John Phillips leverages local and thinks global with Parlor Beverages

WILKES-BARRE — The area is ripe for revolution and John Phillips is leading the attack from The Accelerator Building in Downtown Wilkes-Barre, armed with craft root beer.

Meet the Luzerne County business leader disrupting the status quo of business in NEPA with his cutting-edge ideas.

This ambitious business owner, with his edgy office decorated with arcade games and platinum records, proves that running a company from NEPA doesn’t have to look the way we often expect it to look. Phillips thinks global while staying local by utilizing the network of forward-thinking individuals that he’s built along the way.

Phillips is the owner of several successful businesses that all started right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He recently founded Parlor Beverages. He also runs MCR Productions, an event management company that designs experiences, and 900 Management, an entertainment company that specializes in artist management and development. In addition to all that, Phillips worked as tour manager for some of the most recognizable names in the music industry, from Falling in Reverse to Snoop Dogg.

Phillips was first a musician himself. At age 10, he fell in love with music and began mastering the viola, cello, guitar and piano. At one point, Phillips was even ranked the 10th best vocalist in the state with scholarship offers to become an artist, but he turned them all down for a chance to work on the business side of music.

Before he became a prolific tour manager and local business leader, Phillips was a concert promoter. His life became full-time music. He even ran the Steamtown Original Music Showcase (now known as the “Electric City Music Conference”) for six years. When Breaking Benjamin came back after their six-year hiatus, Phillips was the promoter for their comeback show at the old Voodoo Lounge. The show inspired the band to ask Phillips to be their tour manager … and the rest is history. From there, Phillips began working with bigger and bigger names, including Public Enemy, Body Count, Ice-T, Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang Clan.

Oh, and he’s not slowing down anytime soon! Phillips latest business venture? The best root beer you’ve ever tasted.

Parlor Beverages launched in 2021, and this progressive soda brand was born right here in the Accelerator Building in the midst of adversity. “I always thought that when things are down, that’s the best time to strike,” said Phillips.

When the pandemic hit, concerts and events were first to pull back. Phillips was forced to regroup with his businesses. His solution was to invent a root beer company.

“If you’re afraid to take the risk to possibly grow, you’re never going to get ahead; that’s how Parlor came to pass,” said Phillips, then he added, “And the fact that my kids wanted to drink root beer one day, and we just decided to sample it from all over the country.”

He and his family tasted countless root beers, trying to pinpoint the best one, as a way of entertaining themselves over the pandemic. Then a funny thing happened, that crazy idea evolved into another crazy idea … founding his very own craft soda business.

Parlor Beverages isn’t just any old soda and that’s how Phillips likes it. Phillips and his business partners, aimed to set themselves apart from the sea of boring beverage companies. The brand has attitude and isn’t afraid to drop an “F-bomb.”

“Sometimes we need to shake things up around here. We’re not going to follow the norm of what everyone’s doing …because otherwise nothing changes,” said Phillips.

The marketing of Parlor Beverage is unapologetic. Although Phillips receives push back on his messaging, he’s doubled down on his approach. He believes that vulgarity is based upon context and not upon words. What matters is the spirit of messaging and that’s all positive.

Parlor Beverages is a culture forward brand before anything else. Phillips makes it his company mission to uphold representation and inclusivity. For imagery, Parlor Beverages taps into the old school values of 1950s nostalgia that represented the blue-collar workforce of America. Phillips wanted to design a brand that embodies all backgrounds.

Phillips attributes his rapid business success with Parlor Beverages to networking, much of it happening within the Accelerator Building itself. The first thing he did with his root beer idea was bring it to his friends and business partners, including Josh Balz (owner of Strange & Unusual Oddities Parlor and former Member of Motionless in White) and Aaron Bruch (member of Breaking Benjamin). “Going to them when I formed the idea, I knew I could make it successful, but I knew they would put it over the top — and that was the case. … No pun intended,” said Phillips.

Parlor Beverages is not just a Wilkes-Barre company; it’s a national brand with local roots. “Things are moving at the national level, but we’re trying to bring attention back here at the local level, because you can’t have a house without a basement.”

Phillips’ advice to other area business owners is to think beyond simply “doing business in Scranton” or “doing business in Wilkes-Barre.” He wants to see Northeastern Pennsylvania break barriers, branch out and work together to create a brighter, more entertaining future for our region. “Opportunity exists in creation. You have to create opportunity; you can’t just expect to drop in your lap,” said Phillips.

He’d love to see the downtown areas of both Wilkes-Barre and Scranton grow to new heights. Phillips recalled a quote from local developer, Donald Rinaldi of Scranton Life, “The city is the heartbeat. … And that’s where it all starts.”

Phillips credits his success to his network, many of them right there in the Accelerator Building. “It’s supercharged. This building in and of itself is a new engine,” said Phillips. “We all feed off each other here.”

Phillips came into the Accelerator Building in late 2020 where he has been scaling his companies ever since. Even throughout the pandemic, he and his partners continued to come into their offices and build together, despite setbacks.

Even the location itself echoes a refreshed mindset, repurposed in 2019 by building owner, Kristopher Jones, who also a partner in Parlor Beverage. Jones wanted to create a home conducive to incubate ground-breaking ideas right here in NEPA and ever since, it’s become a collaborative haven for local business leaders like Phillips.

Since moving in, Phillips and his partners were able to expand their business on all fronts. Big things are happening but big things are still to come for Parlor Beverages.

“My goal for Parlor is not just be a big root beer company, I want it to have divisions; content areas, record label, sponsored concerts, etc. That’s the kind of stuff I want to accomplish with the brand,” said Phillips.

Parlor Beverages has already become a widely recognized name and continues expanding into new horizons. “It all just kind of proved my theory that life and business can change just with a thought,” said Phillips. “The fact that you’re just thinking about something and you can create all of this out of thin air is quite an attribute — and that goes for any business.”

Phillips didn’t have the luxury of just stepping into any of his businesses. He worked hard to create what he has today and he’s still not taking any of it for granted.

“I think the richest thing I’ve gotten out of all of this has nothing to do with the artists or my work or my businesses, it’s my network and the people I surround myself with. I think that’s the ultimate value you can have in any business.”

You may be wondering why these big-name artists choose John Phillips out of Wilkes-Barre to run their nationwide tours? Phillips believes it’s because he’s a workhorse who’s always looking for new, better ways to connect with people. He also never stops thinking big.

“Music is just a buffet. It’s just a matter of what you want to sample from it.” Phillips is proud he’s able to cross genres from metal to hip-hop, and that influence can be seen in the Parlor Beverages brand well. “Music is all about culture. The one sense of appreciation of working with it is that each band or genre has its own culture attached to it. You see it in their fan base, you see it in their music, you see it in their demeanor. You see it where their background is.”

Sure, John Phillips is disrupting the traditional business scene, but everyone’s invited. Something distinct about Parlor Beverages that sets the company apart from other soda companies is that anybody can become an investor. That just another testament to the inclusiveness of the brand.

“There are two types of people; there are people that think inside the box, and then there are people that create boxes. And, I’m not a person that likes to follow the rules.

“I’ve always been afraid while I was doing it, which is probably the biggest motivator. I never let my fear overcome me or keep me from doing what I needed to do. If you’re not afraid of working in business and doing what you want to do, then it’s not going to pan out for you. Because that just means you’re playing the safe route.”

Take a page out of John Phillips’ playbook and build for the future. Don’t wait for opportunity to come knocking; pull your network and chase your dreams.

Phillips reminds us, “Fortune always favors the bold.”