Pop + Pour

Yajaira Gonzalez was looking for a hobby, not a business, when she discovered her love for wine in 2012. She enjoyed tasting it, learning about it, and finding out more about its terroir. After years of diligent saving, she opened Pop + Pour. The hours start later in the day, which has allowed Yajaira to spend mornings with her children before heading off to work.

Though Yajaira closed her business for the beginning of quarantine, she reopened for takeout, delivery, and outdoor dining just in time for summer. Though they didn’t offer delivery before, the new model allowed Pop + Pour to reach new customers – and even more so with the ability to offer alcohol delivery.

Adaptation is key for businesses to survive during hard times. Many Jewish immigrants, upon arriving to the United States, sold their wares on pushcarts, similarly to the marketplaces from their homes in Eastern Europe. Pickles were among the most popular food to sell from pushcarts, but by the 1940s, local police and health officials banned street commerce and peddlers had to move into shops and storefronts, a reversal of the health concerns today where more and more NYC restaurants are moving their businesses outside.

Guss’s Pickles and L. Hollander & Son Pickle shop were two of the earliest pickle vendors on the Lower East Side and survived for decades in a changing neighborhood. Eventually the shops merged to form Essex Street pickles in the 1980s. Today, Alan Kauffman, who worked for Hollander, is heir to the pickle tradition and operates the Pickle Guys on Grand Street.