Meet the team
Founder
David Weitzenhoffer
David is the founder of Community Wine and a long-time wine industry expert. From his restaurant days as Wine Director for Lydia Bastianich to exploring the Italian Peninsula for hidden gems to import for his company Acid Inc Selections, David has always focused on connecting customers with incredible food and drink.
Community Wine and Spirits is the culmination of everything he has learned and mirrors his playful but earnest demeanor.
Favorite Wine: Chateau D’Yqueum ’88 or ’21 (1921 !)
Favorite Wine Region: Piedmont, Italy
Favorite Unexpected Pairing: Riesling + Spaghetti
Beverage Director
Ben Bohen
Ben Bohen joined the Community team to assist with the process of building out and opening the store and has been the Beverage Director since day one. A lifelong New Yorker, Ben has over 25 years of business management experience in the world of food and wine including stints with Tom Colicchio's restaurant group and a decade running his own wine store in Brooklyn. In his time off Ben enjoys cooking, running, the arts, and down time with his husband and their labrador retriever.
Favorite Country for Eating and Drinking: Italy
Favorite International Bird Sighting: Great Green Macaw
Event Manager
Olivia Johnson
Olivia Johnson is our Event Manager at Community. After spending many years in the Hudson Valley agro scene, from selling apples to food service, she decided to turn to the wine world. To her, there are fewer things in life more important than knowing the story behind your next bite (or your next sip). She will be the first to say we're more than a wine and liquor store. We're a satisfied community of people who truly care about what they're drinking next. And that's why she loves her job at Community--hosting brings people together to celebrate life through food and wine. If she isn't at an event in our studio, she's probably cooking, tending to her fire escape herb garden, or deep in a spreadsheet analyzing our carbon footprint.
Sales Director
Kryston Lopez
Kryston is our Sales Director at Community. With over 10 years of retail wine experience, she's seen the myriad ways wine fosters connection, storytelling, celebration, and belonging. To that end, her work centers on building long-term partnerships through hospitality-driven wine and spirits experiences and meaningfully curated gifting programs. Outside of her work in the industry, Kryston is also a writer working on her first poetry chapbook, a dog mom to her labrador Eloise and her blue heeler Rhubarb, and an unabashed horror film lover.
Favorite bottle of bubbles: Benoit Dehu Champagne 'La Rue des Noyers' Brut Nature
Favorite poem with a line about wine: [I won't be able to write from the grave] by Fanny Howe or 'Basket of Figs' by Ellen Bass
Favorite episode of X-Files: S2E20, "Humbug"
Store Manager
Steve Donigan
As the store manager at Community Wine and Spirits, Steve Donigan’s introduction to the world of wine began in Central Virginia, where he grew up. A family friend who opened a restaurant played a significant role in building his knowledge of wine and the industry. After moving to New York, he was lucky to have the respected American wine educator and author, Kevin Zraly, as his mentor. He passionately believes in the importance of continuous learning and is currently pursuing studies in world history and culture at university. His long-term goal is to earn a PhD in the history of race and ethnicity. For him offers a valuable perspective on how racial and ethnic identities have influenced societies, politics, and cultures throughout history.
Retail Specialist - M.Int Buyer
AK Brunson
AK Brunson has worked in NYC wine retail for over 10 years. Originally looking for a new subject to write about, he discovered a passion for wine and spirits as an artform. As a buyer in Brooklyn, AK was an advocate for independent, minority and women owned wineries and loves exposing people to new flavors and experiences. A New York native, when not tasting and talking vino, AK likes to make hip hop music and DJ.
Retail Specialist - Sake Buyer
Leon Angel
I’m Leon, originally from Long Beach, NY. I moved to NYC in the early 2000s to play in a band with friends, and along the way, I found myself working in hospitality to support the dream. Somewhere between shifts, I fell in love with wine and the culinary arts. For the past 15 years, I’ve been working as a manager and consultant, focusing on sake and Asian cuisine.
Assistant Event Coordinator
Catlin Panelo
Cat brings over a decade of luxury hospitality expertise to her role as Assistant Event Coordinator, having served as an educator and esthetician for distinguished New York mainstays such as The Plaza, The Dominick, and Equinox. Driven by a lifelong love for science, beauty, and art, Cat bridges these worlds to foster memorable event experiences rooted in connection and craft. Outside of the Community Studio, she champions inclusive wine culture as a sommelier for queer-led spaces like Babe Wine Bar at the Ace Hotel Brooklyn and is forever scouting the city's most unique culinary gems.
