Age: 50Hometown: RochesterCurrent residence: RochesterOccupation: CEO and co-owner, Fee Brothers Jon Spacher doesn’t come across as someone eager to be the face of anything. Gregarious but understated, he’s more at ease talking about Fee Brothers than his own role spearheading it all. But as CEO of the esteemed Rochester cocktail ingredient company founded in 1864, Spacher deserves a sliver of limelight. Some 30 years back, he studied astrophysics — a field focused on the universe’s vast scale — before pivoting to business. Early fascinations sometimes have a way of coming down to earth. Spacher’s work now centers on a smaller universe, but scale remains a big concern: how to keep a 162-year-old family business growing while staying true to its roots.  Since 2021, the year that Jon and his brother, Benn, bought the business from their aunt Ellen Fee after her brother and former CEO Joe Fee’s death, they’ve worked to scale Fee Brothers without treating growth as the be-all and end-all. Keeping the Fee name on their bottles is important, sure, but more than that Jon Spacher has a people-first attitude and wants employees to be able to share in the organization’s success. “In the past six years, we’ve gone from 12 employees to 50,” Spacher said. “We’ve created one of the most robust employee benefits packages out there. One of the things I’m most proud of is that we’ve also developed a profit-sharing plan. When Fee Brothers makes money, our employees make money.” The plan has paid out every year since its inception. More than knowledge of markets and business savvy, which Spacher clearly has, his Fee Bros. elevator pitch will make listeners want to stock their bar cart with specialized Fee syrups and bitters on the spot.  On a quick factory walk-through, Spacher shakes hands, shares nicknames that signal genuine regard for employees and even points out his 20-something son tending to a piece of machinery on the factory floor. Call them workers or employees, but here, Spacher hopes the staff is something more. “What I really love about this job is [that] we get to create opportunities,” he said. “We do well, we get to hire more employees and then help those employees grow and take care of their families.” That people-first outlook, however, works only if the business keeps giving it room — as well as the funds — to grow. For Fee Brothers, Spacher said, that means developing, marketing and selling products that set the company apart rather than trying to compete on price alone. One example of a new standout product is the fat washes, Fee’s three-part line of water-soluble cocktail flavorings. A quick mixology lesson, courtesy of Spacher: to add a savory profile to a cocktail, bartenders can fat-wash spirits (add a liquid to a room-temperature spirit) for anywhere from a few hours to several days. To save time and effort, Fee Brothers created a “dashable fat wash” (in bacon, brown butter, or roasted duck flavors) that punches up a drink’s mouthfeel almost instantly. These fat washes debuted June 1, coinciding with the 13th annual Rochester Cocktail Revival.  What makes this new product line significant? In cocktail terms, these fat washes are akin to something like a bartender cheat code, but in the best possible way: you get the same effect, a delightful zip while sipping, with almost zero prep time or the need to clean up a big mess. “It does the same exact thing in about two seconds that would have previously taken someone 24 to 48 hours,” Spacher said. “So instead of having this overnight process, it’s just dash-dash.” It’s this kind of efficiency that allows Fee Brothers to make its mark and stay competitive. With Spacher, however, the thinking quickly moves to how the product can help not only those who buy it but also the people who manufacture, label, market and distribute it — Fee’s employees, most of whom are members of the Rochester community.  Although he shirks the spotlight, Spacher is heavily involved in the Rochester area community. He lives downtown; serves on several boards, councils and committees; volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester; and sits on the School of Business’s Family Business Steering Committee at St. John Fisher University, where he used to adjunct. This connection to education is fitting, as Fee Brothers CFO Dan Welch describes Spacher as “a lifelong learner,” someone who closely watches trends and understands how craft cocktail product development can be tailored to changing needs across the industry. “He respects what it took to get here and doesn’t take it lightly,” Welch said. “His attitude is one of keeping intact the good things of the past but also taking the brand to a new level.” Still, Spacher doesn’t have his sights set on any far-off marker of external success (unlike his Uncle Joe, perhaps, who wanted Fee Bros. in Antarctica). The company. has weathered Prohibition, COVID-19 and more — emerging stronger than ever. “We are already at the top of the mountain,” said Spacher. “We have already crossed the finish line. Life is already good. Now that we’re here, the fun begins.” —BRENDAN DABKOWSKI The post Rochester Ten | Jon Spacher appeared first on CITY Magazine. Arts. Music. Culture.. ...read more read less