Norman Bonchick died Friday, Sept. 9.  He was 79.  His career in the beverage industry spanned nearly 50 years.

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 Spirits) 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, he brokered a deal with  Sazerac Co., 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.

Bonchick is survived by his wife of 47 years,  Cathy; four sons  and their wives and nine grandchildren.

Services  are this morning (9/13) at Levitt-Weinstein Memorial Chapels and Cemeteries in Hollywood, Fla.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to one of the following three organizations that he cared deeply about and actively supported:

1. United Community Options (UCO) of South Florida, formally United Cerebral Palsy (UCP): http://www.unitedcommunityoptionssfl.org/
2. True Colors United: https://truecolorsunited.org/
3. The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation: https://arizzofoundation.org/