Port Morris Distillery Sides With Community Over Fresh Direct
Mott Haven Herald
By Kathryn Casteel
After briefly collaborating with FreshDirect to distribute its unique Puerto Rican liquor, The Port Morris Distillery has changed its mind and decided that the first order of Pitorro moonshine it sends the company will be the last.
Online grocer caught in local war of loyalties
After briefly collaborating with FreshDirect to distribute its unique Puerto Rican liquor, The Port Morris Distillery has changed its mind and decided that the first order of Pitorro moonshine it sends the company will be the last.
The distillery had first announced it would sell the new product line through FreshDirect on Thursday, Sept. 24, at a public event announcing the collaboration at the FreshDirect facility.
The owners of Port Morris-based Bronx Brewery, which also uses the online grocer to market its products, also attended the event announcing the deal.
But when Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. tweeted a picture of the celebration, outrage ensued. By the next day, social media was abuzz with local activists calling to boycott the businesses.
“Bronx small businesses have a price tag… Port Morris Distillery sells out to FreshDirect,” said one tweet from Welcome2theBronx, a blog written by local activist Ed Garcia Conde.
