T
he first thing folks remark about is the sheer pizzazz of the Wayne, N.J., outlet of Gary's Wine & Marketplace. Despite its mammoth 24,000 square feet, in a former Treasure
Island space, the three-year-old store offers unique touches like a raised Italian-villa-style construction over the entrance, potted trees and a fine-foods area as large as many stand-alone delis. Yet it manages to convey a sense of intimacy and approachability at the same time, and even a note of whimsy in some of its gift offerings and such oddball offerings as a case stack of a new black-colored water called Blk Water from a New Jersey marketer. "It's as nice a store as I've been in, entirely beautiful, very shoppable," said one battle- hardened distributor, in a typical remark. (He requested anonymity so as not to antagonize his other retail customers with less-distinguished stores.) The Wayne store is the most striking flourish of a three-store chain that, since its origins in 1987, has elevated the wine experience in northern New Jersey and, in the process, made its proprietor, Gary Fisch, something of a regional celebrity. In citing Fisch as one of New Jersey Monthly's 101 Most Influential People in the Garden State in 2009, Fisch was credit- ed with having "combined the New York idea of the wine superstore with the European idea of the upscale wine-and-food emporium . . . His down-to-earth style has made him an oft-quoted wine commentator and an informative lecturer. Over the last 20 years, his annual Grand Tasting has contributed $250,000 to Morristown and area charities."
T
he chain goes back to 1987 when Gary and his brother Mark, a decade older than him, started running the first store, a 1,500-square-foot unit in Madison. Gary had graduated from Rider College, with a degree in political science and having taken no business courses to speak of. But the boys' father had worked in the wine and spirits business at Fedway Associates, the big distributor, and Gary had helped out on a part-time basis in his senior year, pulling in $60 a week working three or four accounts. Knowing he could sell, upon graduation, at age 21, he figured that career might be worth a whirl. But the experience proved initially disastrous: the company gave him a list of unsold accounts to work and it quickly became clear, Fisch recalls, why they were unsold and, usually, des- tined to remain that way. Fisch, working on a straight commission, earned next to nothing. During the company's enforced August vacation,
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