New State Law Prompts Fox River Distilling To Sell Business

GENEVA, IL — Fox River Distilling Company in Geneva has been sold to new owners, the Kane County Chronicle reports. The business, which has won various awards over the years for its liquor, opened in 2014 and recently closed its doors.

Requirements under a new law in Illinois, which affects craft distilleries, led to the closure. The new law allows craft distilleries to open distill pubs where they could sell food and also allows the businesses to self-distribute to bars, stores and restaurants. In addition, the law requires distilleries that produce no more than 50,000 gallons per year to deliver or sell no more than 5,000 gallons of liquor directly to vendors and retailers.

“We could – but the other two options were make less than 50,000 gallons a year and self-distribute, which would limit our growth,” co-owner Michael Orlando told the Kane County Chronicle.

“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.”

The new owners of the distilling company have not yet been announced.

More via the Kane County Chronicle