Heisman Trophy winner opening frosé shop on the Strip

Peyton Manning does frosé all day. Just not in Vegas.

The Co-op Frosé & Eatery, a chain of shops specializing in rosé wine slushies, is building out a location at Resorts World Las Vegas. A pink flamingo, the Co-op mascot, glows in the window, with a “coming soon” notice.

The restaurant has about 20 locations (open or planned) across the Southeast, and Manning is an investor in the Knoxville, Tennessee, shop. The Hall of Fame quarterback was also rumored to be involved in the Vegas restaurant.

But even without a Manning parlay on pink, frosé and football fame are still commingling in Vegas. Sam Bradford, a Heisman Trophy winner while at Oklahoma and a retired NFL quarterback, is investing in the shop at Resorts World, as confirmed by Jason Soss, co-owner of The Co-op, in an exclusive discussion with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“We have a variety of sports and entertainment investors and a long list of sports and entertainment celebrities who frequent our shops,” said Soss, adding that many were drawn from his business and social networks (he plays golf with Manning and Bradford, for one) rather than from a prior abiding interest in frozen rosé.

Resorts World, he said, could be the beginning of a frosé fiefdom across the Las Vegas Valley.

Shop, floor, pool

The Co-op lies just off the Hilton lobby at the property and encompasses about 1,000 square feet, with a debut set for this fall. The shop will offer about eight to 10 frosés at a time from a rotating seasonal menu of 50 flavors. The shop will also serve creative sandwiches, offer bottled rosé in partnership with Tarpon Cellars of Napa Valley, and supply slushies to room service.

On the casino floor, there will be Co-op kiosks, for that strawberry frosé fix. Out at the pool, an Airstream trailer (now being outfitted) will provide even more rosé on freeze.

“Nothing goes better with the beach than frosé; nothing goes better with the pool than frosé,” Soss said. “This is our first venture on the West Coast, and we think it’s a great fit. We thought it was a great opportunity to work with the Resorts World team.

“Las Vegas is also the bachelorette party capital. Frosé and bachelorette parties go together, so that made total sense for us, too.”

Younger drinkers; TV buzz

Jess Patterson, a onetime Wall Street guy, founded The Co-op in 2012 in a former market on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. Today, he and Soss, who played college tennis together, own the frosé chain. But before he came aboard, Soss wasn’t sold on frosé.

“I’m not a wine guy. I was the biggest cynic and nonbeliever you ever met,” he said. “I had to try the product. I fell in love with it. It’s a very interesting concept, and one that’s grown very quickly.”

Millennials and Gen Z drink more rosé than any other style of wine, according to industry research, and that passion for pink has helped The Co-op expand in the Southeast. But there’s also been the Hollywood factor.

“We’ve been very fortunate that a good number of movies and TV shows are being filmed in Charleston, South Carolina,” where The Co-op has a location, Soss said, citing “The Righteous Gemstones,” “Southern Charm” and “Outer Banks” as examples. “A lot of the casts and crews come to the shop, and that has gone viral.”

Beyond the Strip

A Co-op Frosé & Eatery is being developed for Denver, with Manning as an investor. The Co-op team is also looking at Phoenix and Los Angeles. In Vegas, the beachhead for this western expansion, the frosé fête could move off the Strip, Soss said.

“We certainly have entertained entering the local Las Vegas market, and we certainly have our eyes set on possibly doing something at Allegiant,” home of the Raiders.

Who knows? The Silver and Black could soon have a touch of pink. Call it Frosé Nation.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram and @ItsJLW on X.