After World War II, trucks were difficult to come by. Fortunately, Tom was able to borrow a truck to use in the evenings when daily businesses and local farmers at the Flint Farmer’s Market were not using them. Tom had a friend who worked for Dodge Motor Company who was later able to get two trucks for him to purchase. He then had two trucks of his own, a couple of employees, and a warehouse on Deming Street in Flint. This enabled him to order, sell, and deliver Fox Deluxe into his growing market.  He later added Hamm’s and Pfeiffer’s products to the Flint area.

After operating for a couple of years and selling a few thousand cases in his first two years of business, Tom added a product line that would change the company tremendously. In 1949 he added Budweiser to his product line, which was a nationally brewed beer, but unfamiliar in the Flint area at the time.

Budweiser began dominating the local Flint market in the 1970’s and in 1977, the company handled approximately 1 million cases. After the death of Tom Ryan in 1977, his wife, Marion W. Ryan, took over as President and General Manager of the company. She ran the business during the company’s tremendous growth. In 1981, Budweiser became the number one selling beer in Tom Ryan’s area and in 1986, wines and other domestic and imported beer brands were added to the company’s growing list of products.

In 1991, Tom and Marion’s son, J. Michael Ryan purchased the company from his mother and today he is the President and Owner of the sole Anheuser-Busch Distributorship in Genesee and Lapeer counties.

In September of 2006, Tom Ryan discontinued the sale of wine products.  Today Anheuser-Busch and imported beer brands are sold by Tom Ryan Distributing, with the bulk of sales coming from Anheuser-Busch products. The company is located on Kent Street in Flint, spread over 200,000 square feet of warehouse, garage, and office space. Each day, 24 Tom Ryan Distributing trucks are on the road making deliveries to stores, bars, and restaurants in Genesee and Lapeer counties. Having been in business for over 60 years, the company takes pride in low employee turnover and a high level of customer satisfaction in the products and services we provide.