Beers of the World to Pour Last Pint in Henrietta This February

The Final Toast

On a wind-whipped afternoon in Henrietta, the neon "Open" sign at Beers of the World still flickers, but the shelves tell a quieter story. Row upon row of Belgian Trappist bottles, German lagers, and hard-to-find Japanese rice ales stand half-empty, their labels curling like old concert tickets. By February 28, every last bottle will be gone, and the 42-year-old landmark—once hailed as the largest beer-only retailer in the Northeast—will lock its doors for good.

A Pilgrimage Ends

“We were the first stop after the airport for a lot of travelers,” says co-owner Maria Ricci, 61, wiping a smudge from a vintage 1982 Weihenstephaner stein. “People planned vacations around this place. Now they come to say goodbye.”

Ricci and her brother, Tom, inherited the business from their father, Frank, who converted an abandoned railroad depot into a beer lover’s cathedral in 1982. At its peak, the store stocked 3,400 labels from 72 countries, attracting everyone from Rochester Institute of Technology students to diplomats on layover. Sales topped $4.2 million in 2016, but the rise of direct-to-consumer brewery shipping, skyrocketing New York State alcohol-excise taxes, and pandemic-era supply chain snarls chipped away 38 % of revenue in five years.

The Numbers That Broke the Barrel

• Rent on the 14,000-square-foot warehouse jumped 57 % since 2019.
• Small-batch wholesale prices rose 22 % in 2023 alone.
• Online beer-club subscriptions siphoned off an estimated 1,300 local customers.

“We tried everything—curbside pickup, live-streamed tastings, even a subscription box,” Ricci sighs. “But when insurance demanded a $250,000 sprinkler retrofit, the math stopped working.”

Last Call for Community

Regulars aren’t letting the lights dim quietly. A "Farewell February" Facebook group ballooned to 7,800 members overnight; events include a candlelit barley-wine share on the 18th and a blowout tasting of rare vertical vintages from 1998-2018 on the 25th. Proceeds go to the local food bank, honoring Frank Ricci’s tradition of donating expired—but still safe—imports every Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, craft-beer competitors are circling. Three Heads Brewing in nearby downtown Rochester has already offered jobs to six Beers of the World staff, promising to replicate the store’s legendary “Around the World in 80 Beers” passport program.

What Happens Next

The Ricci family plans to auction remaining inventory online starting February 1; collectors are eyeing a 1997 Samuel Adams Triple Bock, rumored to be one of only 300 bottles left in existence. The building itself has been sold to a logistics company that specializes in cold-storage fulfillment for grocery chains—ironically, the very force that undercut specialty retailers.

As the final pint glasses are boxed, Maria Ricci remains stoic. “My father used to say, ‘Every beer has a story.’ We just never thought ours would end here.”

Yet on the last day, she’ll still unlock the door at 10 a.m., flip the sign, and pour free two-ounce samples until the taps run dry. “If you’ve got a favorite memory here, come share it,” she says. “We’ll clink glasses one final time, and then we’ll let the lights go out together.”