Jan Norris: Food and Florida

By Thom Smith, columnist

The mile-wide smile, the robust laugh, the outstretched hand, the twinkle in his eye. It didn’t matter to Wolfgang Baere if he was running one of the nation’s most prestigious resorts or his down-to-earth beachfront hotel and bar; the essence of hospitality was to treat everyone as if they were worth a million bucks - and moreso as a friend.

Baere, general manager of the Island Beach Resort in Jensen Beach and the first general manager at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, died Aug. 12 after a brief battle with brain cancer. He was 67.

Asset to the Waldorf

Born in Hanover, Germany, Baere came to the United States in 1963 and took a job as a waiter at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. He arrived in Palm Beach in 1991, overseeing the opening of the Ritz-Carlton. With strong business acumen and his winning manner, he quickly built it into one of the top resorts in the nation. Major ratings organizations such as AAA and the Mobil Travel Guide consistently recognized the resort and restaurant with four and five diamonds and stars.

Then in 2001, he left the glitz and glamor of Palm Beach for a little bit of old Florida. Teaming with his son, Wolfgang, he bought the Island Beach Resort and the adjoining Shuckers Ocean Bar and Grill in Jensen Beach.

“What am I doing here?” Baere joked as he oversaw the conversion of his new venture from 120 rooms to 60 suites. Three years later, his good humor still intact, he again asked the question as he stood in the rubble left by Hurricane Frances. He wasn’t about to quit, and eventually rebuilt.

An inspiring boss

“He was the most extraordinary general manager I have ever worked for,” former Ritz public relations director Deb Hurd once told The Palm Beach Post. “He’s inspiring.”

Baere had requested a small, family-only service.

 In a brief email to friends, son Wolfgang said, “He would also have wanted all of you to raise a glass, and say ‘Prost!’, to celebrate life.”

Prost! – to your life, Wolfgang.