warehouse, and several years later BBC acquired the distribution rights for Heineken. With room and a plan for future expansion, this location was expected to meet the Company’s needs for many, many years.

That changed in 2016 and 2017 with the acquisition of additional sales territory that grew the BBC service area west through Keene to the Vermont border and north into the Upper Valley and Sunapee region, and doubled the size of BBC’s employee family. Due to this growth, a significant expansion of our non-alcoholic portfolio and an influx of new brands, the Company leased a second warehouse location in Hooksett, NH and made the emotional decision to move the sales, operations and administrative teams out of Nashua for the first time in its history. BBC maintained warehousing in Nashua and a cross-dock in Keene, but as the business and industry continued to evolve, the search for a single facility began and in January 2021, the Company moved into its new, 142,000 s.f. home in Londonderry, NH.

The new facility incorporates designs and technologies to maximize energy and operational efficiencies and provides the flexibility to meet future demands. It is also the proud home of a 3,088 panel, 1 MW solar array powering over 100% of the Company’s operating needs and sending ~15% to our community energy grid. With a fifth generation of family now working in the business, we look forward to building relationships with our community and partners for years to come.

In 2009, Bellavance Beverage Co. (BBC) and New Hampshire Distributors (NHD) formed an alliance to capitalize on the mutual strengths of our forward-thinking ownership and senior leadership teams.

Initially, the NH Craft Alliance (NHCA) was formed to enhance our strong craft beer capabilities and to provide a single-point-of-contact distribution network that services the entire State of New Hampshire with seamless communication and integrated logistics.

As the industry evolved and both wholesalers grew stronger through multiple wholesale acquisitions, the alliance evolved from a craft only focus to include a broader view including progressive new age beverages beyond just beer. Understanding the ever-changing dynamics of the beverage industry has allowed us to maintain our status as the premier NH wholesaler network. Ultimately, the NHCA evolved into the NH Beverage Alliance (NHBA) focused on the future of the NH beverage industry.

We share a uniform mission of bringing the best retail account coverage, product education, quality service, impactful promotion and sustainable brand building to the NH marketplace.

Our headquarters in Londonderry was built with solar in mind and was home to the largest rooftop solar array in the State of NH at the time! Our 120,000 s.f. array consists of more than 3,000 high quality photovoltaic panels that are harvesting New Hampshire’s abundant solar resource to generate roughly 115% of our annual electricity usage. We are proud to have partnered with Brentwood, NH-based ReVision Energy to complete this milestone project on behalf of present and future generations.

Our 1.2 megawatt solar array produces clean, renewable electricity that is either used in real time in our facilities or, when generating more than we need, fed back to the utility grid where it benefits our community and earns us credits. In addition to enhancing our energy independence, resilience and environmental sustainability, the array generates revenues in the form of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs).

Each year our system will generate roughly 1,321,610 kilowatt hours of electricity, which is enough to power more than 100 homes for an entire year. Put another way, this solar array will reduce the amount of electricity and emissions produced by regional fossil fuel power plants equivalent to roughly 1.3 million pounds of carbon pollution every year for the next 30+ years. Check out our live Solar Dashboard here!

We also partner with Parallel Products for all of our beverage destruction and recycling needs. Parallel Products deploys the best available technology to ensure maximum recovery of all recyclable and reclaimable materials from our liquid, glass, aluminum and plastic waste, keeping unwanted beverage products out of our landfills and creating alternative fuel sources for the nation.

Bellavance Beverage Co. actively supports our local community through organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of NH, Nashua Police Athletic League, the Nashua Boys and Girls Club, Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, United Way of Greater Nashua, local Rotary clubs and many others.

Bellavance Beverage Co. has always made a proactive effort to deliver powerful responsibility and awareness messages to consumers across our territory. Along with Anheuser-Busch InBev, we are committed to being part of the solution to drunk driving, underage drinking, alcohol abuse and other alcohol related issues. Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program implements a variety of platforms used to examine the important issues of personal responsibility, positive peer pressure, laws involving alcohol abuse, and most importantly, making the right decisions to avoid consequences behind making the wrong ones.

Another part of our responsibility efforts in the community includes keeping retailers educated on responsible sales and service. For more information about what Bellavance Beverage Co. can provide to retailers to aid in educating staff on responsible sales, contact us today!