“They have been instrumental in our growth,” he said. When he was honored, Poulos praised his staff for helping him achieve the accolade. I perhaps wasn’t as involved in the community as I should have been. “I’m very, very humbled to be recognized by my peers,” Poulos said when he accepted the award. 17, Poulos received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Island Park Chamber of Commerce in recognition of more than 70 years in the business community. The first floor of the shop measures about 11,000 square feet, and the upstairs is about 5,000 square feet. A conveyor belt carried inventory into the makeshift warehouse, where it restocked the store or was sent to online customers. The shop’s upstairs was open only to employees and housed boxes of wine and liquor on floor-to-ceiling shelves. Pop’s offered more than 6,000 wines from around the world, ranging from inexpensive brands to varieties worth thousands of dollars. A neon sign directs customers to a popular shopper spot: Pop’s Fine Wine Room. There’s also an aisle for scotch, bourbon and whiskey and another for gin, tequila and rum. The store has its original tile floor, and walls and shelves stocked with dozens of vodka varieties. Poulos said that one of his goals was to give people a reason to come to Island Park by offering a wide array of wines and liquors. He also held a semi-annual sale, which marked down wine 30 percent from New Year’s to Presidents Day. Poulos started shipping wine and liquor to customers across the country through the store’s website before many other chains did. Poulos said he is proud of the shop gaining national recognition and overcoming adversity, which included recovering from flood damage in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The corner store has undergone six expansions - most recently in 2010 - and now generates 60 times more revenue than it did during its first year in business. Under his guidance, Pop’s thrived in Island Park for decades, and has drawn customers from across the South Shore. Peter was the son of a Greek immigrant, and the store’s name was derived from people affectionately calling his father “Pops” when he came to the United States.Īfter he graduated from engineering school in 1976, Poulos continued his family’s legacy by taking over the store, which specializes in fine wines. Poulos’s father, Peter, opened Pop’s in 1944. “I’m a certified workaholic, so it’s a little bit of an adjustment going from full throttle to idle.” Poulos said the decision to retire came because of health issues and the increasingly competitive climate in the wine and spirits industry. We wish him well in his future endeavors.” “Their support to the Island Park community has been second to none. “Nick and his family have been a fixture of the community for approximately 70 years,” Island Park Chamber of Commerce President Mike Scully said. 1, selling the establishment, at 256 Long Beach Road, to a new proprietor named Chu Lin. Longtime owner Nick Poulos retired from the daily grind of selling bottles and serving customers on Nov. Pop’s Wine & Spirits has been sold after more than 70 years as a cornerstone business in Island Park.
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