We’ve all been blaming COVID for everything from weight gain to mask-related breakouts. But these Keys women had the courage to either open or adapt their own business to the new normal.
Friends since the age of 5, The Key West Sisters Angela McChesney and Jenny Perry are successful Realtors who celebrate each other’s — and other women’s — success. 
Friends since the age of 5, The Key West Sisters Angela McChesney and Jenny Perry are successful Realtors who celebrate each other’s — and other women’s — success.
Angela McChesney and Jenny Perry: The Key West Sisters
Women who love seeing other women succeed are the coolest women of alI. In-demand Realtors Angela McChesney and Jenny Perry do just that. Friends since the age of 5, the pair dubbed themselves The Key West Sisters in 2014 while working at Preferred Properties for Angela’s mother-in-law, Laurie McChesney, who instilled a team mentality by emphasizing “collaboration over competition.”
With this concept in mind, the “sisters” decided to support other women by sharing their network of followers with local female business owners. They started an Instagram trend in the fall of 2020 by posting photos of other fierce females and their businesses and tagging dozens of local entrepreneurial ladies. The result? Scores of smart women supporting each other while reaching a whole new network of potential customers. Talk about female empowerment.
Emily Shipman, Bella Laine Art
In 2018, Emily Shipman was home during the day with her young daughter and looking for something fun to fill her time. She couldn’t afford to have her favorite candle shipped regularly from San Diego. “I had no clue how much work went into it, but I kept educating myself and experimenting.” Then Key West Printing Co. owner Rick advised her to do as much as she could for free. “I thought, ‘What if I hand paint my labels?” They’re now her signature mark. After finding success at local markets, Emily teamed up with three other female artists (Barb Sage, Lucy Hawk and Christina Velardi) and opened Sacred Space women’s art collective and gallery in August 2020. Shipman also has been commissioned by a half dozen local businesses to make candles that are available exclusively at their location. She recently signed a lease on her solo working studio and retail space inside the Shops at Mallory and shows no signs of slowing down.
Tricia Coyne, Firefly, Tiger Bar & Champagne Room
Tricia Coyne opened her flagship restaurant, Firefly, in 2003. In 2020, she launched both The Champagne Room and Tiger Bar. The latter two sit side by side and share what Tricia calls “a wonderful flow.” Crafty is among Coyne’s many attributes. With a 10 p.m. curfew dictating Key West’s New Year’s Eve, Coyne had to think outside the box — and the bubbles — for The Champagne Room. With a late-night party against the rules, she opened first thing on New Year’s Day. “We invited people to get all dressed up, and we had a full bar all day starting at 8 a.m. We did 110 mimosas and had a very local crowd. It was one of those dream bar shifts and it was awesome.” Tricia is also a minority owner with Anjy Megow at Leviathan Tattoo.
Karen Williams deCastro, Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate, Key Largo
“We live in a society that teaches women we are not worthy of the same pay grades, respect, entitlement, as men. And we are taught to be in competition with each other,” said Keys native and Realtor Karen Williams de Castro. “It’s important we show our children and grandchildren something different than we have been shown. With COVID straining so many families financially, we must help each other be successful. I read somewhere that a woman alone has power, but collectively we have impact.”
She credits her father, the late Clyde Wiliams, for her work ethic. “He owned his own landscaping business and worked rain or shine, but still found time to tease my mother, love on his family, and stand firm in his spiritual convictions,” she said. “I hope I make him proud every day.”
DeCastro worked with other Upper Keys women to organize a community outreach with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
“Racism runs deep everywhere, but we have to start somewhere. Sheriff Rick Ramsey and Capt. Don Fanelli were onboard 100%. We showed we could listen with open minds, and make a real effort to move forward with positive intentions,” she said.
Ingrid Moravcova, Ingrid’s Key West Kitchen
Born in Slovakia and raised in Czech Republic, Ingrid Moravcova has always considered herself a people pleaser. In 2013 she opened the 4×7 fully licensed ‘Woody Wagon’ on Greene Street and instantly filled a void in a sea of unhealthy late-night food options. The locals fell in love not only with her unique and fresh cuisine, but also with Moravcova’s kind smile and warm heart.
She calls her style “no-rules cooking.” She makes whatever tastes good and never uses an actual recipe. She used the lockdown time during COVID to open Ingrid’s Key West Kitchen on White Street, where she continues to be her humble beautiful self. She initially declined this interview because she didn’t want to highlight her own success when others have had to close for good. “This past year has been so hard for everyone and it’s made me think differently,” she said. “ want everyone to be healthy, happy and live a good life.”
Kate Koler, Sweet Savannah’s
Initially opening Sweet Savannah’s with a partner in 2011, Kate Koler took over as sole owner two years ago. Since its inception, the space has moved to a larger home and has seen its share of change. Most recently COVID found Koler filling a chunk of her previous seating space with retail items, “taking a leap of faith that the majority would come out and really shop local this past year, and they did.”
Koler notes that she lives with a bunch of guys (her husband and two sons) and “loves to come in and be in her girlie space. Plus I love the people I work with. I have the most amazing team.” But her staff would say the same. Koler even set up a nursery for a former cake chef so she could bring in her baby, and try to minimize her stress about the balance and transitions of being a new mother. “I want to be a positive influence,” Koler said. Mission accomplished.
(Editor’s note: Kate Koler’s husband, Jason, is the publisher of Keys Weekly.)
The Women of Whitehead Street
A downtown shopping plaza at 218 Whitehead St. in Key West was nearly vacant until a quartet of women shrugged off the pandemic and went to work, filling the shopping center with their own unique businesses.
Stina Worsley opened Hidden Gems Botanica and adjusted to the pandemic by offering delivery and curbside pickups. Joy Terwilliger opened Little Whitehouse Subs with her partner Micah Woerner and has sold out of her homemade cupcakes every day. Hillary O’Bryan’s Cayo Beauty Lounge enables women to look as good on the outside as they feel on the inside. “I want to get to know every lady that sits in my chair, her story and what makes her the amazing woman she is,” O’Bryan said.
And writer Kirby Myers opened Kirby’s Closet resale boutique during the pandemic, finding creative ways to welcome shoppers, including hosting private shopping parties for small quarantine groups.
The women of Whitehead work together and for themselves to cancel the competition that has limited women for years.
