Phyllis Wert
Phyllis graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1981 with a BS degree in Education. She moved to Maryland and became a Maryland State Trooper, rising to the rank of Lieutenant before retiring after 28 years of service. She attended the Johns Hopkins University and received a Master’s degree in Management in 2001. After retiring from the State Police she was offered a position of General Manager at Norman Creek Marina.
Kimberly Bangs
Kim has over 23 years of management in the Food & Beverage Industry. Her career started in 1992 as the General Manager of The Perry Inn & Pub in Perry Hall, Maryland. This was a 140 seat restaurant with a 7 day a week bar & package goods establishment. In addition to the restaurant, she also managed all off site catering. She left that business in 1995 to manage the Party & Tent rental division of Taylor Rental in Timonium. After caring for her elderly parent in 2008, she decided to change her career path and started working in the Continuing Care Community field. She is currently the Director of Dining Services for Roland Park Place which is the only full service accredited Continuing Care Community in Baltimore City. She currently manages a staff of 77 employees operating with an annual budget of 2.8 million serving over 300 residents daily.
Excerpts from the Baltimore Business Journal:
Phyllis Wert spent lots of time sipping pinot noir at Chesapeake Wine Co. with partner, Kimberly Bangs.
The pair were regulars at the Canton wine store and bar, a fixture in the waterfront neighborhood for 18 years. It was one of the original tenants in the redeveloped can factory, a project spearheaded by developer C. William "Bill" Struever.
So when they found out owner Mitchell Pressman was ready to sell, Wert said, "We talked about, thought about it. That’s pretty much we wanted to do.”
"Chesapeake Wine Co. was a no-brainer for us," she said. "We loved the place. We always loved it.”
Eventually they'll expand the bar, the menu and add taps so they can serve local beers, she said.
"We’re going to try to keep everything local," Wert said. "The wine, of course, isn’t going to be all Maryland.”
Wert said she and Bangs will run the day-to-day operations of the business.
“It's really a dream come true for both of us,” she said.
