Beverage industry legend Norman Bonchick passed away at the age of 79 on September 9th, 2022. Norman got his start in 1971 at Joseph E Seagram & Sons where he served as the Assistant Division Manager before becoming President of South Shore Liquors in Chicago. In 1986, he relocated to South Florida and joined National Distributing Company (today known as RNDC), eventually becoming the company’s Managing Director, a role he held for seven years.
In 2004, he decided to do something new, and he joined a small supplier, Van Gogh Imports (today known as 375 Park Avenue Spirts) as National Sales Manager and later President. The company was initially dedicated to a single brand, Van Gogh Vodka. In 2008, Norman assumed the duties of Chairman and CEO. Under his leadership, the footprint of the business expanded exponentially through portfolio diversification and organization size.
In 2015, Norman brokered a deal with the Sazerac Company, ensuring the company’s longevity and continued growth. Upon his retirement in 2018, 375 Park Avenue Spirits had close to twenty brands in its portfolio and almost thirty people in the organization.
In his retirement, Norman delighted in spending time with his family and friends. He continued to devote hours speaking with, meeting with, and mentoring industry colleagues. But his greatest joy was the additional time he was able to spend with his growing family in Florida and North Carolina. Norman is survived by his wife Cathy whom he was married to for 47 years. He is also survived by his four sons: Jonathan and his wife Debbie, Steven and his wife Becky, Lucas and his wife Heather, and Anthony and wife Caroline, and his grandchildren: Alyssa, Sydney, Lucy, Ella, Cara, Ryne, Leo, Kenan, and Whit.
Services will be on Tuesday, 9/13, at Levitt-Weinstein Memorial Chapels and Cemeteries in Hollywood, FL at 10:00am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to one of the following three organizations that Norman cared deeply about and actively supported:
United Community Options (UCO) of South Florida, formally United Cerebral Palsy (UCP)
The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
