Pike Distributing is a familiar name to many U.P. retailers and organizations, as the family-owned beverage company has been around for generations.
Now, Pike has announced it will relocate the company's headquarters to Marquette, from its current Newberry location. However, operations and staff will continue on in Newberry as well.
"We are excited about our new headquarters in Marquette, and remain firmly committed to our loyal employees and community partners in Newberry, which was Pike's home for more than seven decades," Ketvirtis says. "The Newberry facility will continue to be a fully operational warehouse and an important facility for our operations."
Pike expects to open the Marquette headquarters during the first week of May. It'll be a little more than 35,000 square feet, on U.S. 41 East, and involves an upgrade and expansion of an existing warehouse.
The 17,000-square-foot Newberry warehouse will continue serving the 66 retail accounts Pike has operating there currently, while the new headquarters will handle other business in the Marquette area. Pike also has a third location in Gladstone.
All together, the company employs more than 40 full-time staff.
"Pike is proud to create good-paying local jobs, invest in Michigan and help build a stronger future for our economy here across the Upper Peninsula," says Ketvirtis.
The beverage distributor serves about 400 customers and retailers in Marquette, Luce, Alger, Schoolcraft, Chippewa, Mackinac and Delta counties. Mervin Pike first opened the business in 1937, distributing Soo Brew, made in Sault Ste. Marie. Afterward, it added on other beers, and today it distributes Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Coors, Labatt, Pabst, and craft beers like Bell's and KBC, along with wines.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Joe Ketvirtis, Pike Distributors
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