Legendary family; legendary store, I wish them well.


Just met Dan Beltramo junior at a conference in NYC last week.

Sad to see another Menlo Park institution close, but the Beltramos have earned the privilege of taking it easy. The are, indeed, going out on top. I just hope the property doesn't turn into another decades long nitpicking as to how the city will allow it to be used.

It is very sad to hear this. I worked in the store from 2005 to 2010 and have great memories. As communities we need locally owned businesses to thrive, and it is a real shame that the Peninsula is losing this gem. Best wishes to the Beltramo Family, all my old co-workers and the most recent employees.

I love this place and will greatly miss it. It's a great one-of-a-kind. Been a customer for around fifty years. Best wishes to the Beltramo family.

If this is not a sign that Menlo Park is drastically changing, I don't know what is!
Thank you Dan & John...Congratulations on your many years of fine service and selection!

My family, friends and neighbors will sorely miss our favorite wine shopping experience. Our visitors have marveled at Beltramo's wonderful wine selection and warm, helpful service and made sure tho shop there whenever they came to Menlo Park from other areas of the country. Best wishes, to the owners.

As a fellow Menlo Park retailer, I have long admired the Beltramo Family and the business they built. Beltramo's set the standard for quality merchandising in fine wine, and is a business admired and emulated throughout the US. I wish John and Dan the best in retirement.

So sad. Family businesses just cannot compete with chain stores. The family fought the Bevmo's coming to town and lost, thus the inevitable.

It is very sad to lose such a high quality locally-owned business. If we are to retain the distinctive nature of our city (and keep money circulating in our community) we need to support our locally-owned businesses and not the chain stores.

@Valerie

The 80+ year old owners are retiring and will sell the land, which is probably worth way more than the business at this point. The one heir who is involved in the business does not want to run it.

This is not a case of a local retailer being run out of town by a huge corporation. The Beltramos are cashing out, and that is their choice. They are not going out on business because they failed, they are closing the store so they can retire. That is a good thing.

Congrats to the Beltramo's you will be missed! Although the store was never the same when they got rid of the cocktail lounge!

We are so sorry to read this news! We love the Beltramos & the store & will truly miss this one of a kind..truly historic store & its friendly staff!! We wish the Beltramos the best & hope they enjoy more travels & more time with family! Cheers! Cameron, Tito & family

I certainly wish the family well but am selfishly incredibly sad about this development. I have been a customer for the last 15 years and rely on great recommendations from the knowledgeable staff. They have never steered me wrong in picking out wines for gifts or for events. This is a resource I will greatly miss. What a loss.

This news article reminds me of Margaret and Theresa Rossotti, both of whom married into the Beltramo family. Margaret and Theresa were in our Girl Scout troop way back in the last century. Rossotti's was owned at that time by Mr. and Mrs. Rossotti, who used to let us have our Girl Scout overnight outdoor camp-outs there in the big field on the property. Lots of wonderful memories! ; )

A great Menlo Park business and family. Beltramo's is wonderful example of a family-run business dedicated to great products, exceptional customer service, activity community involvement and arduous supporter of Menlo Park. Enjoy the next chapter.

I was in Beltramo's on Friday. I am very sad to hear about this change. It's a fabulous wine store with an excellent selection and great staff. I will miss it and I'm sure many others will do the same....

So sad to see Beltramo's close. It was by far the best selection and service of any wine and spirits shop in Northern California. I might be biased - Dan and John Beltramo gave me my first real job as a seasonal gift wrapper back in the early nineties, and was every bit as wonderful to employees as to customers. It's the end of an era in Menlo Park. Congratulations to an amazing family and business!

I remember delivering newpapersd to John Beltramo...

Many fond memories. Such a high quality store and staff. These folks introduced me to wine in the early '70s. Sad it couldn't Cary on. Best wishes to the family. Enjoy retirement, you most certainly earned it!

Many fond memories. Such a high quality store and staff. These folks introduced me to wine in the early '70s. Sad it couldn't Cary on. Best wishes to the family. Enjoy retirement, you most certainly earned it!

Many fond memories. Such a high quality store and staff. These folks introduced me to wine in the early '70s. Sad it couldn't Cary on. Best wishes to the family. Enjoy retirement, you most certainly earned it!

A special thank you to John who made us browse through the aisles of the liquor shop and discover its wonders. We, his French friends, always keep have happy memories of this hard worker. !!!!
Congratulations to the whole family and a lot of love to John.
Joëlle Picquenot.

Though I do not drink, I shopped at Beltramo's for gifts and for guests, as well as for family. My folks started shopping there in 1961. I'm happy for the Beltramo family but, sad for the community. It sure was a good long run though, wasn't it?

I was introduced to Beltramo's by my daughter who lives in Portola Valley.
For the past 10 years or so, whenever my wife and I drove down to visit her and her family, we would take back to our home in Oregon a fine selection of liquor and wines from Beltramo's. If we were unable to drive down, the wonderful staff at Beltramo's would fill my order over the phone and deliver it to me. My wife and I will miss this store,their fine selection of wines and spirits, and the friendly and very helpful staff.

Somebody please peel off the "Rayburn Wing" bronze placque affixed above the Gin section for me, thanks....

Please, Beltramo family, think carefully about who gets your property. The traffic is really growing. We want low traffic and NICE people who don't have capitalism at the center....

Beltramo's has been an ornament to the area, and a key member of our community. Thank you for decades of being so good that nobody else can compare, and we'll all have very fond memories.

Rick Moen
rick@linuxmafia.com

Thank you Beltramos family for your commitment to quality and a family environment in your store. Our family has been in Menlo Park and shopping with you since the early 1970's. We appreciate you and will miss you as a fixture in this community. Best wishes to you!

Does this mean there's going to be 50% off Cote Rotie soon? Can't Wait!

Beltramo's was always my go-to for both home and Peninsula projects, as it was a given the staff would be helpful, quick and extremely knowledgeable. It has been the benchmark of what wine and spirits retailers should be. Wishing them all the best and hoping some other local retailers are smart enough to scoop up that amazing staff! -Danny Ronen

In the early '60s, when Beltramo's had a bar, my old man would load me into the '58 Ford on a Sunday morning, and tell mom we were off to get a car wash at nearby Red Carpet Car Wash. That would happen, but dad would also pop into Beltramo's for a couple o' belts. He'd leave me in the car, and be in and out within 10-15 minutes. He'd always tell me that "mom didn't need to know" about our little side excursion. Remember the older hispanic gentleman that used to do the finishing touches to your car at Red Carpet? Same guy was there for years and years. Always perfectly groomed and wearing a big smile as he handed the keys back to the owner. What a concept. Happy Retirement, Beltramo family.

I grew up in the neighborhood and Beltramo's was always there no matter what else changed around it. I am sorry to see it go! Thank you for all the years and I wish the family the best.

Does anyone know if the staff or a few of the staff will be joining another wine retailer?
They are so knowledgeable - I will definitely follow them.
Best wishes to the family....

Too much space for the number of customers.

For over 100 years Beltramo's has been such an integral part of Menlo Park History. It is a sad day for the Menlo Park Community and the Historical Association to see a bit of history disappear. We all wish the family the best and thank them for their many years of service to our community.

As a former resident of Menlo Park in the early 90's, I'm saddened to hear of this, but I understand the situation. I wish the Beltramo family all the best in their new ventures.

I was not only a customer of Beltramo's wine & liquor store, I also rented an apartment from them on Live Oak Ave. They were wonderful shopkeepers and landlords, and I recommended both their store and apartments to others in the area. Beltramo's not only had a fantastic selection of wine, but also of spirits. There was no better stock of single malt whisky in the Bay Area.

My two most fond memories of my time in Menlo Park are Beltramo's and Draeger's. To both families, thanks for everything.

I understand that the Beltramo family owns the store. But the knowledgeable employees and staff made it the legend it is. Don't you think they deserve better? Could not the family have arranged for a transition to an employee owned business??

Consider how Clark Kepler handled the transition of Kepler's Bookstore. It's still there, the employees are still there (many of them). The customers still keep coming.

What short sighted vision. Lured I'm sure by the over the top real estate valuations in Menlo Park. I doubt this same outcome would have occurred in a saner community.

To: Employees first. Kepler's is in a leased location. "Sane" communities respect property rights. Hope they get every cent for their land .

Thank you Beltramo's for running a classy place and provisioning so many events through the years .

Cheers to you !

More like greed Pam ..
I recall the story of the small plot of land at then end of the Draegar's store in Menlo Park. The greedy landlord attempted to raise the very high rent during the boom years knowing the store management were compelled by City code to not unload their trucks from the parking lot and hence use this loading bay. Rumor has it they wanted to raise the rent from $8,000 per month to $14,000. So Draegar's lobbied the City one more time and common sense prevailed .. Draegar's now (under strict conditions) can use the Parking Lot for their deliveries. The same piece of land that was commanding a handsome annual rental income is now earning $0 ! This is how the landlord's greed was repaid ! I laugh to myself everytime I pass by .. So Pam, its not all about the almighty dollar .. !