Geneva Merchant of the Week: Hard Work, Microbrews, Food and Michael Olesen Make Stockholm's Special

When people ask me about Merchant of the Week I tell them it’s an idea that Nicole and Pietro Verone had for getting Geneva merchants together informally once a week to support each other, to promote their businesses, and to have fun. supplies the appetizers and drink specials, and the event is open to all Geneva merchants and the public. I go there and try to learn a little bit about the people behind the businesses and to share those stories with Geneva Patch readers.

Whether we realize it or not and whether we like it or not, Geneva is growing up. We’re no longer the small town we might still wish we were. We’re a small city with dozens of businesses and an annual city budget of $75 million. We no longer recognize every face we see on the streets in town. We don’t know every shop and every shop owner like we did in the days when Geneva was more like Mayberry than Mount Pilot.

Merchant of the Week is one opportunity, among others, to get closer to our small town roots by bringing people together. We don’t have to be strangers just because Geneva is growing. We can and should still continue to build friendships and alliances here. By sharing our stories at events like this we build connections that help foster a greater sense of community and that makes Geneva stronger. And it helps keep the small town character that makes Geneva more than just a place to live and work.

was selected as the Geneva Merchant of the Week last Wednesday. I had a very interesting conversation with owner Michael Olesen. Michael likes to say he hasn’t gone very far in life, just about nine-and-a-half blocks, which is the distance from where he was born to where he lives now. Michael is the oldest of four brothers born in Geneva Community Hospital. The second brother died shortly after birth. Michael recalls his mother holding up his newborn brothers to the window on the second floor of the hospital for him to see from the street below. At that time, hospitals would not allow children to visit patients, regardless of how closely they were related.

Michael grew up in Geneva, attended Marmion Military Academy, and worked at Persimmon Tree during high school. The owner of Persimmon Tree, Bill Briner, was one of Michael’s mentors. The other, Sol Simon, he met one day while cleaning the windows at Persimmon Tree when Saul complimented him on his technique. Michael says both men taught him more about how money and cash flow work in small business than any courses he ever had school.

Michael attended University of Illinois and was in ROTC. He intended to pursue a career in the military, but was injured in a training exercise, effectively putting an end to those plans. So Michael turned his attention to business and economics and graduated with a degree in economics in three-and-a-half-years thanks to a deal he worked out with his economics professor.

As part of the deal, Michael wrote a thesis titled “The Economics of Nightclubs in Today’s Alcohol Industry." He had become interested in the business while working part-time as a bartender. The thesis was good enough to get Michael a degree six months early and served as a blueprint later when he went into business himself.

At the ripe old age of 24, Michael had worked out a deal to purchase the tavern that would eventually become Stockholm’s Restaurant and microbrewery. This was in the mid-'80s when the Lencionis owned it. The deal fell through and Michael decided to invest in a brand new Mercedes convertible instead. That hurt his tips at the bar where he worked. His customers figured anyone who could afford a Mercedes didn’t need any tips.

But a Mercedes was perfectly acceptable symbol of success for people looking for investment advice. Since the bar and restaurant business would have to wait, Michael decided to try his hand at being an investment broker. He joined a company called Geneva Securities in Schaumburg. In 1990 he opened a branch office in Geneva in his building at 117 N. Third St. However, unlike other branch offices they had opened, the parent company did not pay for remodeling or leasing, leaving the burden on Michael. That was the beginning of the differences that led to a split about a year later when Michael re-opened the office under his own company , which he still operates today.

In the meantime, The Lencionis had sold Lencioni’s Firehouse and it became Dad’s Place. When the new owners were having problems with the business in 1998, Michael approached them about selling to him. They didn’t respond to his offer then, but Michael is a patient man. Finally, in January of 2001, he got a call asking if he was still interested in buying the place. Michael closed the deal this time and began cleanup and remodeling in the difficult days following 9/11. In May of 2002, Michael finally realized his dream of opening a restaurant and bar in his home town. was open for business.

Michael has always taken pride in the extensive selection of top-shelf liquor, fine wine at moderate prices, and the quality of food served at Stockholm’s. Unlike many of its competitors, Stockholm’s does not serve typical bar-quality food. And the comments on Yelp and other on-line review sites bear this out. First-time customers are pleasantly surprised by the quality of food at Stockholm’s and often become regular customers. Michael says the microbrewery helps subsidize the food purchases so that Stockholm’s can serve top quality food at affordable prices.

In a business where the margins are slim and the chances of success even slimmer, Stockholm’s is about to join a small, select group of Geneva restaurants that have been in business 10 years or longer.

Past success is no guarantee of future success. 's closing is a sad testimonial to that truth. But Michael believes that success is more about preparation and hard work than luck and that attitude has served him well in business and life.

This Wednesday, Oct. 12, Villa Verone will host Hot Heads Salon and Boutique as the Geneva Merchant of the Week. Join us there between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. and meet the owner, Michelle Green. Everything I know about women’s hair salons comes from the movie Steel Magnolias, so I’m sure to sound like a complete idiot talking to Michelle about her business.