Local history: House of LaRose patriarch was Akron’s king of beers

Budweiser has long proclaimed itself as the “King of Beers,” but in Akron, that title belonged to Thomas A. LaRose.

As president and chairman of the Akron Distributing Co., better known as The House of LaRose, he reigned over an empire of bottles, cans and kegs.

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His company, one of the largest beer and wine distributors in the country, quenched thirst across Northeast Ohio, making deliveries everywhere from elegant restaurants to neighborhood bars to grocery stores to sports venues to bowling alleys to private clubs.

LaRose, who died Sept. 22 at age 94, liked to say he was in the “now business.”

“If I don’t have your brand right now, you aren’t going to drink two tomorrow,” he once told the Beacon Journal. “We don’t take orders for delivery in three weeks; we take orders for delivery today.”

Through his leadership, the family business grew into an industry giant that today distributes products to more than 5,200 customers in eight Ohio counties.

Father started House of LaRose

Before he was king, LaRose was prince. His father, Thomas P. LaRose, founded the company.

The elder LaRose (1902-1962), the son of Italian immigrants, moved from New York to Ohio in 1915 and landed a job at B.F. Goodrich Co. in Akron. His father, Anthony, worked as a gardener on the estate of John D. Rockefeller, and told his son that he could succeed in any business through hard work.

“If you want to be a shoemaker, be a good one,” he said.

The two of them put together enough money to buy a jitney bus to operate on East Market Street. The business was so lucrative that by the time he was 25, Thomas operated the Portage Lakes Transportation Co., the Summit Theater Co. and Blue Lantern Ballroom.

He and his wife, Josephine, welcomed son Thomas A. LaRose on May 23, 1928. The family resided on Delia Avenue, moved to West Market Street and attended St. Sebastian Church.

When the economy soured during the Great Depression, LaRose Sr. joined the Akron Brewing Co., selling White Crown beer. He remained for six years, serving as sales manager, before establishing the Akron Distributing Co. in 1939 with brothers Peter and Joseph in the Central Garage at 120 Ash St.

LaRose Jr. attended Akron Public Schools, worked as a Swensons curb boy, played quarterback for Buchtel High and graduated in 1946. He attended Ohio University, pledged Phi Delta Theta and returned home with a business degree.

In 1950, he entered the family business.

From Iron City to Budweiser

The House of LaRose expanded to larger quarters at 830 S. Main St., distributing Goebel, Iron City, Tech, Schlitz, Labatt, Old Dutch, Drewerys, Imp, Black Horse, Guinness and Burger before adding Anheuser-Busch products in 1956.

“With especial pride, we are pleased to announce our selection as a wholesale distributor of Budweiser, King of Beers, packaged and draught, and Michelob draught,” the company advertised. “We commend the world’s most famous beer to our friends everywhere.”

In addition, the House of LaRose became the local distributor of Canada Dry, famous for its ginger ale, as well as several brands of wine and champagne including Mogen David, Martini & Rossi, Asti Spumante, Paul Masson, Dubbonet, Petri, Meier and Great Western.

Akron Distributing Co. widened its market with the 1958 acquisition of Mitchell Distributing Co., a Youngstown wholesaler of Anheuser-Busch beers in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

But the company’s bright future dimmed in 1962 with an unexpected loss. Founder Thomas P. LaRose died of a heart attack Nov. 19 at age 60.

Grieving son Tom, 32, took over as president, and with the help of uncles Joe and Pete LaRose, led the company from a time of uncertainty into an era of unprecedented growth.

“We’re a close-knit family,” LaRose once explained. “We fight like hell, but we have a warm relationship.”

Emulating the Budweiser slogan “Making Friends Is our Business,” the LaRose family treated workers and customers like kin. Employees proudly carried the corporate banner into Akron industrial leagues, competing in bowling, basketball, softball, football and other sports.

The company added Genesee, Schaefer and Busch brands to its lineup and made plans to replace its outdated quarters on Main Street. In the late 1960s, the House of LaRose built a $500,000 home at Wolf Ledges and Cross Street in the Grant-Washington urban renewal area. In less than a decade, the 25,000-square-foot complex would be too small.

LaRose was elected chairman of the Anheuser-Busch Wholesalers Advisory Panel, which represented the brewing company’s 950 distributors throughout the country. He also led the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio.

An avid golfer, he served as general chairman of the PGA Tour’s American Golf Classic at Firestone Country Club. In addition to being the president of Akron Golf Charities, he was founding president of Keep Akron Beautiful and served on the boards of Akron Children’s Hospital, among other local entities.

He and his wife, Jeanne, raised five children — Tim, Ann, Frank, Mark and Jim — who all grew up in the House of LaRose and served in management positions.

Largest wholesaler in Ohio

In 1979, the Akron company acquired the Drenik Beverage Co., the Cleveland distributor of Anheuser-Busch product, to become the largest wholesaler in Ohio.

“We don’t have the share of the market in Cleveland that we have in Akron,” LaRose noted. “We’ll work on that. And there may be more expansion in the future.”

In a little over a decade, sales had jumped from $2 million to $45 million. The company had nearly 70 employees in Akron and 175 at three warehouses in Cleveland.

Anheuser-Busch President Augustus Busch III, eight Clydesdale horses and a 3½-ton Budweiser wagon were present when the House of LaRose opened its $2.5 million building at 350 Opportunity Parkway in Akron. Built on an 8½-acre site, the complex included a 60,000-square-foot warehouse and 9,000-square-foot office space.

“We love Akron,” LaRose said. “The big marketplace is Akron.”

The building had the capacity to store more than 6 million cans of beer, which if laid end to end, would stretch 475 miles to New York City.

The warehouse environment was precisely controlled. In keeping with Anheuser-Busch specifications, packaged beer was kept at a maximum of 55 degrees in the summer and 44 in the winter. Draft beer was kept at 38 degrees.

“Beer is at its best when it leaves the factory,” LaRose said. “We are very concerned about its freshness.”

He described Anheuser-Busch executives as tough but fair in their supervision.

“They are setting very high standards for the distribution of their products,” he said. “They inspect our operations all the time. If they ever found a load of beer beyond its stamped shelf life, they’d order us to dump it. And we’d have to dump it.”

By the end of the decade, House of LaRose commanded nearly 50% of the beer market in Summit, Portage and Medina counties. Forty trucks, emblazoned with a red rose logo. made rounds each day in Akron.

In 1989, the company completed a $1 million expansion on Opportunity Parkway and broke ground on a $9 million complex in Cleveland.

While industry observers predicted a prolonged slump in beer sales in the late 1980s, LaRose expressed confidence in a market rebound.

“The baby boomers are getting older,” he told the Beacon Journal. “Think of this: Foods you didn’t like as a child, you eat now. Drinks you liked, you don’t drink now. Tastes change. People will come back to beer.”

Mayor Don Plusquellic proclaimed Feb. 24, 1993, as Tom LaRose Day.

LaRose consolidates in Brecksville

Over the decades, LaRose endured product shortages, labor disputes, rising costs and other issues, but business grew. In 2004, the company consolidated its Akron and Cleveland operations at a $30 million site in Brecksville.

The state-of-the-art building provided 300,000 square feet of office and warehouse space with enough capacity to store 1.5 million cases of beer and other beverages.

In 2007, Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank moved into the distributor’s old home on Opportunity Parkway, where it remains today.

Chairman emeritus Thomas A. LaRose, 94, a father, grandfather and great-grandfather, was surrounded by family and friends when he died peacefully at home Sept. 22. He was preceded in death by Jeanne, his wife of 66 years, who died at age 87 in 2016.

Today, the House of LaRose distributes such products as Anheuser-Busch InBev, Yuengling, Corona, Goose Island, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Dad’s Root Beer.

After more than 80 years, the family link continues with Thomas “Tim” C. LaRose, chairman and chief executive officer, and James P. LaRose, president and chief operating officer, leading a workforce of over 300.

A toast, then, to Thomas A. LaRose.

Raise a glass. Raise a bottle.

Here’s to Akron’s king of beers.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: House of LaRose patriarch Thomas A. LaRose was Akron’s king of beers