Living in Genoa City, David was a regular visitor to the quaint resort town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  As most every visitor does, one day in the fall of 2005, David found himself walking by florist shop located in the northeast end of downtown.  A sign in their window indicated they were going out of business.  He walked in to find out more.  Looking around with both his eyes, and his imagination, the idea for Pop More Corks was conceived.

POP MORE CORKS, INCORPORATED

Some galvanized ice buckets were for sale.  He saw them holding ice to chill wine bottles and purchased them.  David also noticed a long stained glass welcome sign featuring grape leaves and thought that he would also need such a sign for his wine store. David learned who the landlord was and walked out the door that day thinking he just found a great location to open a wine store.  Before he could take the next step, a tragic misstep almost ended the dream.

On the way to visit a friend, lifting himself and a couple of heavy bundles up some icy steps, David lost his balance, fell, and fractured his hip.  Unable to move, in severe pain, he managed to get out his cell phone and called into the house for help.  Some coaxing to get up from well meaning neighbors proved fruitless.  Paramedics were called and subsequent X-rays confirmed a broken right hip.

Placed in traction, consultations recommended hip replacement surgery.  It was expensive, but David had kept up his health insurance at a cost of $900 a month.  He bore the expense because one has to be on disability for two years before qualifying for Medicare if you’re under 65.  The surgery went well and David went back to the rehabilitation center to rebuild his leg function with his new hip.

Having learned a number of crisis coping skills during his hospital stays, David slipped right back into the routine and completed his rehabilitation in two weeks.  Three more months passed just getting back to normal, with a couple more needed to build up his strength to resume plans to open his wine store. 

Finally ready to take the next step, and reasonably good in matters of finance, he began developing an informal business plan involving monthly expenses and projected income.  Unable to fund a payroll for employees, he expected to be on his own.  Before opening Pop More Corks a part-time position in sales at a wine store provided some much needed experience. 

Ideas for shelving were passed on to a friend who would construct them when the time came to renovate the flower shop space.  From his association with the wine store owner, he learned many of the business aspects of running such an operation.  Most of all, David realized he could manage the physical requirements of running a wine shop.  During this period, he incorporated Pop More Corks as a wine consulting business. 

Pop More Corks, as a retail operation, represented the restoration of David’s professional dignity, a return to a more normal life of resuming his role as a productive member of the professional community, it involved an area in which he was an expert, and physically it was something he knew he could handle.  Having the idea was one thing, making it happen would prove to be a considerable challenge, but once again, the power of Synchronicity began to open doors.

His intention firmly in place, but not at all sure where the money for the store would come from, David found himself visiting his father in Texas, after his mother passed away.    

David’s father was a musician, an accordion player, and often entertained in nursing homes and hospitals accompanied by a violin player, a close and dear friend who came into his life after his wife died.  The two were inseparable.

When illness brought her to Michigan for the support of her family, it didn’t take much coaxing for David to encourage his father to sell his condo and relocate, returning to his childhood hometown to be with his dear friend and several other family members, including his sister, two brothers, and David.  Upon learning of David’s wish to open Pop More Corks in Lake Geneva, he didn’t hesitate to lend his support. 

Without being gainfully employed, normal channels for business loans, even ones based on the equity in his home, were not within the realm of possibility.  With the financing in place, David was able to begin serious preparations to open Pop More Corks.   

David’s dream to own and run his own wine store became a reality in September of 2006.  After one year in operation, the unique wine culture experience to be had at Pop More Corks continues to be enjoyed and shared word of mouth by more and more loyal customers.

David has been in the business world and in sales long enough to understand the role that relationships play building a client base.  David strives to relate to each and every customer who honors him by walking through his Pop More Corks doors in such a way that they will tell someone else something about their experience.  If that happens, David has done his job, honoring his calling to serve—not only a good wine, but something more to refresh the soul’s palate.