The Hospitality Maven
Carol Asam
Co-owner, Bavarian Inn Resort & Brewing Company
Born in Sheffield, England, during World War II, Carol Asam has led a life of adventure and contributed greatly to her adopted community of Shepherdstown.
Young Yvonne Carol Cranstone served as a Sea Cadet in the Girls’ Nautical Training Corps in her teens, then joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service, the “Wrens.” She became an expert in Morse code and radio communications. Following her transfer as a cryptologist to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 1970, she met Erwin Asam, owner and manager of the beloved Piccadilly Restaurant and Pub. They were soon married and, in 1977, bought a stone mansion in Shepherdstown, where they lived and ran the Bavarian Inn restaurant.
Committing fully to this new phase of her life, Carol Asam learned the restaurant business, running the front of the house while her husband cooked. The Asams raised two sons, gradually adding a small hotel, expanding and adding services, and, over 45 years, building what has become the AAA Four Diamond Bavarian Inn Resort & Brewing Company.
Asam has always contributed her time and expertise to local cultural, social service, and business development organizations, including the Millbrook Orchestra Auxiliary, AAA, the Shepherdstown Visitors Center, Jefferson Cotillion, CASA of the Eastern Panhandle, Hospice of the Panhandle, and many others. Her most recent honor was being named a 2022 Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of America.
The strength of women can help others realize their strength, Asam says. Her advice: Be yourself and have confidence. Don’t watch the clock and count the day or time—be there when the need demands.
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Since 2014 WV Living magazine has been honoring West Virginia Wonder Women, amazing women who are raising the bar in their communities, serving as beacons of light in their industries, and forcing change for the greater good. WV Living is proud to celebrate these Appalachian mothers, millennials, and mavens proving that in a time full of uncertainty, divisiveness, and hate, love for one another is all we really need. No need for bulletproof bracelets or a golden lasso of truth—these women are creating a better West Virginia with their can-do attitudes and Mountain State spirit.
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