Damon Wise is the culinary director of Resurgens Hospitality Group, where he works closely with Linton and Gina Hopkins, and leads the culinary team at the newly opened C. Ellet’s.

A Baltimore native, Wise traces his earliest culinary influences to childhood summers spent on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, learning to fish with his grandfather and cook at home with his grandmother. Wise has worked in some of the country’s most celebrated kitchens, including The Greenbrier in West Virginia, Georges Perrier’s Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, Gramercy Tavern and Lespanisse in New York, as well as Tom Colicchio’s Craft and Craftbar. During the 2008 recession, Wise opened a pop-up spot with Tom Colicchio and the Craft team called Damon: Frugal Friday, where he served small plates and beverages at recession-friendly prices.

After nearly a decade in New York City, Wise headed to Charleston in 2014, where he cultivated the teams and culinary direction at Scarecrow And Co., Wise-Buck Smoked Meats and Feathertop, before returning to New York City in 2016 to develop the menus at Brooklyn’s Sauvage and Maison Premiere.

He joined Hopkins and team in Atlanta in 2017, where he hopes to leave his mark on the region’s restaurant community by continuing to expertly capture flavors of the seasons with locally sourced ingredients and bold, clean dishes.