Blanchard’s in Jamaica Plain Set to Become a Kappy’s

The Blanchard’s Jamaica Plain liquor store at 741 Centre St. would become a Kappy’s Fine Wine & Spirits under a license transfer the Boston Licensing Board will hear at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. It is the latest sign that the family-owned Blanchard’s chain, whose roots go back to 1838, is selling off its Boston stores.

The Deal at a Glance

• What: Transfer of Blanchard’s Liquors, Inc.’s retail package store all-alcoholic beverages license (License #LB-101875) to JP Kappy’s, Inc., doing business as Kappy’s Fine Wine & Spirits, at the same address.
• Size: 6,980 square feet of ground-floor retail space plus another 6,980 square feet of basement storage, according to the board’s revised Oct. 28 hearing agenda.
• Hours: An 11 p.m. closing hour is listed in the filing.
• Financing: The applicant also wants approval for a first-priority pledge of the license and inventory to Leader Bank and a second-priority pledge of inventory to Blanchard Liquors, Inc.
• Timing: The matter is No. 17 of 23 on the agenda. The sale price was not disclosed in the agenda, and no closing date has been announced.

The agenda lists Lisa Antoniazzi as the proposed manager and Jackson L. Christian as the applicant’s attorney. Universal Hub reported that the application comes from the same Sharon-based Patel family that is buying the West Roxbury Blanchard’s and renaming it Kappy’s. The filing does not say what will happen to the large neon sign that has long guided nighttime customers to the Centre Street store, Universal Hub reported.

West Roxbury Set the Template

The Jamaica Plain filing follows a September approval in West Roxbury. On Sept. 24, the Licensing Board approved the sale of the Blanchard’s at Lagrange and Centre streets to new owner Bhavin Patel. At that hearing, Christian told the board the store would run essentially as it had for decades apart from the switch to the Kappy’s name, according to Universal Hub. Michael Pignone, who has worked for the family at that store since 1999, was to stay on as manager.

Universal Hub also reported that a Blanchard’s in Revere is slated to become a Kappy’s.

A Chain Downsizing After Nearly Two Centuries

Blanchard’s says it was founded in 1838, with its first store in Scollay Square, on land where Boston City Hall now stands, according to Boston.com. John Corey bought the company in 1938 and grew it into a chain, and the Corey family, now in its third generation, has owned and run the stores since.

The company’s 8,000-square-foot Allston flagship on Harvard Avenue, open since 1954, began a closing sale in September. An employee told Boston.com it was expected to close by mid-to-late October. In an email to staff later posted online, owner Chris Corey called the closing “an incredibly hard decision,” and Boston.com reported that it followed years of declining sales and recent management departures. The Allston store was one of several longtime businesses on that strip to close this fall, as The Boston Report noted in its look at Harvard Avenue closings.

When Boston.com reported the Allston closing, the chain also had stores in Brockton, Jamaica Plain, Marshfield, Revere and West Roxbury. The plans for the Brockton and Marshfield locations have not been reported.

Also on the Oct. 28 Licensing Agenda

Several other Boston businesses are on the same hearing list:

• Cleveland Circle: BB Donuts, LLC wants a common victualler license for a 30-seat Dunkin’ and Jimmy John’s combination restaurant at 1962 Beacon St., the former Mattress Superstore, open 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• North End: The wine-and-malt license of Gen Korean BBQ House at 121 Harvard Ave. in Allston would move to G.F. Enterprise LLC for a Taco Bell Cantina at 16 North St., with a 2 a.m. closing and 37 seats.
• Seaport: Cisco Seaport at 85 Northern Ave. is asking to raise its licensed capacity from 996 to 1,425.
• Fields Corner: Bottega Cannuccia, a 20-seat cafe at 1448 Dorchester Ave., is applying for an all-alcoholic beverages license with a 9 p.m. closing.
• Ownership changes: Transfers are also listed for Fenway Johnnie’s on Brookline Avenue, The Power Station event space at 530 Harrison Ave., Savin Hill Bar & Kitchen and Ghostpepper Taqueria in Dorchester, and package stores on Dorchester Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue.

The board’s agenda notes that matters can change without notice and may not be called in the order listed. Hearings are held in Room 809 at City Hall, with a virtual option.

Our Take

This section is analysis by The Boston Report and is separate from the sourced reporting above.

For Jamaica Plain shoppers, the deal suggests continuity, not a closing. The West Roxbury buyers pitched that sale as a name change with the same manager and the same way of running the store, and the Jamaica Plain filing keeps the same license class and footprint with an 11 p.m. closing. The detail worth watching is the second-priority pledge of inventory back to Blanchard Liquors. A pledge like that often points to seller financing, meaning the Corey family may keep a financial stake in the store’s success after the sale. State law limits how many package store licenses Boston can issue, so an existing license and a large Centre Street location have value of their own. Selling them as working stores, rather than closing them the way Allston closed, also keeps jobs and the license in the neighborhood. The bigger business story is that one of Boston’s oldest retail names appears to be winding down store by store, at a time when longtime neighborhood businesses such as the Union Oyster House are also changing hands.

Sources

• Boston Licensing Board: Revised hearing list for Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026
• Universal Hub: Venerable JP Blanchard’s to get new owner, name (Oct. 22, 2026)
• Universal Hub: New owner of West Roxbury Blanchard’s says only the name will change (Sept. 24, 2026)
• Boston.com: The rumors were true: Blanchard’s in Allston is closing (Sept. 23, 2026)
• Boston.gov: Licensing Board information, members and meeting materials