By Judy Carmack Bross
Emerging Entrepreneurs and their innovations are rightly boasted about in Chicago, and we predict that Chase Glick will be going from emerging to enduring because of his product’s mix of healthy and happy. We applaud his message to budding entrepreneurs to “do it, don’t wait” and to would-be purchasers of his Chay Spirits, “there’s now a better for you way not to miss out.”
Glick, who grew up on Armitage Avenue before moving to the North Shore, told us his path to launch Chay Spirits.
“I struggled with my weight all my life. I remember at eight always choosing the pizza and pasta even though my parents said no. In middle school and high school my teenage rebelliousness often expressed itself in eating more cookies. When I went to the University of Miami my weight surged to 350 pounds and I became a type 2 diabetic, I was exhausted by 11 a.m.
“After graduation I moved to New York, got an apartment and felt more in control. I looked in the mirror and was bothered by what I saw, and I knew that genetics were at play as well. My father had had five heart bypasses. I became determined to lose 150 pounds in nine months. I lost 100 pounds through a keto diet, so much steak and cheese, and walking all around the city. The last 50 was hard, but I really exercised.
“During COVID I sustained the weight loss but after it ended, I realized that I was 26 and wanted to be social with friends and have a drink but not feel guilty the next day about calories.
“Once I regained confidence and health, I was ready to get my social life back without compromising my passion for health and wellness. I realized there was no alcoholic option that I could feel good about drinking and that I could enjoy without regretting it the next day.
“Ordering and mixing drinks while being carb and sugar-conscious is tough and the options were uninspired or unhealthy. Choices seemed to be a plain vodka or plain tequila or of course, a very sugary cocktail.
“With nothing on the market that fit my standards, I set out to create a beverage with both flavor and sweetness, without the sugar or ingredients that derail healthier eating habits.
“In 2020, after extensive research and countless taste tests, Chay was born! Using natural ingredients and perfectly sweetened with allulose which is found in fruits such as kiwis and dates. It is not a cane sugar and is digested as glucose. Finally, a better-for-you, plant-based sweetened vodka.”
There are four flavors vodkas which are distilled in Fort Wayne: lemon, coconut, hibiscus, and vanilla. They also offer four flavored ready-to-drink vodka cocktails, each 17.5 percent alcohol and 35 proof… “We put them in glass bottles, some having three to four drinks in them, and just pour over ice, ready to go,” Glick said. “All are zero sugar, low carb, gluten-free, plant-based sweetened and natural.”
Chay Sprits is based in Glenview and products are sold in independent liquor stores throughout the area, at the Ritz Carleton and other hotel bars, and at many grocery stores and restaurants.
Glick, who spends a good deal of his time at tastings and demonstrations commented: “The expansion has been pretty rapid and people who are dubious of the healthy part always get smiles on their faces when they try it.”
His message to other entrepreneurs? “Be authentic. I found that there are so many celebrity brands out there that you need to seek authenticity. So don’t wait and do listen to others. Failure often does come in some ways but pursue your ideas.”
