Pearlstine Distributors Inc. records

Pearlstine Distributors Inc., a distributor of Anheuser-Busch beers, was a family-owned Charleston-based company incorporated in 1972. The original Pearlstine business in South Carolina was founded by Isaac Moses Pearlstine (1844-1911) and his father, Tanchum "Thomas" Pearlstine (1817-1877), who emigrated from Russia to the United States in the mid-1850s. They opened their first general store in Colleton County, South Carolina, in 1865. I. M. went on to establish several businesses in Charleston in the 1880s, including a grocery and grain business called I. M. Pearlstine & Sons which opened in 1885. The company sold groceries, grain, wagons, surreys, tack, hardware, roofing, and wire fencing. When I. M. Pearlstine died in 1911, his sons Shep and Hyman assumed leadership of the company and began operating a network of wholesale and retail stores throughout South Carolina, with locations in Walterboro, Eutawville, Mount Holly, Hampton, Kingstree, Sumter, and Florence.

I. M. Pearlstine & Sons acquired the Farline Supply Company in 1918, and began a long-lasting affiliation with Anheuser-Busch. After the death of Hyman Pearlstine, control of the business went to a cousin, Sam Cohen, and Hyman's two sons, Milton and Edwin. In 1950, after the retirement of Sam Cohen, the Pearlstines liquidated the wholesale grocery and hardware business and focused on distribution, gradually closing or selling their satellite stores. In 1971 Milton's nephew, Edwin Pearlstine Jr., purchased the beverage division and Pearlstine Distributors was incorporated. I. M. Pearlstine & Sons became a real estate and investment management firm and finally the name of a holding company managed by Milton Pearlstine and his heirs. In order to concentrate entirely on beer distribution, Pearlstine Distributors sold their wine business in 1995. After over 100 years of operation by members of the Pearlstine family, the company was acquired by Southern Eagle in 2012.