A South Florida man who almost lost his world-renowned vodka brand has decided to expand his business.
Zyr vodka was previously crafted in Russia for nearly two decades, but when the U.S. banned Russian imports last year, David Katz nearly lost his business, almost overnight.
"We're done. We can no longer import this great brand that was my baby,” said Katz. "A number of chains asked me to buy it back."
Liquor stores across the country removed his vodka from shelves and bars stopped serving it. Americans were pouring out his Russian-made vodka bottles on the streets.
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"How do we recreate this brand? It can’t be Russian," said Katz. "We need to scrub the Russia off. We have to keep the brand though. We have a following after 21 years."
That question led to an idea that rebranded his business and brought it to Miami-Dade.
Zyr is now 100% made in America. The logo has changed and it’s now certified organic.
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Katz says it costs about 60% more to produce the vodka in America.
"Which is crushing. If it’s a dollar more, that’s a huge number when you’re selling this much. It’s so much more but we’re making investments to hopefully bring that back,” said Katz.
By March 2024, Katz plans to open his first distillery and bar in South Florida, just west of Pinecrest near The Falls.
There are also plans to build a massive 12,000-square-foot distillery in Homestead between the Busway and Flagler Avenue. Renderings show space for a stage, farmers market and food truck lot, along with a second 9,000-square-foot building.
That concept could take several years but Katz remains hopeful.
"Now, it is thrilling,” said Katz. “It’s surreal to say 'oh my God, we’re back.'"
The economic impact could be in the millions of dollars. It will also produce several dozen jobs on location on top of other distribution, warehouse, and trucking positions.
"No longer is 'Made in the USA' a patriotic slogan, it’s an absolute necessity because what we’re finding is all of those supply chains that we thought existed, really don’t," said Chief Strategy Officer of South Miami-Dade’s Economic Development Council Peter England. "We’ve had a building boom in the residential area but not a lot of jobs to go around with that. So, we’ve got a lot of traffic moving north and south on this narrow peninsula every day, we need to create jobs, south."
See the Economic Development Council of South Miami-Dade’s full statement here.
