Zachys was born from a dream of a better life. In 1935, a young, Polish-born man by the name of Zacharia fled conscription into the Russian army and the horrors of war-torn Europe. He forged his own discharge papers and walked across the continent. In Amsterdam, he boarded a ship bound for New York.
When he reached the United States, an immigration officer—unable to pronounce Zacharia’s last name— renamed him on his entry papers. Ever the pragmatist, he embarked upon a new life as Zachy Zacharia.
Zachy wasted no time planting the seeds of an American Dream for his young family: he invested in a 150-square-foot store that he called East Parkway Liquor House. It started life as a small operation, nestled next to a local train station in Scarsdale, New York.
Twenty years later, Zachy’s son: Don Zacharia joined the business. Creative and ambitious, as Don came of age, he made every effort to resist the draw of the family business. Don dreamed of moving to Los Angeles and becoming a novelist.
However, as Don contemplated his future, it was fate that thwarted his literary ambitions. She steered him to a liquor storefront in Manhattan. The store was a vision of all that a wine business could be—it was small but well-stocked, with a glittering window display and an undeniable aura.
In that moment, Don’s plans changed when he saw the potential for a new kind of wine store. He decided he would channel his creative talents elsewhere and make his father’s shop into the nation’s premier fine wine and spirits retailer, offering an unrivaled selection, unbelievable access, and exemplary customer service.
In 1961, Don Zacharia bought his father's store, renaming it in his honor: what was once East Parkway Liquor House was now—the much catchier—Zachy's. A happy accident by a sign maker in the 1970s accidentally left the apostrophe off the sign he produced for the store, turning "Zachy's" into "Zachys".
Don took a determined approach to realizing his vision for the store, which balanced two foundational priorities: he traversed the globe to find the best wines for his clients, while never losing the local touch that made his father’s beloved neighborhood business special.
From Bordeaux to Piedmont to Oregon, Don had the wine business in his blood and a well-trained nose for the best. He circumnavigated the globe year after year to taste, learn and network in every corner of the fine wine community, becoming a fountain of insight. Don set the standards of access and expertise for which Zachys is renowned to this day.
Don also placed weekly advertisements in the New York Times, telling city dwellers to “Take a Drive to Zachys” and regaling prospective clients with the tales of his travels and his discovered bounty, turning Zachys into a pilgrimage for rare rewards for whoever could make it up to Westchester.
Don was voracious, endlessly fascinated by the burgeoning industry and committed to finding new ways for his customers to uncover the experiences at the heart of the world of wine.
He recognized that access to the best wines in the world was a rarified status only few could claim, but it was invaluable to his clients, with whom he had grown close. In this spirit, he became the first retailer to sell Bordeaux Futures, allowing clients to secure upcoming Bordeaux vintages while they were still in the barrel.
Don’s fervor for the family business proved to be genetic. Jeff (the third Zacharia generation) and Andrew (Don’s son-in-law) were the next to take the helm. They worked alongside Don for years, learning from his passion and uncovering their own. They catapulted Zachys into the digital age when they made Zachys one of the first in the industry with a robust website, where clients could browse the company’s entire catalogue of wines and spirits.
In the mid-90s, Zachys took their unparalleled expertise and enviable network of clients, producers and friends beyond retail, establishing Zachys in the auction world and pioneering a new approach that embodied the spirit of wine that Zachys loves so much: the dine-around auction.
Zachys auctions were peerless in the caliber of their product, and they also became lively events which celebrated Zachys love of sharing and making connections through wine. These occasions were as much social events as they were opportunities for record-breaking sales and consignments.
(Although even Don himself would concede that wine isn’t everything, and even the New York Times noted that every once in a while, you could catch him sneaking a listen to the Yankees game mid-auction.)
The spirit of a Zachys auction has become legendary, while their presence in the auction world has become world-class, spanning Asia, Europe, and the US.
Jeff took over the business in 2000. Since then, we've expanded to more regions and broadened our catalog of New World wines, from Chile and Oregon to New Zealand. We're always making friends and networking for our clients, ensuring an ever-expanding selection of exceptional wines.
Our auction business has become a worldwide powerhouse, commanding industry-defining prices for world-class collections, including those of long-time clients ready to let some of their collection go. Now a worldwide presence 20 years into our auction tenure, we recently surpassed our $1 billion sales mark thanks to a team with over 150 years of auction experience. At a Zachys auction, you can always bid with confidence.
We’ve also opened a storage service, letting us house wine for clients who want a trusted third party looking after their valued collection or have simply run out of space in the cellar.
A new, renovated, state-of-the-art Port Chester retail and storage space has concentrated all Zachys activities to best serve clients across retail, e-commerce, and storage all from one hub. And our management offices are just next door, so you may catch us popping by the shop at dinnertime to discover something new for our own family table. Oh, and a fourth generation of Zacharia has joined the business. What can we say, fine wine is in our bones.
80 years after Zachy Zacharia began our family's love affair with fine wines and spirits, it is still our great honor welcome you to Zachys, where wine is a way of life, and a way of living well.