Reality Show Reinvigorates Local Business, Reunites Brothers

Lou Denis and his brother Chris, partners in Wine & Roses, a wine and flower shop on River Road, were not sure how long they would be able to keep the doors to their business open. But it wasn't just the business that was suffering. According to Lou, so was their relationship. 

"After 9/11, business began to decline," said Lou Denis. "And the last five years, as the economy continued to get worse, so did business."

In the course of those lean years, Lou Denis said, "I had to make some really tough choices and let some key people go. It was the only way I could think to save the business." 

And it was those tough choices, he said, that came between him and family members.

Still, as much as he made cuts to tighten the business, the economy continued to wallow in the economic slump and so did Wine & Roses. With business at a near standstill, Denis kept borrowing money and refinancing debt until the banks made one final offer--claim bankruptcy. 

"There was no way I could ever claim bankruptcy," Lou Denis said. "I know all of these people that I owe money to. These are people who cut me breaks through the years and gave me extra time to pay them whenever I needed help."

"I couldn't do that to them. I couldn't just turn my back and walk away from them. I knew I had to pay them back even if it meant losing my business in the process."

In early May, just when Denis thought that he had hit rock bottom and exhausted all of his options for keeping the business operational, he received a phone call from a reality television producer in California asking if Denis would like a total makeover for his business. 

The cable television station, TNT, was developing a new reality show called Save Our Business where Executive Producer Peter Jones travels America saving small businesses by giving them the material and educational tools to turn their businesses around and make them successful. One of the businesses they wanted to save was New Milford's Wine & Roses. 

"They came across Wine & Roses on the internet, liked the name and called to ask if my business was in trouble," Lou Denis said.  "I thought, 'Boy, if they only knew,'" he laughed. 

Regardless of what the producer said, Lou Denis did not believe that the phone call was for real. However, when the producer asked him if he would agree to interview with other producers of the show, he thought he had nothing to lose. So, he approached his brother Chris, and together they agreed to be interviewed for the show to see if it was for real and, if it was, if it would go anywhere. 

Because the producers were in Los Angeles, the brothers were interviewed on Skype. 

"Every time we were interviewed, we'd get asked to do another interview with more producers the next day," Lou Denis said. "Still, the cynical New Yorker in me didn't believe this was for real."

But it was for real. Without even knowing, the producers came to town, went to Borough Hall and received all of the appropriate permits to begin filming the show at Wine & Roses in June. They did this all without the Denis brothers knowing about it. 

"I'm in Borough Hall almost every day and no one said a word to me about it," Lou Denis laughed. "It was the best secret this town ever kept."

When the show rolled into town, Chris Denis said that he was amazed at the amount of equipment they came with.

"I thought there would be a few cameras and wires," he said. "I couldn't believe the amount of cables and equipment. They placed cameras and microphones everywhere around the store to capture every single moment--good and bad."

But from those real moments, both Lou and Chris agreed much good came. 

"My brother and I had gone through some rough times in the last few years trying to keep the business going," Lou Denis said. "Our relationship suffered, but because of this show I got my brother back. The best thing in the world--I got my brother back."

Lou Denis also said that he could never have afforded to restyle his store or train his employees without the help of the show. 

"I'm not only talking about the look of the store," Lou Denis said. "I'm talking about the educational experience for all of us--me, my brother, the employees. They taught us how to really run this business. How to run it as a team to make it a success." 

Still, Lou can't help but reiterate that the best thing that came out of the experience is that he got his brother back. 

"My brother Chris and I have been partners for a long time and we always worked well together," he said. "But it's hard when you're in a business together and tough decisions have to be made. Some of those tough decisions damaged our relationship and it broke my heart."

The Denis brothers said that during the filming, much of what had come between them was aired and will appear on the show for all to see. 

"Having my business and my brother back is a gift from God," Lou Denis said with a wide grin. "I don't just feel like I've been given another chance--I feel like I've been reborn."

"What happened here is a true reality story. It doesn't get any more real than this," he said. 

Save Our Business featuring Wine & Roses is scheduled to air on TNT this Fall.  

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