Freitas Liquors owners bid bittersweet goodbye

MIDDLEBORO -- After 40 years in the liquor business, Tony Freitas is ready for last call.

Freitas Liquors, a mainstay for decades in Middleboro Center, is being sold. The new owners, Pokharel & Son Inc., own the Stop n Save across the street.

For Freitas, who operates the business with his wife Karen and son Nick, closing the door will be “bittersweet, big time.’’

The building at 167 Center St. has been his home away from home for four decades. He began 40 years ago as an employee for what was then known as Savas Liquors and owned by the Savas family.

The family taught him about business and the importance of customer service, he said. When the Savas family sold the business about 10 years ago, Freitas purchased the establishment and renamed it Freitas Liquors.

Generations of customers have visited the business, he said. Kids he gave lollipops to as youngsters are now customers bringing in their children and grandchildren

Customers are the lifeblood of the business, the family said. And a source of  fun.

“Customers come in and razz you and you razz them,’’ Karen Freitas said.

 “Ninety percent of our customers leave her smiling,’’ Tony Freitas said.

In addition to bidding a fond farewell to their customers, the family appreciates the work their employees have done. "You were never just staff, you were family,'' they wrote in a social media message.

The family has also become known for their community service. They have raised funds for a variety of causes, including children battling cancer, the Lane family, whose 12-year-old daughter Jasmine was killed in a 2024 fire, and the loved ones of Dylan Levesque, who was struck and killed by a vehicle in a 2023 accident at age 15.

“I love helping out,’’ he said. “It’s heartwarming to say the least. I’ll miss this kind of stuff. It does make you feel good.’’

But one thing the family won’t miss: The long hours.

People sometimes think working for yourself gives you flexibility, and that is true, he said with a chuckle. “The best part is picking what 15 hours a day you work.’’

The business has forced him to miss Fourth of July celebrations, Christmas Eve gatherings and other holiday get-togethers. He has sacrificed his family time to prepare customers for theirs.

The exact date the Freitas family will leave is not yet known, although he suspects the transfer to new owners will take place in the next few weeks.

And when they do leave?

She plans a week of no alarms to wake them or clocks to keep them on track.

They want to enjoy their home in Middleboro and the in-ground pool that he only used once last summer.

Then in the fall, the couple plan to take a “nice vacation.’’

Their decades of hard work behind them, she said, “we’re going to live while we still can.’’