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around towering wine displays, sip- ping reds and chatting.
When asked if he self-identifies as an entrepreneur, McMurray is coy. He’s more comfortable character- izing himself as a wine professional with an entrepreneurial flair.
“Wine is in my blood, and it has been for two-plus decades,” he says. “It’s what I know.”
McMurray’s modesty belies his ability. Entrepreneurs have a knack for innovating in unlikely or unexpected places. They also know how to “dis- rupt,” to borrow a hackneyed Silicon Valley phrase, and over the past 20 years, McMurray has done just that.
What’s more, McMurray has pio- neered in an industry notably averse to change. “The wine industry moves so slow,” McMurray says. “It’s defi- nitely not a progressive industry; it’s hundreds, thousands of years old. It doesn’t change quickly.” The news comes as no surprise, given that in McMurray’s world, the product is of- ten older than the salesman.
A history of wine
For someone who’s made an in- delible impression on Westchester’s wine landscape, it’s intriguing to learn McMurray’s entrance into the industry was marked by hesitation.
McMurray studied marketing at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in the late ’80s and later landed on the West Coast with his wife. He had a job with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, then tran- sitioned to a gig in the restaurant sec- tor. “I had no background in wine,” McMurray says.
But McMurray’s father-in-law— Zachys CEO Don Zacharia—saw a spark. Don was quick to notice McMurray’s tenacity and extend- ed an invitation to join the family business.
McMurray was reluctant. “I needed to make sure I liked the family busi- ness,” he recalls. To test the waters, he took a job at a wine store in Los Angeles.
Something clicked. “In the three years I was there, I went from being the guy who sweeps the floors in the warehouse to general manager,” McMurray says. “I fell in love with wine. And that’s how I got started.”
When McMurray eventually gave notice to the West Coast wine shop in order to head to Zachys, his employ- er was distraught. The boss called Don Zacharia and asked if he might turn McMurray away, so he could continue working in Los Angeles. A bold move—but one that likely ce- mented Zacharia’s decision to take on his son-in-law.
Now, 22 years later, McMurray serves as Zachys’ vice president, managing retail operations. Helming the retail division means overseeing the sprawling selection of wines and spirits that line Zachys’ walls, but far more, too.
“What you see [in Zachys] is only about 15 percent of our retail busi- ness,” McMurray explains. The other 85 percent is carried out online and over the phone, with 100,000 clients around the country.
It’s this sort of scope, and also the expertise, that distinguishes Zachys from the other wine and liquor stores that dot Westchester’s down-
towns. “We deal in the premium fine wine sector,” McMurray explains. Zachys’ average bottle price is be- tween $39 and $42. At other wine shops, that average is closer to $14 or $15, McMurray says.
During his tenure at Zachys, McMurray says he’s learned from the best, his father-in-law, whom he considers a mentor.
“He’s an icon in the fine-wine industry,” McMurray says with def- erence. Don Zacharia bought the Zachys location (then called East Parkway Liquor House) from his father in 1961 and transformed it into one of the most revered names in premium wine in the US. Today, at 84, Don Zacharia serves as CEO and has grown the company to more than 100 employees. In addition to the Scarsdale location, Zachys has offices and a 50,000-square-foot, temperature-controlled storage fa- cility in White Plains.
McMurray also works with his brother-in-law and Zachys president, Jeff Zacharia, who’s quick with praise. “He is always thinking about new and exciting ways to promote Zachys, new ways to bring people into the store,” Zacharia says of McMurray. “He’s a great entrepreneur.”
A family affair:
McMurray with
his father-in-law, Zachys owner Don Zacharia (middle), and brother-in-law Jeff Zacharia (right), president of Zachys.
TWO-PLUS DECADES. It’s what I know.”
Photograph courtesy of Andrew McMurray
Q1 2016 westchestermagazine.com 35
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