Barry Andrews, founder of Texas-based Andrews Distributing, died at 77 yesterday, the Molson Coors-aligned distributor announced.
“Barry was as well-known for his generosity and care he showed his family, friends and the Andrews Distributing team members as he was for his strong business relationships,” his obituary said. “His success was driven by the golden rule of treating people how you want to be treated.”
Andrews was 29 when he and his wife Lana Andrews founded the eponymous distributor in 1976 in Corpus Christi, making him the youngest Miller distributor at the time, according to his obituary. Andrews Distributing expanded to Dallas in the early 1980s and eventually relocated its headquarters there in 1994.
A middle-tier trailblazer, Andrews grew the business through acquisitions of other wholesalers and various brand rights. Today, Andrews Distributing operates five warehouses across the Lone Star State (Allen, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Ennis and Fort Worth) and sells a portfolio with more than 1,000 brands, according to the obituary.
“Barry was a pioneer in putting multiple brewers’ brands together in one warehouse with one combined team, creating a new business model called the ‘multi-branded beer distributor,’ which is now the industry standard,” the obituary said.
Andrews Distributing’s 1,600 employees serve 13,000 retail accounts in 26 counties across Texas. The company offers products from 44 supplier partners, according to its website.
During his nearly 50-year career, Andrews racked up industry accolades, including the National Beer Wholesaler Association’s (NBWA) Life Service Award in 2021.
“Barry Andrews was a true lion of the beer industry with the spirit of a lamb,” NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser said in a statement. “While he was very successful in building Andrews Distributing – from a single supplier Miller franchise in 1976 in Corpus Christi to an industry powerhouse in Dallas-Fort Worth today – he lived the phrase that he coined, ‘People make it happen.’”
Andrews served as president and a board member of the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas and was named a Molson Coors Legend in 2006. The Texas Business Hall of Fame inducted him in 2011.
Mike McGuire, Andrews’ son-in-law, has served as Andrews Distributing’s president since 2010 and CEO since 2018.
In addition to Molson Coors, Andrews’ portfolio includes Constellation Brands, New Belgium, Bell’s, Boston Beer, Shiner and Heineken.