Owner of Brown Distributing celebrates 80th birthday

• Richard Brown, of Brown Distributing, is still in business and celebrating his 80th birthday.
• His children and grandchildren are now active in the company.
• The business distributes beer, wine, liqueur and pop to bars, restaurants and carry outs.

NEWARK — Richard L. Brown has a mug in his office for every year he’s been in business.

The CEO of Brown Distributing has 46 of them and plans on adding several more to his collection.

Although he’ll celebrate his 80th birthday this month, on Oct. 17, Brown has no plans to slow down.

“I’ll be here until they carry me out on a stretcher,” he said with a laugh.

It’s sometimes difficult for Brown to believe that he’s gone from a small town in Minnesota to owning the eighth-largest distributing company in the state.

Brown Distributing, located at 51 Swans Road NE in Newark, distributes beer, wine, liqueur, pop and other beverages to bars, restaurants and carry-outs in central and eastern Ohio. The company has 900 accounts in 10 Ohio counties.

“Every time I walk (outside my building), I think of how lucky I am in my life,” Brown said.

After graduating from high school in Minnesota, Brown spent four years in the Air Force before settling in Columbus. He earned a degree from Ohio State University in 1965 and worked in sales.

In 1969, he found out the owner of Hines Distributing was selling his Newark business and he offered to purchase it.

“I thought, if you can drink beer, you can sell it,” Brown said.

He later learned that running a beer business required the same skills as running any other company — financial knowledge, advertising and marketing skills and familiarity with the customers and products.

Brown Distributing has a franchise agreement with Miller and Coors and provides their products to all the bars and restaurants in the area. The company also has its own fleet of semi trucks, to make sure products are delivered efficiently, he said.

It also helps to have great employees, Brown said.

“I employ a lot of people who have been here 25 to 30 years,” he said. “It’s kind of like a little family. You kind of take care of each other and everybody does their best.”

His children started working at the business when they were young, picking up rocks in the parking lot.

Now his son Mark Urban works in sales distribution and his son Shawn Brown runs the plant. His grandson and granddaughter are also involved in the business, Brown said.

“It’s definitely a family business,” he said.

Although he’s done everything in the business at one time, Brown said he spends most of his time now managing the finances and mentoring employees.

He hasn’t thought about retiring.

“I certainly can’t sit at home and watch TV,” he said. “Every job I’ve ever had, I’ve worked seven days a week.”

Brown has an open door policy for employees and works hard to make sure customers get quality products. Both those priorities have helped him succeed, his son Mark Urban said.

“He’s a people person and this is a people-centered business,” he said. “It’s all about building relationships and he’s good at that.”

ajeffries@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8544

Twitter: @amsjeffries

Learn more

For more information about Brown Distributing, 51 Swans Road NE, Newark, call 740-345-9621.

About the series

Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at advocate@newarkadvocate.com or 740-328-8821.