In his native Chicago John served on the board of his neighborhood Chamber of Commerce, was one of the co-founders of the Chicago International Wine Festival and headed the Food and Beverage division of Chicago’s United Jewish Federation.

During his time in Chicago he was a wine merchant, restaurant proprietor, wine writer and wine educator.

In 1965 John founded a nationally-known Chicago fondue restaurant, Geja’s Cafe, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary.  Additionally, John was the founder and CEO of a direct marketing wine company, Wine Insiders, which ships wine directly to consumers across the U.S.

After moving to Utah in 2008 with his wife and son, John became a volunteer for the Peace House. In 2025 seeing a need to raise awareness of mental health challenges he founded the non-profit Summit Support.