Chosen for: Visionary Leadership - Scott Swaldo, General Manager of Gervasi Vineyard, Ohio
Scott Swaldo started out his career as a Physical Therapist who left that occupation and went to work for their family business. “My father Ted Swaldo owned an automotive parts business and I went to work there. When my father retired from that business and he started Gervasi Vineyards on a rural property in Ohio. The vineyard started to take on a life much bigger than originally envisioned. He wanted to create a small vineyard with some component of food.” Scott joined the family business in November 2009 and is responsible for the oversight of all operations and development.” The business continued to grow with Scott’s leadership at a rapid pace and encompasses 55 acres beginning with of course the winery called the Crush House with the Bistro and patio dining. The inn was added in 2011 due to guest demand as they wanted to stay longer and overnight. In 2011 six villas that accommodate 24 rooms plus the original farmhouse was restored and in total offers 28 accommodations. The Pavilion and the Villa Grande are wedding and event venues and within there is also a culinary school that teaches gourmet-cooking classes. The Marketplace is an amazing gift shop overseen by Scott’s sister Christi and mom Linda. This past year the family bought a 17,000 square foot once prominent home and transformed it into a restaurant called the Twisted Olive. The company has grown to 375 staff.
Scott Swaldo never stops and admits he didn’t come from this hospitality industry, and will tell you his famous words are, “Know what you don’t know and hire it”.
This true leader and visionary has lead this family business to great success with the help too of his life partner Jeff Hicks who handles the branding and marketing. When I asked Scott if he sleeps at night, he says, “I love working at Gervasi because of the great people I get to work with everyday who are passionate about what they do and it allows me to be creative and focus my efforts on providing our customers a memorable experience, our employees an opportunity to grow and an enjoyable place to work. I have the right people in place that manage very well and the short answer is YES!”
It’s come along way from a little vineyard with some sort of food component.
Gervasi Vineyard
330-497-1000
1700 55th Street NE, Canton, Ohio
http://www.gervasivineyard.com/
Scott Swalda
Linda Gallant
Gervasi Vineyard
Auberge Des Gallant - rebuilt
Auberge Des Gallant - April fire