John Lenore & Co 1966
Photo from across the Interstate 15
In 1950, Mr John P. Lenore and his expecting wife Mrs. Dorothy "Dot" Lenore headed out West from the coal mines of Wheeling West Virginia to pursue the American dream. He drove across country in a station wagon with $300 in his pocket looking for an opportunity to find a position on the West coast to provide for his family. His first job was with Dr. Pepper Co. as a Merchandiser. Showing his true passion for sales, John was quickly promoted to a Regional Sales Manager position and in his first year, he won the top salesperson of the year award. The prize at that time in the early 50's was a $200 award. That was a lot of money back then! After working a few years, John was offered the Regional Sales Manager position for the Theodore Hamm Brewing Co. He accomplished a great deal of sales growth in that role over a few years and was eventually offered the opportunity to own and operate his own distribution company.
In June of 1966, John Lenore & Co. (JLC) was born. After a couple of years, John's two sons, Jamie and Jay joined the organization as young men and worked many different roles within the company. Hamms, Schlitz, Burgie and Colt 45 were some of the foundation brands in the early years. Over time, the company grew and brands like Tecate, Moosehead, St. Pauli Girl, Guinness, Fosters, Bass, and Dos
Equis were added to the portfolio. John Lenore's company was gaining traction in a very competitive and developed beer market with Crest, Mckinney, Mesa and Coast Distributing all having big brands like Bud, Coors and Miller. John could ultimately see the writing on the wall and decided to sell off the distribution rights of his beer brands and changed the John Lenore Co. into a premium non-alcoholic beverage distributor.
It was in 1991 that three gentlemen from New York offered him the Snapple brand. After a couple years, the heavy marketing for Snapple in the west was taking place, both Snapple and John Lenore Co. exploded. In a short time, the non-alcoholic distribution company which was unheard of at the time became an alternative landing spot for entrepreneurial brands that could not penetrate the Coke, Pepsi or 7Up distribution networks. JLC was gobbling up independent beverage brands and building up an amazing portfolio. Brands like Clearly Canadian, SoBe, Hansens, Vitamin Water and Monster Energy all started here at JLC. Many brands signed on for distribution at that time and John Lenore & Co. prided itself on finding the latest and greatest trend setting brands in the market.
On April 19, 2015, we lost our founder and father Mr. Lenore but his long lasting legacy lives on through his outstanding and extremely loyal employees. As we embark on our 56th year in the San Diego market, the JLC has evolved into many other categories such as premium bottled waters, craft sodas, ready-to-drink (RTD) teas and juices, energy drinks, protein shakes and snacks like kettle chips, protein bars, beef jerky's and delicious cookies. In 2017, JLC made a significant investment in cold storage and refrigerated inserts and now can deliver refrigerated product to your store such as cold brew coffees, cold pressed juices, flavored milks and kombuchas.
John Lenore & Co. can service all your beverage and snack food needs. Please take some time and check out our exciting brands and let us know how we may be of service!
