John Nese is the owner of Galcos Soda Pop Stop in LA. His father ran it as a grocery store, and when the time came for John to take charge, he decided to convert it into the ultimate soda-lovers destination. Over 500 pops line the shelves, sourced lovingly by John from around the world.

John has made it his mission to keep small soda-makers afloat and help them find their constomers. Galcos also acts as a distributor for restaurants and bars along the West Coast, spreading the gospel of soda made with cane sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup if John can avoid it).

He has turned away big corporations like PepsiCo from his store many times. Telling them his customers could simply get a better deal if they went down the street where its usually on sale. When the Pepisco rep said “You can’t do that, your customers will demand that you carry Pepsi.” John reminded himself.

“I own my shelf space and I can do what I want.”