Fresh off the acquisition of the Constellation Brands product line in the Central Valley, Valley Wide Beverage is expanding with 150,000 square feet of additional warehouse space. Photo by Frank Lopez

A leading Central Valley beverage distributor is ready to serve up more clients with its expansion.

It’s part of an ongoing trend for Valley Wide Beverage in Fresno, which has grown its portfolio with seltzer products, non-alcoholic beverages and new brands of beer, wine and spirits since the pandemic began in 2020.

In March 2022, Valley Wide Beverage acquired the local Constellation Brands product line to expand its footprint in the Central Valley with the addition of Modelo, Corona, Pacifico and Victoria cervezas.

“For a year and half people had to stay home, so they were drinking a lot more at home,” said Valley Wide Beverage President Nick Amendola. “The grocery channel definitely increased with Covid.”

The company sells more than 1,300 different stock-keeping units (SKUs) to over 4,000 customers in the Central Valley. Their largest brands include Modelo, Coors Light, Corona, White Claw, Truly, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, Smirnoff Ice and Heineken.

To facilitate this expansion, Valley Wide Beverage is adding 150,000 square feet of warehouse space for a total of 500,000 square feet.

The family-owned company is also adding 20 additional loading docks for a total of 50.

Talks for the expansion began in 2020, in the midst of the growth period.

After the acquisition of Constellation Brands, the business grew by about 15 to 20%, leading to a need for more storage place.

Construction for the new warehouse space is now complete and equipment and inventory are being moved in.

Construction for the 150,000 additional warehouse space has been about a two-year process, including permitting and build-out.

About 50 new employees are also being added to the distributor’s workforce to handle the extra volume that has been acquired.

Amendola said that Modelo has become the No. 1 selling beer in California, with Corona and Pacifico also seeing growth.

“We are very fortunate to have good brands,” Amendola said.

With more restaurants, bars and hotels opening up in the San Joaquin Valley, Amendola said the company is bullish on the growth and future of the area.

The Great Wolf Lodge resort set to open in Tulare County in 2025 and Table Mountain Casino’s plans to serve alcohol are also good for the beverage business. The opening of more Costcos, Walmarts, AM/PMs and Circle K stores in the area also presents opportunities.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, Amendola does have concerns about a looming recession.

“We still see some growth for this year, but it’s a tough environment — costs are rising, gas prices, labor costs, overall inflation has definitely affected our business and every business, and we think 2023 is going to be good. Maybe not like 2020 and 2021, growth wise, but 2023 will be ok for the beer business in general,” Amendola said.

Recessions are not great for the beer business, he added, but the company did see some of its best years in 2008 and 2009 following the start of the Great Recession.

“We will see with this recession,” Amendola said.