“I woke up yesterday morning, and I saw that Russia had invaded Ukraine. You wonder what you can do,’’ Bob Quay, owner of Bob’s Bar in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told WTHR. “The U.S. obviously is putting on sanctions. I thought I would put on sanctions as well.”
That day, Quay removed every trace of Stolichnaya, the Russian vodka of choice, from his shelves, replacing with the Ukrainian brand Vektor.
“We have a sign above it that says: Support Ukraine,” Quay said.
He said the support came fast and furious when he announced his decision on Facebook.
“It blew up,” he said. “We’ve got people coming in who’ve never been in the bar before.”
Bob’s Bar is just one of a growing list of establishments across the United States who are dumping Russian spirts for Ukrainian brands, and making those decrees public through social media.
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Londonderry, Vermont’s Magic Mountain ski resort posted its own video on Twitter that showed an employee emptying bottles of Stolichnaya down the drain, saying, “Sorry, we don’t serve Russian products here.”
And it’s not just private businesses.
The state of Ohio’s Commerce Department was ordered by Gov. Mike DeWine to halt all purchases and sales of Russian Standard, the only Russian vodka available for sale in Ohio. Likewise, Gov. Chris Sununu in New Hampshire and Gov. Spencer Cox in Utah signed executive orders removing Russian alcohols from the shelves in those states.
For Bob’s Bar, Quay says it’s not necessarily a temporary measure. He’s putting his money where his mouth is, positing he may never stock Russian spirits again. And: “I’ve ordered a Ukrainian flag, and that will be going up next week,” he said.
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