by Jennifer Dietz
11/2/2016

The Beer Guy on Route 16

Who is that man behind the counter in that little maroon colored shop on the edge of Holliston?

How many of you have driven on Route 16 past the historic Wilder Building that houses Crafted and wondered what it’s all about in there?  For those of you that have stopped in, you have likely met Ken Onofrey – owner and beer enthusiast (an understatement). 

The shop features over six hundred craft and imported beers and a selection of unique wines.  The historic space was chosen to house Crafted in hopes that it will become another in the line of the prominent Holliston businesses that have graced the community in which it resides.  Where possible, the historic interior architectural features have been uncovered and preserved.  Ken loves talking beer and wine. He takes pride in the shop’s low pressure sales environment, believing the quality of the products speak for themselves – but he and the shop’s staff are always ready with a good recommendation or pairing suggestion. 

Ken has been the man behind the scenes helping some local non-profits put on successful beer and wine focused fundraisers.  Tony Polise with the Holliston Knights of Columbus raves about his experience in working with Ken on both the 2015 & 2016 Beer & Wine Tasting Charity Fundraiser - “Ken organized the beer & wine tasting distributors who poured the wine/beer.  Ken is a great guy to work with.  He was fully committed to making our Fundraiser successful.  He was flexible and explained any issues that came up and developed workarounds when needed.  He is the type of person that we can depend on to make our Charity Fundraiser Event successful.  I believe the reason for the success of our Fundraiser over the last two years has been because of Ken's commitment as well as the quality of the products he sells in his store.”  The annual fundraiser helps enable the Holliston Knights of Columbus to support various charities including the Holliston Pantry Shelf, Holliston Senior Center, Homes for Our Troops, Habitat for Humanity, St Mary's of Holliston, Special Needs, Disaster Relief and others.

Crafted will celebrate its 2nd Anniversary mid-November.  In his fantastically snarky writing style, Ken called his first year in business “a hell of a year, a true rollercoaster” with “a high degree of flying by the seat of my pants”.  Ken’s second year in business included a different rollercoaster ride – one of his young daughters was diagnosed with and operated on for brain tumor at the end of 2015 and in the summer of 2016 he added child number four to his young family.   Ken will celebrate Crafted’s 2nd Anniversary with a sense of thankfulness – to Boston Children’s Hospital for the ongoing care of his daughter, for the addition of a healthy baby boy to his family, and to his loyal and growing customer base that helped a small business make it through another year. 

Ken hopes to get out of the shop and around town a bit more this coming year.  Stop in and introduce yourself and find a new beverage you can’t believe you lived without.  Visit Crafted on November 12th for an in shop anniversary celebration and please pop by any Monday in November when a portion of all profits will be donated to Boston Children’s Hospital Neurosurgery Department.