Welcome to

Breakthru Beverage Illinois

As the state’s oldest and most established distributor, Breakthru Beverage Illinois first began its operations out of a single warehouse in 1946. Today, Breakthru Illinois delivers to every corner of the state, utilizes the most innovative technology and employs the industry’s most knowledgeable salesforce.

Formerly known as: Wirtz Beverage Illinois

For those interested in community donations, please fill out our donation request form.

We take pride in delivering our customers innovative solutions to help them build their businesses, and we are able to meet their unique needs because we have a best-in-class workforce of talented and nimble associates, we offer a diverse range of brands from the industry’s leading suppliers, and we consistently achieve operational excellence through strategic planning and our state-of-the-art facilities.

To meet the demands of the ever-evolving eCommerce landscape and provide our customers with a immersive and intuitive digital solution, we have launched BREAKTHRU NOW, our proprietary eCommerce platform. BREAKTHRU NOW provides customers with 24/7 access to our full product portfolio including real-time pricing and deals, detailed product information, and tools to help them manage their businesses anytime, anywhere.

Visit BREAKTHRU NOW ➞

Leadership

The Breakthru Illinois Leadership Team supports the company’s core operations and strategic vision.

Cristina Desmond
President, Central U.S. Region

David Lockie
Executive Vice President, Illinois

David Lockie

Executive Vice President, Illinois

David Lockie serves as Executive Vice President of Breakthru Illinois, leading the company’s operations in Illinois and Tenzing. In this role, he drives the Illinois strategy and aligns priorities with the company's corporate and strategic vision.

David is a seasoned leader with more than 30 years of industry experience. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Wirtz Beverage Illinois and Minnesota. There he successfully led sales strategies including planning, implementation, measurement and supplier acquisition, and was also responsible for the company’s joint venture in Iowa.

Prior to joining Wirtz Beverage, David served as President of Glazer’s Illinois, managing the company’s portfolio on a statewide basis. His experience also includes a tenure as President of Johnson Brothers of Illinois. David is a seasoned integration and change management leader.

He began his career with Romano Brothers, eventually transitioning to E&J Gallo Winery. At Gallo, David was the Midwest and Mid-Central Division manager of the company, overseeing execution of Gallo’s retail programming and brand standards in each of the respective regions.

David is a graduate of DePauw University.

Michael Shiffer
Vice President, Sales, Wine, Illinois

Michael Shiffer

Vice President, Sales, Wine, Illinois

As Vice President of the Avant & Premier Division, Shiffer’s team is responsible for driving sales performance of all Breakthru Beverage IL suppliers in some of the most specialized accounts in the state. He is also tasked with properly aligning with Trade Development and building long-lasting relationships with customers and suppliers.
Prior to this role, he served as Director of the Horizon Division for Wirtz Beverage IL, where he led the team to peak performance year-over-year. The Horizon Division covers Chicagoland, Heartland and encompasses several teams that represent all WBI suppliers.

Prior to his time with Wirtz Beverage, Shiffer spent time with multiple distributors as well as the E&J Gallo Winery, where we worked as Field Marketing Manager, Division Manager and Director of Customer Development.

Shiffer began his career in the alcohol beverage industry immediately after graduating from the University of Iowa.

Al Bruni
Vice President, Sales, Spirits, Illinois

Al Bruni

Vice President, Sales, Spirits, Illinois

As a veteran of the beverage alcohol industry for over 20 years, Al Bruni joined Wirtz Beverage Illinois in 2011 as the VP for the Alliance Division. In that role, he was responsible for building and overseeing the division.

In January of 2013, Al transitioned into his current role as VP of Sales and Marketing Spectrum Division: Spirits for Breakthru IL where he is responsible for over 55 key spirit suppliers. Al also manages the Summit and Horizon sales division, as well as the Illinois shared divisions.

Previously, Al spent 20 years with Bacardi USA where he held in various sales management roles in 11 different states throughout the USA.

Al is a graduate of The University of Miami.

Daniel Mucciolo
Vice President, Sales, Moët Hennessy, Illinois

Darcy Traer
Executive Vice President, Sales, United, Illinois

Darcy Traer

Executive Vice President, Sales, United, Illinois

An established leader in the Beverage Alcohol industry, Darcy joined Breakthru Beverage Group as the Canadian Vice President of Sales & Trade Development in July of 2018. In this capacity, he was responsible for the implementation and execution of sales strategies across the country in collaboration with our supplier partners. In October 2020, Darcy was appointed Executive Vice President of BBG Canada and is accountable for the organization's operations within the Market.

Prior to joining BBG, Darcy spent the previous 10+ years in progressive leadership roles at Diageo Canada, culminating his time at the company as Commercial Director. In this capacity Darcy oversaw the Business Analytics, Customer Marketing and Category Development teams, tasked with creating an execution strategy to consistently outpace the competition while premiumizing the company's portfolio. Darcy began his career with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) in Toronto as an Account Executive in 2006.

Show More Leadership

Aidan Lynch
Vice President, Sales, On Premise, Illinois

Alchemy Room

Within Breakthru Beverage Illinois’ 600,000 square foot warehouse, you can step into The Alchemy Room, a state-of-the-art beverage laboratory where bar staffs and managers can work with our experts to take their beverage program to the next level. The Alchemy Room is fully stocked with the latest appliances, bar tools and the world’s best products. It is the perfect place to host trainings, tastings and industry events.

Our Brands

This catalog does not reflect inventory or availability. Please reach out to your BBG sales consultant or local office for more information.

Become a Customer

Backed with a portfolio that is unrivaled, Breakthru Beverage is proud to call the industry’s elite suppliers our partners. Investments in facilities, technologies and our people ensure best-in-class service of the brands you want, when you need them. Learn more about how we can do business together.