Four Years in the Making: The Story Behind Our Store

The Story Behind Our Store

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve either stepped into our shop, supported us online, or you’re just getting to know who we are. Either way, welcome. This is our first blog post, and it feels right to start at the beginning because this business didn’t just happen overnight. It’s been four years in the making.

Our store officially opened on August 30, 2025, but the story really starts back in January 2020.

That’s when my wife Caroline and I met and got engaged two weeks later. Yeah, I know how that sounds. Fast. But when you know, you know. At the time, she owned her own therapy practice, and I was working as a truck driver. Two very different paths, but somehow, they lined up exactly how they were supposed to.

Not long after, we welcomed our son Davin into the world. He joined our family and made us a family of four. His birth came with news that no parent is ever really prepared to hear. He was diagnosed with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, or AMC for short. It’s a physical disability that affects joints, muscles, and tendon development.

Hearing doctors explain it was terrifying. There’s no other way to put it. They gave us doom and gloom.

But here’s the truth: our son has been a happy, strong, and resilient kid from day one. He just does things his own way. He has had many surgeries to help with mobility, and now he is thriving and has adapted to doing things his own way.

When he was around two years old, my wife and I had a conversation that changed everything. We were talking about how we wanted to raise him, how we could encourage him to take on hard things, even if he had to do them differently than everyone else.

And in that moment, something hit me hard.

As a lifelong stutterer, I had spent years letting my speech dictate my life. The jobs I took, the opportunities I avoided, the conversations I didn’t have, it all traced back to fear. I chose paths that felt safe instead of ones I actually wanted. Warehouses. Truck driving. Government trades. Honest work, but not work that fulfilled me.

So how could I tell my son to be brave if I wasn’t willing to do the same?

That was the turning point.

I decided I was going to build something of my own. Something that challenged me. Something I actually believed in. That idea eventually became what you now know as Men’s Modern General Store.

The road from idea to reality wasn’t easy. Honestly, it was full of “no’s.”

We went to banks. Rejected.

We pitched the concept. “This kind of store doesn’t exist.”

We talked to investors. Same answer. “You want to open a brick-and-mortar now?”

“No experience in retail.”

“Too risky.”

“Not viable.”

At some point, you either let that stop you, or you keep going anyway.

We chose to keep going.

We pulled together what we could, invested our own savings, and decided to bet on ourselves. Then came the next challenge: finding a location.

Originally, we had our sights set on Main Street in St. Charles, Missouri. It felt like the perfect fit. But after six months of searching, nothing worked out. Deals fell through. Spaces weren’t right. It just wasn’t happening.

Then, out of nowhere, a space in Cottleville, Missouri landed in our laps.

We toured it, and a week later, we signed the lease.

One month after that, Men’s Modern General Store opened our doors.

Looking back, it all feels a little unreal. Something we worked at for three years finally was a reality.

This past year has been one of the most challenging and rewarding seasons of our lives. Running a small business will test you in ways you don’t expect, but it also gives back in ways you can’t measure.

The biggest part of that? The people.

The conversations in the shop. The repeat customers who’ve become friends. The support from this community, it’s meant everything to us. Truly.

And now, we’re taking the next step.

On July 23, we officially launched our online store. It’s something we’ve been working toward for a long time, and we’re excited to see where it leads.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of this, it’s this: most people aren’t paying attention to your fears the way you think they are. They’re too busy dealing with their own. And the things that feel like limitations, whether it’s a stutter, a lack of experience, or a different path, don’t have to define you.

You just have to decide to move anyway.

Thanks for being here. Thanks for supporting us. And thanks for being part of this story.

We’re just getting started.