Geneva distillery sold, shuts its doors

GENEVA – Fox River Distilling Company in Geneva was sold to new owners, following changes in state law governing craft distillers, co-owner Michael Orlando said.

The company, which opened in 2014, announced its closure in a Jan. 25 notice to customers.

“While we didn’t think that this was what we really wanted to do, it became the best option for us, so Fox River Distilling Company is now closed,” according to the notice. “We will miss being part of the TriCities community and inviting our loyal customers and brand ambassadors into the distillery.”

Orlando said the sale of the distillery is “a good thing.”

“We built this distillery to sell,” said Orlando, who owns the business with his wife Amy. “We knew we were going to sell one day, but this was sooner than we thought. It’s a good thing.”

The new state law allowed craft distilleries to self-distribute directly to bars, restaurants and stores and open distill pubs and sell food.

Under the new law, distilleries that produce no more than 50,000 gallons a year, can sell and deliver up to 5,000 gallons of spirits per year directly to retailers and other vendors.

And that was the issue for the Orlandos, which prompted the sale.

The business could have stayed a supplier, he said.

“We could – but the other two options were make less than 50,000 gallons a year and self-distribute, which would limit our growth,” Orlando said.

“If I can’t make more than 50000 gallons, at a certain point, we’d have to stop. There’s no growth beyond that. The second option – I would have to buy a truck and hire a guy to do deliveries and then take on somebody as an accountant because we would be charging the bars and restaurants,” Orlando said. “That is why I have a distributor to distribute the product. It was not a very palatable option.”

Orlando said he and his wife, who are Geneva residents, did not want to sell beer, wine and food on site like a restaurant.

“We did not get into this to become a restaurant,” Orlando said. “That’s a whole different animal.”

The distillery has been recognized for excellence in various competitions.

In 2017, the distillery’s Bennett Mill Single Barrel Straight Bourbon won a trophy for Best in Show, Best in State for Illinois and a gold medal for Best Straight Whiskey in a competition held in Chicago.

In 2016, Bennett Mill took top awards at the Heartland Whiskey Competition, beating out more than 75 other whiskey products from 10 states.

Also in 2016, Bennett Mill won a won a Silver Medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, judged by a panel of 43 international tasting experts who considered 2,253 entries from around the world.

That was the third year that the company’s product received back-to-back medals for its Herrington Geneva’s Gin and Herrington Premium Vodka in the international competition.

Orlando said he and his wife, now both 60 years old, ran the distillery and kept their day jobs. They are continuing to work as they are too young to retire.

As to what they will do now, Orlando said they would take some time off from the distillery work to consider their next move.

“This is all a good thing,” Orlando said. “Businesses have to evolve and we worked it out for us.”

All the spirits are gone – sold to their customers. And all the distilling equipment has been moved out of the 204 Dearborn Court location by the new owners.

Orlando said he was not at liberty to say who bought his company.

“They’re going to make their own announcement,” Orlando said.