The city of Kenosha, the local business community, and Don Nation were devastated to hear Mike Cholak passed away. Unexpected to say the least. Beyond a gut punch. A gut ripper. A man unapologetically himself, the genuine article and 100% authentic. A major player in the local bar/business landscape, he personally reshaped the business model of several successful establishments. Nobody talked it and walked it like Mike Cholak. The man was An Accountant, A Lawyer, A Professor and at the end of the day that is still all Linked-In advertising, Mike Cholak was so much more than his titles. If you were zigging he was zagging….and zigging. Never was there a better example of the term “everyone else is playing checkers, he’s playing chess”, than Cholak. I loved going back and forth with him about anything. Incredibly sharp perspective regardless of subject matter. An experiencer of life who loved to report on those experiences. A man who knew the exact value of 1% of 5 businesses on any given day and knew the value of a Buy 9 Get the 10th Free Punch Card at a pub in NY. Outspoken with strong beliefs politically, I loved every conversation we ever had about politics…and there were many. Michael was great when it comes to “it’s nothing personal, it’s just business”. Truth be told, it is hard to get any flow to writing a tribute to Cho Momma because words don’t really do it…the real deal is just way past words. And I’m way past sorry to Julie and the family.
Cholak was THE CONSIGLIERE of the Dons. Was and will always be. If there was ever a Mt Rushmore of Dons, trust me, Mike Cholak is on it with beard flowing. The host of the first-ever KDFFL Draft in the 80s, an early unifying force in Dondom…and that’s a fact. And then he went from the Don’s Landlord to the host of the Don’s Personal Party Bars……Bars with an S. In 2007…Captains, down by the lake, Cho opens up at 10:30 AM for an 11:00 on air time, on Saturday, for Instant Replay. He can only get one bartender and she’s new, ha! By 11:30, our broadcast team and Matt Meyer, who is plugged in and entertaining, are jammed into about a 10-foot corner way up front and the rest of the place is wall-to-wall Dons and Donnas. Usually coming out of a break the host welcomes people back to the broadcast….on this day people were welcomed back with Swa at the top of his lungs telling everyone to cut the bartender some slack cause she’s new. You can’t make that stuff up. Stoebe up in Green Bay calling in live about Packer fans booing the pick of Justin Harrell. At about 4PM, me, Cho, Smitty and my daughter Jess (who was 11 at the time) standing in the doorway just laughing our asses off at what had just transpired in the past 4 hours. And that was one of countless parties Michael would always sponsor.
There is zero doubt that the Dons have the attention of a decent chunk of people in KTown. And there is also zero doubt that plenty of that name recognition goes to Mike Cholak. A larger than life character. A cornerstone Don. A Kenoshan who made a difference on many fronts. A walking KTown pop culture icon. And as Schiess and Cibby and Trots and Swa and Johnny Ruff can attest to, the slowest runner from home to first in JV Baseball history. But always in complete control of a whole diamond full of Dons as the catcher and “last word” in the infield. A leader at 15 and never waivered. A self-deprecating soul who said, “I’ll make fun of me before you’ll make fun of me…and we both know I’m four steps ahead of you in my head”. I know Michael knew I knew that about him…and I know he was pretty sure I was on that 4th step in my own head whenever we spoke. The thing I say about Cholak is the same thing I say about myself….you aint ever gonna win a debate…you might tie a few, but you aint winning. I loved that about our relationship. And I thank Katie and Jordan Coshun for getting married last month so I could spend an hour on the patio at Bristol Oaks telling stories and smoking stogies with my friend. And thanks to whatever divine power that sent us into Highways 6 days before this tragic event. I love that the last three things we discussed were business, politics, and bourbon.RIP Consigliere. There will never be another one like you.
