In a nutshell
Fans of MKT’s distilled spirits can still purchase bottles from liquor stores or from the Katy taproom for the short-term.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission mandates the business must liquidate its products before closing completely, so owners Nick and Nici Jessett said they are still selling bottles of their spirits to patrons on a limited schedule or by appointment only. They said patrons can stay posted to the business's Facebook page for its limited hours or reach out directly to schedule a time to come by.
The backstory
MKT Distillery opened in October 2018 at 5373 1st St., Katy, surrounded by the historic rice dryers. The business sold whiskey, vodka, moonshine, gin, bourbon and other liquors that were distilled in-house, the Jessetts said.
When their distillery and outdoor taproom couldn’t recover from low sales during the hot summer months, Nick Jessett said they decided to close it.
The history
Despite the closure, the Jessetts said celebrating the history of the rice dryers remains important to them; the couple relaunched the annual tradition of putting a Christmas tree of lights on top of the rice silo—a tall cylindrical structure that used to store rice.
Nick Jessett said they’ve enjoyed being part of the “social fabric” of Katy. The taproom frequently hosted fundraisers and even children’s birthday parties around the business’s inflatable bounce house, he said.
“We didn't intend to create that. It just happened, right?” he said. “We created kind of almost the ‘Cheers’ environment—the old bar from the TV show—in Katy, Texas.”
What’s next
The couple has consistently kept other jobs while owning and operating MKT Distillery; Nici Jessett works in the manufacturing industry, and Nick Jessett works in cybersecurity.
Now, they said they’re looking forward to spending more time with their family, but they’re open to someone else taking over the reigns at MKT Distillery.
“If anyone were to come and say, ‘Hey, we decided after thinking we do want to purchase MKT,’ obviously we'd be open to it,” Nici Jessett said. “Anything could happen, but we're not betting on anything.”
