Symantha Duggan and Rob Wilson
Vesper Books & Wine | Detroit, MI
July 2025
Rob Wilson’s first love was music. Since receiving a drum set at 11 years old, he was hooked. As a teenager, he would drive from the suburbs to Detroit to perform with his band before eventually moving to the city at 18 years old. Wilson got a barback job at Woodbridge Pub to pay the bills and quickly felt at home behind the bar, chatting up patrons and slinging rum and Cokes. In 2014, he joined the opening team at Selden Standard. Over the next four years there, he expanded his cocktail repertoire and learned wine basics from Sommelier Evan Hansen. After a stint working for a music label in Sweden, Wilson realized he missed the hustle and bustle of restaurant life and moved back to Detroit. He consulted for Kiesling before joining the team full-time as bar manager and director of operations. There, he met his future business and life partner, Symantha Duggan.
Duggan worked in construction management and community organizing in Austin, Chicago, and Paris before settling down in Detroit. In Michigan, she switched gears, focusing her attention on working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence and teaching consent in high schools. When the pandemic hit, the couple decided they wanted to create a space of their own that combined Wilson’s beverage knowledge and Duggan’s passion for community organizing. The duo started fundraising and building out their space, and officially opened Vesper Books & Wine in 2024.
The cookbook store and bottle shop is a love letter to the Detroit community. From free wine tastings, author events, and pop-ups with local hospitality professionals to fundraisers for Detroit non-profits and causes, Duggan and Wilson have created a space with people as its purpose. The couple has their sights set on expanding their programming while ensuring that Vesper remains an accessible, inviting space for all.
