Great Bay Distributors, Inc., founded in 1968 by Claude Focardi and family, is Florida’s largest independently family owned distributor of Anheuser-Busch products. Great Bay has rapidly become a leading wholesaler in the beer industry – distributing six of the top 10 beers in the Pinellas, West Pasco, Hernando and Citrus county markets. Great Bay currently operates two distribution centers in the greater Tampa Bay area, including St. Petersburg in Pinellas and Holiday in West Pasco county. Great Bay recently purchased 100 acres in St. Petesburg, FL and moved in to our new facility on June 1st, 2015. The new facility is over 280,000 sq ft and includes the main corporate offices, a large meeting room, controlled environment warehouse space (CEW) and garage maintenance facility. The CEW alone is over 180,000 sq ft and includes a 23,000 sq ft keg cooler. To help power the facility, Great Bay has installed Florida’s largest private solar array producing 1.5 MW of power. This will be enough to power an estimated 80% of Great Bay’s power needs.

The company’s dedication to providing quality beer, wine and non-alcoholic products with outstanding customer service has allowed Great Bay Distributors to become an industry leader in beverage distribution. Serving more than 3,500 accounts, Great Bay Distributors currently sells all Anheuser-Busch/Inbev beers, including varieties within the Budweiser, Michelob, Busch and Natural families, as well as Becks, Stella Artois, Leffe, Hoegaarden, craft/specialty beers and non-alcoholic beers. The company also distributes Mexican imports from Constellation Beer Brands including Negra Modelo, Modelo Especial, Pacifico, Corona and Corona Light. Great Bay is constantly reviewing and adding new brands to our portfolio that fit into our company’s culture and selling ideology. In recent years these products have included D.G. Yuengling & Sons, Magic Hat Brewery (Vermont), Florida Avenue Brewing Co. (Ybor City, FL), Rapp Brewing (Pinellas Park, FL), 3 Daughters (St. Petersburg), Coppertails (Tampa), Big Storm Brewing (Odessar, FL), Pair O’ Dice Brewing (Clearwater, FL), Tampa Bay Brewing (Tampa, FL), SweetWater (GA), Victory Brewing (PA), Copa Di Vino Wines, Zephyrhills water, and Nestle Pure Life water.

Great Bay has over 360 employees working together to service its retail partners with responsibilities that include sales, warehousing, marketing, administrative and more. At the distributor level, Great Bay is more than just delivery. The Great Bay team markets, promotes, sells, spends money at retailers, and sponsor major events. Each team member’s job is essential to the company’s ultimate goal: Elegance in its simplicity to deliver the best.

Great Bay prides itself on carrying only the best products that the consumers demand. From its humble beginning in a small warehouse in St. Petersburg carrying only three brands from a single supplier, Great Bay has grown into one of the largest beverage wholesalers in the Tampa Bay region.