ABOUT
Hello,
My name is Daryl Reece, I am the Co-owner, with my wife Debra of Stock Da Bar, LLC. We reside in West Michigan where we were born and raised. Since February 2019 we have worked with Michigrain Distillery, located in Lansing MI, to develop our own spirit. Stock Da Bar Vodka: a premium vodka made from red winter wheat. Stock Da Bar Vodka is a vodka made in Michigan by Michigan made people.
Stock Da Bar Vodka was released on December 1, 2019 and is distributed by Republic National Distribution Company. We would love to be considered a potential supplier because we exemplify Live Local, Buy Local, Support Local. We donate a portion of our proceeds from each bottle of Stock Da Bar Premium Vodka to the Boys and Girls Clubs.
We have sold over 1,000 cases of our Premium Vodka in less than a year. We are currently in over 100 stores in Michigan, including some SpartanNash stores, such as D&W, Family Fare, select Meijer stores, and Total Wine & More. We are in several restaurants and bars in Kent County and Metro Detroit area and growing. We are releasing another 200 cases under a new look, we are looking to work on getting distribution in other state’s.
Since 2010, the Reece family has been hosting regional fundraisers called, “Stock Da Bar” where guests are encouraged to “Stock Da Bar” with their favorite spirits. Proceeds from the yearly fundraisers go to local and national organizations benefiting causes important to the Reece family. In 2018, Daryl Reece decided it was time to introduce the world to a Vodka that exemplifies Living, Loving and Supporting Local. In Fall 2019, the Reece family introduced “Stock Da Bar Premium Vodka” made with the finest ingredients that Michigan has to offer. Following in the footsteps of the “Stock Da Bar” fundraisers, “Stock Da Bar Premium Vodka” also donates a portion of its proceeds to local and national organizations.
Five Core Values
- Act with integrity & respect.
- We are all accountable.
- We are passionate about our brand.
- We have a commitment to our customers & community.
- We lead with our heart & with empathy.
SDB Way
- Black owned/Grand Rapids owned
- Premium small-batch vodka
- Distilled 6X
- Supports the youth of West Michigan
- Gluten free
- Distilled from red winter wheat
- All premium ingredients are grown and harvested from MICHIGAN!
Daryl Reece: Built on hard work, community support, and faith
Daryl Reece, who has lived in Grand Rapids for more than 22 years, is no stranger to hard work. As a matter of fact, it has been instrumental in the success he has seen with several ventures, including his vodka line, Stock Da Bar. Reece will be the first to share how his professional success was not something that was planned.
Daryl Reece
A class of 1991 graduate of Benton Harbor High School, Reece wanted to be a baseball player. He played his favorite sport throughout high school and with traveling teams for some time after graduation.
Reece knew that his next step was pursuing a college education, because that is what everyone told him he should do next, so he enrolled in junior college at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, but his time there was brief.
Reece realized that college was not for him, so he began working different jobs until he ended up at a factory where his mom had been working for more than 30 years.
“I don’t come from a business background — a money management background — I come from a hardworking background,” Reece says, adding that his parents instilled in him the value of hard work and saving money.
Content for seven years in this work, Reece was approached by his father-in-law, who owned a barber shop, The House of Style, about getting into the field. By 2001, Reece moved to Grand Rapids to be with his wife, Debra, where he gave up his factory job and began barber school, also attending Grand Rapids Community College simultaneously. In the end, he obtained both cosmetology and general education degrees. For the past 22 years, Reece and his wife have been operating the shop.
Throwing parties for a cause
They invited friends from his hometown of Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo to visit, celebrate his birthday with him, and “stock da bar.”
The parties grew with people coming from North Carolina, Texas, and Georgia to attend. Once it reached the point of the Reece’s home not being able to contain the parties, the event was moved to an outside venue, and 350 people attended.
Eventually, after a friend’s suggestion, Reece turned the event into a business. In 2015, Reece put together a committee and used the funds collected from the event to donate to a friend’s endowment fund. As it continued to grow, donations also went to the Boys and Girls clubs in Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids.
“I’ve been blessed to be around good people who treat me well, and I treat them well,” says Reece. “I might have the vision, but it takes a collective of these friends and family to just do everything. I love what we are doing.”
Although the parties have been discontinued, Reece continues to give back with new initiatives that continue supporting the communities that he has touched. In 2019, Pieces of of Reece’s was established, and in 2022, people gathered at Rosa Parks Circle for the inaugural Stock Da Bar Foundation festival. With people from all over the country, Reece was able to donate $3,000 to the Boy and Girls clubs. The next festival is scheduled for Aug. 17.
Daryl Reece and his wife, Debra, at an event.
Stock Da Bar Vodka can be found at several Michigan grocery stores, including Spartan Nash stores, Meijer, and Total Wine & More stores.
Stock Da Bar vodka
By late 2018, Reece had started creating YouTube videos to introduce his friends around the country to various Michigan alcohols, which caught the attention of Lansing-based Michigrain Distillery. The company reached out to Reece and asked him about pursuing his own vodka line; Stock Da Bar was born.
“I learned how to sell, learned how to brand, and learned alcohol law,” says Reece, who, for 10 months in 2019, would start his day at 4:30 a.m., so he could educate himself, reading audio business books, meditating, and staying consistent in his discipline and faith.
This was Reece’s routine all before going into work at the barber shop. On Dec. 1, 2019, Reece was licensed with his own vodka brand in Michigan and ready for distribution. There were times the Reeces would visit six-plus cities in a day to get started. In the end, with the combination of faith and support from friends old and new, Reece says Stock Da Bar is in more than 100 locations, including Meijer stores, three Bonefish and Grill restaurants in the state, and all four Total Wine and More stores in the state.
Reece and Stock Da Bar have also partnered up with the Meijer LPGA Classic for an upcoming third year, GR Gold at Van Andel, and Studio Park. With these partnerships, Reece, through his nonprofit efforts, wants to empower youth by introducing them to trade skills, saying College isn’t for everyone, and giving out scholarships.
Furthermore, Reece stresses that research and putting God first is what has helped him along his professional path, especially considering he initially did not know what his passion was: “I’m on this earth to help people — my passion is people.”
One turning point for Reece and the stress that he carried about what made him successful was something that his wife of more than 22 years said to him. He says that she told him that if he never sold another bottle of vodka, he would still be successful in her eyes. Since she said those words to him, Reece says he has not carried that same worry since, because he knew she was okay with where they stood in business and would continue to be his biggest supporter.
Reece is heading into a new year with his faith remaining just as strong, even when things may be a little rough — something that Reece adds is a given.
“Believe that what you want to do is possible,” he says. “Believe in what you do and make sacrifices.”
Article originally appeared:
RAPID GROWTH | SHANIKA P. CARTER | SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 2024
