Michael W. Pure

Innkeeper

As the son of a caterer, Michael started his career, like many successful restaurateurs, grinding meat on a Hobart mixer and being paid in homemade doughnuts. Born and raised in Chicago, his first paying job was as a bicycle mechanic at age 14. He has been working ever since. By the age of 20 he had decided to forgo finishing college and was introduced to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), joining the Index and Options Market (IOM). and later the International Monetary Market (IMM) where in 1983 at age 21 he was one of the youngest members at that time. He made his home trading equity futures in the Standard & Poors (S&P 500) pit surviving amongst the best and finest traders in the world for 20 years.

After retiring from the Mercantile Exchange in 2003, Michael put together a chain of Laundries located in the inner city of Chicago and was named “outstanding Business Neighbor” by the 17th district in 2009. When the opportunity to purchase the historic Margarita European Inn became available in 2006 he began selling the laundries, eventually closing on the Margarita European Inn in 2008.

An avid fly fisherman, for the last 20 years he and the “Los Matones” have traveled the world together out of love for each other and pursuit of different species. He is also a competitive shotgun shooter and continues to add to an extensive collection of rare and interesting fountain pens.

Active in the Mankind Project (an International non for profit that helps men achieve their full potential) he has co-led Mankind Project weekends worldwide. He was blessed with the “Seven Generations Award” in 2008 for work that will be felt for the next seven generations.  He previously was the treasurer of the Board of the Jung Institute in Chicago and sat on the Board of the Mentors action network of Chicago and again later on the Mankind Project Chicago board where he was also the Midwest representative to the International Council.

A Northsider by birth Michael, his wife Melissa, and their twins, Jacob and Emily currently live at “Deerlick Farm” in Deerfield, a landmark home built in 1863.