Arty’s Legendary Cocktails is expanding its product line to include two new beverages while distribution beyond state lines continues to grow.
Owners Tim Pappin and Ryan Mijal, who started the business in 2010, recently teamed up with Central Beverage Company to distribute Arty’s line of Ready to Drink Cocktails in the greater Chicago land area
Their line of cocktails includes the Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet, Whiskey Old Fashioned Sour, and Whiskey Old Fashioned Sweet. They are also introducing two new beverages: Moscow Mule and Ready to Drink Bloody Mary’s. The company is considering the production of a Brandy Old Fashioned Sour.
Several Arty’s products have been hitting the shelves in the greater Chicago area since late February, and the Moscow Mule and Ready to Drink Bloody Mary’s will be launched together in the near future.
“We’ve quickly discovered a definite demand for our product,” said Tim Pappin. “We moved to our current facility on Sixth Street in Clintonville during winter of 2012. We automated our processes, and we’ve seen steady growth since then.”
Pappin said they signed a contract with Central Beverage in December, and their first shipment to the Chicago land area went out in January.
“We are actively promoting our products in the Chicago land area. We’re lined up with Walgreens, Binny’s Beverage Depot, and Mariano’s,” said Pappin. “We’re just entering the market, so we’re doing a lot of promotion, and we’re starting to see some good traction.”
Pappin said they are close to reaching an agreement with Southern Wine and Spirits in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as O’Malley Beverage in Lawrence, Kansas. “We expect our product to begin shipping to these locations early this summer,” Pappin said.
Arty’s products are currently available in over 700 stores in Wisconsin and Illinois. Requests for the product continue to arrive from customers as far away as Florida, Arizona, Oregon and Washington, D.C.
Arty’s products will also be featured every Thursday night at Wisconsin Timber Rattler games. Arty’s is sponsoring $2 Thirsty Thursday under an agreement with the team.
“We are in final talks with four different companies who have asked us to produce private label ready to drink cocktails for them,” stated Pappin. “Our automated equipment will allow us to expand to meet those requests. We currently occupy 12,000 square feet of space, and we will probably expand to 15,000 square feet before the end of summer.”
Plastic bottles to accommodate requirements at special venues will be introduced soon, and Pappin said the company’s 1 millionth bottle will go out next month.
The company’s growth is being accommodated by five full-time employees and two part-time employees. Pappin said those numbers could increase if Arty’s can land contracts that are currently being discussed while entering new markets.
Feedback from customers has been positive, and the company’s Facebook page has 5,000 followers. “People are very passionate about this product,” said Pappin. “Customers take pictures and post them to our page, and we have received a lot of hand-written notes. Governor Scott Walker event sent us a congratulatory letter, noting that his wife is a fan of our products.”
Mijal noted that the company wants to support the Clintonville community however it can.
“We’re just a small business with a good product, trying to make it,” said Mijal. “We chose to come to Clintonville because our families are from here. We want to give back to the community, and we want to see another Clintonville business succeed.”
Pappin and Mijal said they are not sure if ArtyFest will be held this year, noting that they are still in discussions with city officials regarding the festival, which made its debut last summer.
The secret to their success lies in the attitude embodies by the beverages.
“The history behind many of the great cocktails remains a mystery,” said Pappin. “What stands true is the taste and attitude that each spirit is built upon. To qualify to wear the Arty’s name, we select only those cocktails that have achieved legendary status.”
To learn more about the company, visit www.drinkartys.com