Cover Story

Family A Business Business

TEAMWORK On the left, from front: Vice President of Sales Steve Vargas, Vice President of Administration Marty Corley, President Geof Couch. On the left, from the front: data entry specialist Vera Rodriguez, Warehouse Supervisor David Espinoza and founder George Couch Giant local beer distributor has small beginnings By TODD GUILD

George Couch was an ambitious he says, an upbringing that gave him frst-hand knowlrights to Grupo Modelo, which offers Mexican beers 25-year-old when he came to edge of the industry. such as Corona, Modelo and Pacifco. Watsonville in 1973 and neWhen his father died unexpectedly in 1973, Couch When the craft beer craze hit, Couch got on board gotiated a deal to purchase says he reached out to senior executives August with the Firestone Walker Brewing, a company best a small Anheuser-Busch disBusch III and Orion Burkhardt, who helped get him best known for the 805 brand. Anchor Steam, Ballast tributorship. It would not stay approved for the purchase from owner George Barsi, Point and Bear Republic are also part of that market. small for long. whose nephew Jim Barsi ran his eponymous liquor Anheuser-Busch also has its hand in the craft beer

His company Couch Distributing, which he runs store on East Lake Avenue for 50 years. market with Elysian, 10 Barrel Brewing Company with his brother Geoff, has since 1973 delivered hun“They gave me a shot,” Couch says. “I was 25 and Golden Road. In addition, Couch distributes Kona dreds of different products to customers in Monterey, years old when I bought the business. I came on out Brewing Co. products. Santa Cruz and San Benito counties from its Watsonand took a shot at it. I was hoping to build a business, All of this is possible thanks to the work of ville headquarters. and I had a lot of faith in Anheuser-Busch.” about 170 employees, of whom Couch speaks with

At the time of its inception, Coors dominated the Couch Distributing began with just six route the glowing wistfulness of a father talking about local market, Couch says. But he envisioned a future trucks, two salesmen and 11 employees, and a volume his family. in which the company would expand. of just under 400,000 cases per year. With an average employment of 10 years, Couch

“I knew they were going to make a large marketing The company now distributes about 4.7 million says that 35 employees have lasted at least 20 years. A push, because California is the largest per-capita in total cases per year to 1,850 accounts throughout the trihandful have lasted longer. volume in the United States,” he says. county area. “We try to make it a family environment,” he says.

It helped that his father was vice-president of marCouch eventually purchased the rights to distribute “We expect a lot out of our people, but we try to take keting for the company’s St. Louis, Mo. headquarters, Heineken and Guinness, and in 1996 purchased the care of them well. We’ve been blessed that in ➝ 10