PORT ORANGE — The new opera singer/owner of Perrine’s Fresh Food Markets chain plans to soon move to the Daytona Beach area with her husband from Southern California, The Daytona Beach News-Journal has learned.
“We will be relocating,” said Nicolas “Nick” Naatz, referring to himself and his wife Diana Villwock Naatz, in a brief phone conversation with The News-Journal.
Nick said he and his wife were traveling and was unable to talk further on Monday, June 30. Diana Naatz was not available to speak with The News-Journal.
Sale of Perrine’s took place this past spring
The couple, who currently live in the San Diego, California area, completed their purchase of the three Perrine’s Fresh Food Market grocery stores in Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach and Ormond Beach on May 1, Nick Naatz confirmed.
While both Nick and Diana Naatz are listed in state incorporation records as co-owners of the “Perrine’s Fresh Food LLC” business entity they created to run the three grocery stores under, Nick Naatz said, “My wife is the actual owner of the stores. It’s really my wife’s doing this.”
Perrine’s will still be locally managed
Nick Naatz said regular shoppers of Perrine’s can expect the grocery stores to be run the same as they were under the ownership of the chain’s founders, Arnold “Junior” and Dianna Perrine of Daytona Beach, who started the business in 1996.
That’s because the new owners have retained the chain’s longtime general manager Stanton “Trey” Renfroe who will continue to oversee the employees and daily operations of the stores.
“Trey is an integral part of this whole thing,” said Nick Naatz, who added, “It’s really going to be my wife and him running this.”
Perrine’s Fresh Food Markets are boutique grocery stores known for their wide selection of fresh produce, fresh meat and seafood, deli and salad bar, bakery, gourmet grocery items typically not carried by national supermarket chains, and extensive selection of wine and beer. The stores also carry Amish meats, cheeses and jams.
The new owners are originally from Germany
Nick Naatz confirmed that both he and his wife are originally from Germany, but both moved to the United States at separate times, prior to becoming a couple.
Both Nick Naatz and his wife are 40 years old.
Diana Villwock Naatz appears to have moved to the San Diego area in the late 1990s when she was a teenager, according to a 2013 brochure for the Saint Bartholomew’s Academy for Music and the Arts in Poway, California, which listed her as one of the school’s instructors.
Villwock Naatz studied under a Russian pianist
“Born in Giessen, Germany, Diana Villwock began playing the piano at the age of five. Upon coming to San Diego, she continued her piano studies under Russian pianist Dr. Irena Bendetsky,” a brief biography of Naatz stated in the brochure. (Bendetsky’s first name is actually spelled Irina.)
Giessen is in central Germany, roughly 51 miles north of Frankfurt.
“Throughout her 15 years of training, she (Villwock Naatz) has gained a mastery of a wide variety of baroque, classical, romantic, and 20th century piano literature, including solo works, chamber music, and concertos,” the brochure stated. “She has taught piano for 3 years (as of 2013), and has a great passion for teaching. She believes that through patience and guidance the beauty and joy of making music can be brought to everyone who seeks it.”
Naatz went on to co-found a nonprofit music association
After leaving Saint Bartholomew’s, Diana Naatz went on to co-found a San Diego nonprofit called the VOCA Music Association with her younger sister Sandra Villwock. Both are described on the website for VOCA Music as opera singers.
The mission of VOCA Music is described on the website as creating “meaningful and engaging musical experiences that are accessible to broad audiences. … We have developed an amazing network of top professional musicians and partners to create truly magical and unifying events. We partner with expert sommeliers, local wineries, breweries, and caterers to perfectly pair the music selections with various notes of flavors in the food and drink based on geographical region, mood and historical context.”
The website also described Diana Naatz as “German-American soprano (opera singer)” who has been praised for her “warm, lyric tembre” and her “emotive singing.”
“She is a graduate of the Bad Schwalbach Opera Akadamie and has earned a Bachelor’s Degree at UCLA and a Master’s Degree from the Johannes-Gutenberg Universitat in Mainz, Germany.”
Villwock Naatz has numerous business interests
A background check on Diana Naatz shows she has had affiliations with several businesses over the years.
In Florida, in addition to Perrine’s Fresh Produce LLC, Naatz is also listed as the president, vice president of a business entity called Summit Trail Holdings Corp. It is unclear what Summit does.
Other business entities Naatz has been affiliated with over the years, many in a CEO role, include Evie Brands Corporation, Diversified Nano Corporation, Global Bizz Force Inc., Global Bizforce, IP Intelliprint, IPROLOG BPO, IPROLOG Print, IPROLOGO Ink Corp and Global Business Process Outsourcing.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Opera singer Diana Naatz just bought Perrine’s in Daytona. Who is she?
Reporting by Clayton Park, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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