OLD SISTRUNK DISTILLERY AT
Victor Harvey’ s Vision to Build
by Howard Holley
In 2018, spirits industry veteran Victor Harvey, founder of Victor George Spirits, set out to take his decades of experience to the next level: not just branding or white-labeling spirits, but producing his own. After more than 20 years in the business, he was ready to build a distillery and venue rooted in place, culture and community. That journey led him to Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale— though not without hesitation.
Harvey initially planned to build elsewhere, unsure the neighborhood was ready for a project of this scale. Conversations with the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency( CRA) and City Commissioner Robert McKenzie, who had been championing revitalization efforts in the historic Black neighborhood where he was born and raised, shifted his perspective.
“ When they asked what it would take to do it there, that’ s when I really started understanding their purpose and commitment to the community,” Harvey said.“ I wanted to be part of it.”
The CRA ultimately approved funding through a forgivable loan, helping move the project forward despite pandemic delays. The result evolved into a larger vision: a destination honoring Sistrunk’ s cultural history and shaping its future. Harvey notes that before desegregation, Sistrunk was the only district where Black residents in Broward County could access nightlife, dining and entertainment. The future home of Old Sistrunk Distillery will be The Victory Building, named in honor of the historic Victory Theater that once anchored the corridor. Naming the distillery’ s new home
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