North Houston News

Two brothers who own a whiskey distillery not only found a way to provide an important and needed service to the public, they also were able to hire furloughed workers in the process.

Travis and Chris Whitmeyer are two Army veterans who own Whitmeyer’s Distilling Co. in Houston. Like many other businesses, they took a financial loss when the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to close their tasting room, which accounted for 30% of their business, KSAT.COM reported.

Then, they found out the government had loosened its requirements to make hand sanitizer under the Defense Production Act, which President Donald Trump enacted to speed production of needed supplies. A request from Texas Children’s Hospital to produce 6,100 gallons of hand sanitizer directed the Whitmeyer brothers into a new, unexpected venture.

They were able to produce the sanitizer and made it a gift to the hospital in honor of their niece as a way to pay it back for saving her life.

In terms of making sanitizer, that was just the beginning to having a positive economic impact.

The Whitmeyers were able to hire back the staff they had laid off because of the pandemic. To meet supply demands, they hired 80 waiters and bartenders who had been laid off in city restaurants and bars. As a byproduct, they have also raised their wages.

A total of 25,000 gallons have been donated by the distillery. With the additional staff, they have the ability to produce 20,000 gallons every 24 hours. The distillery sells in bulk with minimum 25-gallon order, KSAT reported.

Because of the orders received from industry and government organizations, the Whitmeyers have the ability to donate sanitizer to the public. Using social media, the distillery announces periodic giveaways in which a 32-ounce bottle can be provided to each car in a drive-thru at its location.

The sanitizer is a registered product with the Food and Drug Administration. It uses a formula that has been approved by the FDA.