Back in 1955, Jim Hensley had a dream to bring ice cold beer – an American tradition best enjoyed with family and friends – to thirsty Phoenicians. That year, Jim started his company with just 15 employees and, together, they brought over 73,000 cases of Anheuser-Busch beer to folks in Phoenix.
Today – with a proprietary service fleet of more than 1,100 vehicles and the support of more than 1,200 employees – Hensley is one of the largest family owned and operated beverage distributors in the nation. These days, Hensley brings refreshment to people all across Arizona, and champions over 2,500 different beers, craft brews, fine wine, premium spirits and delicious non-alcoholic beverages too.
While Hensley’s business is to sell world-class beverages, our mission is to treat our partners and customers like family, and our philosophy is to do much more. As a longstanding member of Phoenix and its surrounding communities, Hensley believes in actively promoting responsibility. We are a nationally-recognized leader in campaigns to reduce alcohol abuse, underage drinking, and drunk driving.
In 2001, to further serve our communities, the Hensley Employee Foundation was born – funded in part by our employees themselves. This foundation, along with Hensley’s corporate contributions, has donated a significant amount of money since its inception to organizations that advocate healthcare, education, housing, community development, human rights, anti-poverty, and social welfare programs.
What sets the Hensley Employee Foundation apart is the personal commitment from our employees themselves – employees who not only contribute financially to its mission, but who make organizing and participating in charitable work part of their everyday lives.
At Hensley, not only are we honored to bring people the beverage brands they love, we are proud to be making a difference too.