Business phone system for beer, wine and liquor stores in Massachusetts

How many beer, wine and liquor stores operate in Massachusetts

The Census Bureau counted 1,501 beer, wine and liquor stores in Massachusetts in its 2023 County Business Patterns (NAICS 445310). They employed 8,546 people in mid-March and reported $271.3 million in annual payroll. That is the 8th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Beer, wine and liquor stores make up 0.82% of the 183,767 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Massachusetts has 21.0 beer, wine and liquor stores, 96.4% above the national rate of 10.7. The average establishment has 5.7 employees against 5.3 nationally. Payroll per employee is $31,746, 12.8% above the U.S. figure of $28,143.

Massachusetts's largest markets for beer, wine and liquor stores

Census published liquor store counts for 10 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Massachusetts. The largest is Boston, MA-NH, with 929 establishments (a multi-state area; its count covers every state it spans). Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 32% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at beer, wine and liquor stores in Massachusetts

62.0% of Massachusetts's beer, wine and liquor stores with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 61.7% nationally. 83.9% had fewer than ten. That is the size of team where a missed call usually means nobody was free, not that nobody was on staff.

Calls a liquor store in Massachusetts has to catch

Liquor stores field calls about stock, special orders and event quantities. Calls from event planners and restaurants are often time-sensitive. That holds for beer, wine and liquor stores in Massachusetts as much as anywhere.

Calls a liquor store in Massachusetts might handle in a typical week include:

• A customer calls about a special order.
• A customer calls about hours.
• An event planner calls about a large order.

When nobody can pick up

After-hours calls are mostly stock and hours questions.

Callata voicemail is transcribed and triaged for urgency, and business-hours routing decides where calls go once you close.

Callata vs. per-seat pricing for beer, wine and liquor stores in Massachusetts

Beer, wine and liquor stores in Massachusetts average 5.7 employees, so the comparison uses a 6-person team. On a per-user plan that headcount sets the bill: $149.70 a month on Ooma Office Pro or $180.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core at list price (checked September 28, 2026). On Callata the same 6 people cost $119.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $732. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

Area codes in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has 9 geographic area codes in service according to NANPA. You can choose local numbers in the area codes your customers know, subject to carrier inventory, or port your current number for free.

How Callata works for beer, wine and liquor stores in Massachusetts

For $99 a month, Callata puts a team of up to 5 on one plan ($20 for each person after that): up to 3 local numbers, unlimited inbound calls, a pooled allowance of 1,500 outbound US and Canada minutes per user, browser and cell calling, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, recorded calls with AI summaries and business-hours routing, with E911 on every number.

If you already have a number in Massachusetts, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.