Mara, managing partner, general manager and sommelier at Contento Restaurant in New York City, brings along more than a decade in restaurants and fine wine retail in New York City.  She has transmitted her genuine passion for people, wine and hospitality to the earnest service you receive every night at Contento.

Training under many industry leaders she previously held the position of beverage manager at Lafayette, part of the NoHo Hospitality Group. Through her seven-year journey with the company Mara was always constantly stretching her knowledge of wine, participating often in harvests in Italy and France and making a point of visiting a new wine region every year.

She began her career with famed wine retailer Sherry Lehmann, where she tasted some of the finest and rarest wines available and maintained leading sales in the company. She worked alongside Jean-Luc Le Dû as general manager at Le Du’s Wines, which was named best wine retail store by Zagat during her tenure, and also had the opportunity to be mentored by Daniel Johnnes of La Paulée, and Paul Greico of Terroir Wine Bar and Tim Kopec of Private Cellar Selections.

Always ready to embrace a new challenge and help others, Mara has also dedicated herself to the non-profit Wine on Wheels, the top-chart wine fundraiser in New York City for eight years, where she served as director of events.

One of the original partners of Contento, Mara is busy running the daily operations, caring for the staff, welcoming customers and on most nights sharing detailed stories about the 200-plus bottle wine list.