Chef Paul Verica of The Stanley has sold the restaurant. Photo by Peter Taylor

The Stanley, an Elizabeth restaurant known for its focus on local sourcing and creative plates, will close for good on May 13th following dinner service. Chef/owner Paul Verica has sold the restaurant, and will take a step back from cooking while recovering from the burnout of the pandemic and three decades in the restaurant industry. We spoke with Verica to learn more about his decision to close the restaurant, which earned a Best New Restaurant semifinalist nomination in the 2019 James Beard Awards, and what’s next for him. The restaurant will close with its 600th menu on Friday.

Unpretentious Palate: When did you first start thinking about stepping back from cooking? 
Paul Verica: Somebody approached us and we had a conversation, and it was a good offer. When I got approached, I obviously went and talked with [my fiancée] Jane about it. The last two years have been pretty overwhelming, and we made it through and things are looking up. But quite frankly, I’m tired. And it just made sense; the offer made sense, the timing made sense. It’s just serendipity, where everything kind of came together at once and came together very quickly. I looked at it and was like, ‘You know what? It’s not fun anymore. I’m not having fun.’ The creative process has been hard, if not completely stagnant. And as you well know, that’s always been my passion. That’s always been my drive. And that’s why I’ve always done what I do.

UP: What do you think would have happened had you not been approached to sell?
PV: We would have kept pushing along. We would have just kept going. It wasn’t something that I was actively looking at. It came along and I’ve always been one that believes, everything in life is worth a conversation. And the numbers worked — it’s a great deal for me and my partners — and the timing works. I’m not getting any younger. I turned 50 this year. I’ve been at this for 32 years. It made sense.

UP: How much of this decision was caused by pandemic-related stress versus how just getting older and realizing you can’t do this forever?
PV: Kind of 50/50. Covid has definitely taken a toll. I think about some of the things that we’ve done in the last two years; I never, ever, ever thought I would say in my restaurant, ‘Do you want fries with that?’ We’ve had to say that; we’ve made hotdogs, we’ve made cheesesteaks, we’ve made barbecue, we’ve done everything under the sun that this restaurant was never supposed to be and was never really about. We did everything we could do to survive and push through. And we made it to the other side of the pandemic and in good financial shape, which is a lot more than a lot of other people can say. The timing just worked. It all worked out.

UP: What is the future for The Stanley space? Will it remain The Stanley under new ownership?
PV: It will be reconcepted. I don’t know what they’re going to do, and I’m not at liberty to discuss who it is and all that sort of stuff. But no, I would never sell the brand. That’s too personal.

UP:What does your future look like?
PV: I can’t even think that far. I’m excited to get through this week. My daughter Paige graduates on Saturday. I’m super excited to be able to go to that. I’ve missed so many things in my kids’ lives over the last 26 years, and I’m excited to be able to hang out and do stuff with them. I’m going to go home to Philly for the first time in probably six years. I’m going to play golf. We’re going to go bourbon hunting. I’m definitely taking at least a month, if not two, off. I’m sure within a week or two, Jane is going to be like, ‘Oh, my God, go get a job.’

At this point, I’m sure you can imagine my phone has just been blowing up which is such a credit to the great food community that we have here. I’ve heard from just about everybody, which has been really, really cool and kind of overwhelming at the same time.

… I feel like I’m going out on top. I’m pretty proud of what I’ve accomplished over the last nine years. I’m pretty proud of all my kids that I put out in this community. When you look at what Alex has done and Rob has done and Joy has done, and Logan and so many other people that have come through my kitchens, that’s a pretty cool legacy. It’s a great feeling.

UP: You mentioned a lot of the sacrifice, particularly family-wise, throughout your career. Looking back, was it worth it? Or wish you’d done things differently?
PV: No, I have no regrets. I mean, everybody has some regrets, but no, I wouldn’t do anything differently. Like I said in my post, which took us a while to write, I’m sorry for my kids that I missed so many things, for sure. But everything I did, I did for them. And selfishly, no, I don’t have any regrets. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m proud of what I’ve done.

UP: Physically, how do you feel after 32 years working in a hot kitchen on your feet?
PV: I’ve got an appointment at 12 at Stretch Lab that I cannot wait for. When I get home on Sunday afternoons, my knees hurt. My feet hurt. My legs hurt. I look at my hands and it’s like, oh, how’d I get that burn? This business takes — you give it everything that you have and it takes it, and it takes more. It’s physically, mentally, and emotionally draining at times. These restaurants, they’re not just spaces. They’ve all been a part of me.

UP: What are the things you look back on as the highlights of being a restaurateur? 
PV: One of my favorite memories is Joe [Kindred] calling me on a rainy February morning and waking me up and being like, ‘Congratulations.’ And I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And he’s like, ‘You got a nod.’

I was like, ‘Huh?’ and went and looked and saw my first Beard nomination, which was pretty cool. Those nominations are something that I’m very proud of. They’re more than participation trophies, as somebody liked to say.

I think about what Alex and I and a bunch of other people accomplished at Heritage in that small-ass kitchen in Waxhaw, what we were doing when we started back then. Nobody else was doing anything like it in the city. People embraced it. Thank you for embracing it and telling people about it. I’m pretty happy and proud of everything that I’ve accomplished.

UP: I imagine you’re going to want to kind of go out with something special. What are you doing for the final days of The Stanley?
PV: I’m going to have fun. It’s going to be nice to have the stress and the pressure off my back and just be able to put my head down and cook. I’m looking forward to it. I’m definitely going to play, there’s no doubt about that, because I don’t have to worry anymore.

UP: Now you’ll have more time to eat at other people’s restaurants. Where will you be dining out over the next couple of weeks?
PV: We haven’t been to Leah & Louise yet. We want to go there. Mike [Noll, chef/owner of Bardo] was in for brunch yesterday with his family. We’re definitely going to go to Bardo; we always love what we see there and what we’ve had there. We haven’t been up to Milkbread yet. It’s usually it’s like, ‘Oh, okay. It’s Monday. It’s our day off together.’ And so many places are closed. So it’ll be nice to be able to go out.