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By Craig Smith
Philippa Perry
Philippa Perry has worked for the Napa Chamber of Commerce for nine years, and loves it. She was recruited by Travis Stanley, who she met while she was the GM at Auberge du Soleil, and he was a guest. “We actually met when he was trying to cancel a reservation,” she said smiling. “I was called into the conversation to explain our position on cancellations. Travis, being Travis, I happily gave him his refund.”
She moved to Napa from St. Helena 10 years ago. “I lived in St. Helena for 25 years, and still feel a kinship there, but I love that Napa has multi-generational families living here. People like John Anthony and Adam Housley, who both grew up in Napa, moved back and are raising their families here. Napa has a good shot at maintaining its community identity.”
Philippa was born and raised on a family farm in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. She went to college in London and wanted to remain there, but her mother felt she was too young to be on her own. She returned to Zimbabwe, become a flight attendant for Air Rhodesia, and returned to London a year later. While there, she met an American, who she later married in Miami. She worked for Playboy Hotels and the Diplomat, a 1200 room resort, and was hooked on hospitality. Five years later, her husband was transferred to New Jersey, and she went to work for Hilton Hotels and later the Four Seasons in Philadelphia.
She was now single with a young son and moved back to England. The day after she arrived, her father passed away. “That was a bad time for white farmers in Zimbabwe, and I knew I could not leave my Mum out there on her own.” She returned to Philadelphia, picked up her car, and drove across the country to California with her three-year-old son. There, she went to work for the Santa Maria Airport Hilton, a fly-in hotel. At the time, NASA intended to move the space program to Vandenberg AFB, which would have been a major boom for businesses in Santa Maria. However, six weeks after she arrived, the Challenger space shuttle exploded mid-air, and the space program was upended. The hotel soon went into receivership.
“Bank of America took over operations, which was a silver lining for me. Their asset manager became a great friend who recommended me to the owners of Auberge du Soleil. I was there for 16 years, the last five as General Manager. I raised my son and buried my mother in St. Helena.”
She moved to Healdsburg for two years, opening the Les Mars Hotel. Returning to Napa Valley, she helped friends with a restaurant in St. Helena and a few other local businesses. She might still be there except for that call from Travis.
When she actually does retire, she’ll have to decide where to spend her time. Her son, his family and other relatives are living in the UK, which has appeal. However, you can bet that Napa will have a strong tug on her heart. “I can remain active and relevant here. There has been so much change and it’s vibrant, yet it’s still beautiful, country living.” Fortunately, she has time to think about it.
Andrew Healy
Andrew fanned out about a dozen business cards and offered them as though performing a card trick. “This is my work history. Pick one and we’ll start talking from it,” he said. As luck would have it, the chosen card was for Irish Whiskey LAD, the Irish Whiskey Education concept he began to develop during COVID, and to which he now devotes most of his time.
Andrew is from a long line of entrepreneurs. “I’m literally hardwired to own my own business.” During Beatle-mania, his maternal grandfather made and sold Beatle Boots all over Europe, making a fortune. Andrew’s father opened one of the first delicatessens in Ireland in the mid 80s, which was a huge success. “It opened my eyes to food retailing.”
Andrew studied catering and hospitality management in college. Having visited the famed Food Halls in Harrod’s London, Andrew told his classmates that one day he would work there. They laughed, but two years later Andrew packed his bags for London and the famed Knightsbridge store. “To me, it was the pinnacle of food retail. I was 21 years of age, had stars in my eyes, and thought I knew everything.”
That he immigrated to the US surprised no one. “The joke growing up in Ireland was that our children were our greatest exports, and it was almost expected that you would leave. Of 31 students in my class, 24 left the country.”
Andrew came here in 1994, working a harvest at Firestone, followed by one in New Zealand. He returned to Ireland in ’96, briefly moved to London, then resettled in Dublin in 2001 to help run the family business. “It was great until 2008, when the worldwide economic disaster happened. I figured that was as good a time as any to sell up in Ireland and move to the States. I knew two people in Sonoma and five in Napa, so Napa it was.”
He did some wine hospitality work, but it wasn’t growing as quickly as he wanted it to. “I’d learned a lot about marketing over the years, and put myself out there as a social media guy.” He had zero competition, did amazing work, and his business took off. “Marketing is common sense applied, but nobody knew how to do that in social media.” He had an A-list of clients, and in a style reminiscent of Robert Mondavi, actually assisted some competitors, to make everybody better.
Then the pandemic hit. Business dropped by 60% and when it did come back, clients were interested in cheaper, not better. That’s when Andrew developed Irish Whiskey LAD. “It’s a natural fit for me. I get to share the incredible art and craft of whiskey making in Ireland by creating elevated experiences here in the Napa Valley and beyond. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that I have an Irish accent.”
He now thinks of Ireland as the place he is from. “I love my life in Napa and feel privileged to be here.” He is a founding member of the Napa Valley Cricket Club, loves food, wine, whiskey and the outdoors. “I’ve lived in five different countries and I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.”
Ross Anderson
Ross Anderson still remembers his first visit to Napa Valley in 1986. He’d grown up in Glasgow, Scotland with his mother’s family, but the opportunity to build his relationship with his father who lived in Napa, plus the beautiful summer weather here, convinced him to move and make this home. He did so a few years later, just in time to experience the 1989 Earthquake.
Ross found a comfortable bar at the old Tom Foolery’s on the Napa River. Several new friends there recommended he look into working at Silverado Country Club. He did, got a job and stayed for seven and a half years. “I’ve got fantastic memories of being there. It was like the Napa Valley farm system – everybody went through Silverado.” I can’t say enough about the training and mentorship there.” He made several close friendships during his time there, friendships that have lasted to this day.
He stayed in hotels for over twenty years. Besides gaining a lot of solid business skills, he gained a wife – he and Kim met in ’97, while both were at the Hilton in Rohnert Park. They dated for several years and married in 2004. “We celebrated our twentieth anniversary in June.”
Ross spent time at Meadowood Napa Valley, but was becoming increasingly interested in wine. In 2010, he went to work in Hospitality and Sales for Cardinale, part of the Jackson Family Wines organization. He’s still there, loves it and like his early days with Silverado, he has benefited from excellent mentors and has made a career with the company ever since.
In 2013, he was in the company helicopter with guests of Cardinale when he got the word that his daughter had been born, seven weeks earlier than expected. Despite early concerns, newborn Heather and Kim were – and are – fine. “It was the best vintage Napa has had.”
Over the years, the relationship between Ross and dad only grew stronger. “I learned a lot from him, like to always have a purpose for each day. I also learned why I do some of the things I do, and act the way I act and where my love of motorcycles came from.” His dad lived a full life to the very end, but sadly passed in May of this year.
Ross became a US citizen in 2014. “I’m lucky enough to be an American by choice.” He loves his family, the wine industry and living here in Napa. “I suspect this will be home for a long time to come.”
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