Zack T. Medford is a husband, a father, community activist, and small business owner. He lives resides in Raleigh, North Carolina but keeps one foot firmly planted in Wilmington, North Carolina as well. He's actively involved in both the Wilmington & Raleigh community and can usually be found at one of his various business establishments, or hanging out at home with his family.
Businesses in downtown Raleigh are coming together to say "thank you" to the Raleigh firefighters who worked tirelessly to extinguish a massive downtown fire Thursday night.
Several businesses have set up Thank You Card stations; the cards are set to be delivered Monday. People have been stopping by businesses like Isaac Hunter's Tavern Saturday to show their appreciation.
Raleigh restaurant owner Zack Medford who owns Paddy O' Beers saw the post and used his business accounts to encourage giving in the storm.
"We put a post on Facebook and asked people to bring coats to Paddy O' Beers," he said. "We thought we might get a few coats and help out the shelter-we wound up getting over 100 coats and they're still coming in," he said.
Zack T. Medford will serve as the Managing Partner of Tap Yard Wilmington.
Medford currently serves as president and CEO of The Great Raleigh Trolley, Medventures Marketing & Events as well as Coglin’s Wilmington Retro Bar.
Medford and his team were instrumental in the revitalization of Downtown Raleigh, establishing one of the first retail businesses on the newly opened Fayetteville Street in 2009. An Enloe High (2001) and North Carolina State University (2005) graduate, Medford’s previous successful businesses lined Raleigh’s entertainment districts: the 80 & 90s bar Coglin’s Raleigh, the bottle shop and tasting room Paddy O’Beers, and Downtown Raleigh’s neighborhood bar Isaac Hunter’s Tavern, and the cocktail bar Parliament. In 2019, Medford launched Coglin’s Wilmington as his first foray into the Port City. Coglin’s Wilmington has been a tremendous success and is on pace to do 1.5 million in sales in 2022. At home, Zack and his wife Stephanie are raising their three sons Noah, Nathan and Jacob Medford.
In 2016, Medford founded Medventures Marketing & Events and went on to produce over 36 events across 6 states, hosting over 5,000 people. Most recently, Medford partnered with the City of Las Vegas to produce The Great Onesie Bar Crawl across Fremont Street on November 24, 2021.
In 2017, Medford launched The Great Raleigh Trolley which quickly became the region’s premier wedding transportation and tour service. The fleet currently spans seven trolleys, shuttles, and buses. The Great Raleigh Trolley was named Raleigh’s Number One Tourist Attraction by WRAL in 2018 and later honored with the Triangle Business Journal’s Leadership in Diversity award in 2019.
Medford’s efforts in Raleigh extend past his businesses, and into the community. Medford served as President of the Capital City Clauses charity organization in 2018. He was a part of the Leadership Raleigh class of 2017-2018. In 2019, he was awarded the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 under 40 honor. In 2020 & 2021, Medford served as President of the North Carolina Bar and Tavern Association and was instrumental in helping bars reopen safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medford’s talent for marketing, and event production has brought great success to his businesses and to the Raleigh & Wilmington communities. His fifteen years of experience in the hospitality industry, and his North Carolina roots have helped craft one of the state’s greatest small-business success stories.
Current & Previous Projects
2008 – 2020 Isaac Hunter’s Tavern – Downtown Raleigh’s Neighborhood Bar
2012 - 2020 Coglin’s Raleigh – 80s & 90s Bar
2013 – 2021 Paddy O’Beers – Craft Beer Bottle Shop
2017 – 2021 Parliament – Classic Bar in Glenwood South
2016 – present Medventures Marketing & Events – Event Production Company
2017 - present The Great Raleigh Trolley - Classic trolley bus transportation company
2019 – present Coglin’s Wilmington – 5,000 sqft Retro-themed Nightclub
Want to reach out to Zack about an upcoming event, project or opportunity? Simply fill out the contact form to the right.
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