In 2023, Ray and Giuliana Horal took an idea they had and transformed a Gainesville liquor store into the very first location of The Good Pour. The success of that store proved to them that one good pour, literally, deserves another and another.
The husband-and-wife founders of the wine and spirits chain — where every customer purchase supports philanthropy — then opened a Longwood location in 2024, followed in 2025 by store openings in College Park and Winter Park. Now they’re looking to open four more franchise stores over the next year.
“There was never really an original vision to grow and scale and turn into a franchise,” Ray said. “The ‘aha’ moment for us was we got challenged early on to think beyond one store.”
They both acknowledged they did the exact opposite of what’s the norm: Corporate stores almost always come before franchises because they allow testing and refining the concept to ensure successful replication. The sole corporate store, the 9,000-square-foot flagship in College Park at 2201 Edgewater Drive, was third to open.
The Good Pour co-founder Ray Horal at the tasting bar at the wine and spirits retail shop in Winter Park on Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Franchisee-owned stores in the pipeline are the 3,750-square-foot location opening early next year in Apopka along booming West Kelly Park Road in the Shoppes at Wekiva Ranch; an 8,500-square-foot shop opening in the fourth quarter at Lake Mary’s Heathrow Marketplace along West Lake Mary Boulevard; and a 7,500-square-foot store opening in June at Naples’ Shoppes at Vanderbilt. A second Gainesville location, which at 4,200 square feet is almost twice the size of the original, plans to open Sept. 1 along West Newberry Road in the Town Square of Jonesville shopping center.
Since the first store opened, the chain has donated more than $500,000 to charitable causes, which is what puts the most universal “good” in The Good Pour. With every purchase, customers can designate a portion of the profits to one of more than 250 pre-vetted charities. Tags on store shelves next to each item let shoppers know exactly how much will be donated with each purchase, and the company’s app, on Google Play and the App Store, helps streamline the process of choosing the recipient. The Pour Board keeps track of the collective impact of all donations chainwide.
To celebrate the giveback milestone, the Winter Park store is hosting a communitywide cocktail reception on its rooftop from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday with live music, complimentary tastings, light bites and more. The company and its nonprofit arm, the BOHO Foundation (Buy One, Help Others), is doubling all givebacks from purchases made that day between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. at all locations.
Shelf tags for some of the finer Champagnes available at The Good Pour store in Winter Park seen Thursday, April 16, 2025, show more than the price. The amount in the red box shows how much of that purchase price will end up going to any of more than 250 charities and nonprofits the growing chain supports. (Brian Bell/Orlando Sentinel)
When the couple was starting out, it was Ray’s years of work in wine and spirits distribution combined with Giuliana’s extensive background in hospitality that became their recipe for success. His focus is sales and strategy, while hers is marketing and experiential activities.
He said investors in their idea encouraged them to think beyond one or two locations. He said he thought about markets where they could open stores, recalling the independent retailers he’d called on over the years to earn a paycheck. These were businesses he didn’t want to compete with, but knew big box stores were driving them to extinction.
“So I said, what if we took our technology, our wherewithal, our background experience, what if we brought these to these mom-and-pops, what if we could help them?” Ray said.
They took their idea to a couple of independent liquor stores, and their reaction was immediate and positive. From there, the couple helped rebrand them as The Good Pour, using all of their tools and technology to provide a lifeline and help them grow.
They put their original plan to open a Winter Park corporate store on hold to focus on the Gainesville location, because being a franchiser was new to them, and they were determined to help the owner succeed. Ray said that liquor store had been open 16 years and was struggling.
A selection of cold beers at The Good Pour retail shop in Winter Park on Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Jigz Patel, owner/operator of the existing Gainesville store and the one to open soon, said by phone that before becoming The Good Pour, his store was just trying to remain viable against much-larger competitors.
“Now we are reaching a consumer that wants to feel a part of something, that wants to do better,” Patel said. “They don’t want to just come in and grab their bottle of Tito’s (vodka) and walk right out.
“They want to stay for the experience and the wealth of knowledge that our store brings them now.”
The Good Pour husband-and-wife founders Ray Horal and Giuliana Rossi at the wine and spirits retail shop in Winter Park on Thursday, April 16, 2026.(Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
David Baer, one of three partners in the Lake Mary store now under construction, said the stores’ charitable component and atmosphere are among the reasons he’s an investor.
“It’s kind of like the Williams Sonoma of liquor stores,” Baer said. “Just a better appeal where my wife, my daughter can go in and feel like they got somebody who’s going to take care of something at all levels.”
But the stores offer more than just wine and liquor. Each location has a gift bar offering a wide variety of items, including home goods, premium barware, glassware, candles, as well as a laser-engraving service. There’s also space for people to build their own gift boxes or baskets.
“The gift bar is essentially everything that’s not alcoholic. It’s definitely my favorite part of the store,” Giuliana said. “They can pick out their own wine or spirits then build their own gift box or basket right then and there and we shrink wrap everything.”
And each store has its own personality.
Some locations are repurposed buildings, and others are new construction. But the couple emphasized that despite any physical differences, what the stores share within their walls is exactly the same.
The Good Pour husband-and-wife founders Ray Horal and Giuliana Rossi, center, with their team at the wine and spirits retail shop in Winter Park on Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
“We love to say that we’re all different but we’re cut from the same cloth,” she said. “With the mission being the North Star for everybody, it keeps us super united.”
Ray said the initial investment to build a new location ranges from $1.2 million to $3.6 million, while the cost to convert an existing site into the wine retailer can range from $225,000 to $350,000. Each location has around 12 to 24 employees.
The company is looking at other Central Florida markets, including Clermont, Dr. Phillips, Sanford and Windermere, with a goal of having up to 15 locations in the region. He and his team also are in discussions with potential operators in South Florida, along with Alabama, New Jersey, Texas and Tennessee.
Brian Bell can be reached at bbell@orlandosentinel.com. Have a tip about Central Florida development? Email Newsroom@GrowthSpotter.com. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.