La Verona opened last week in the space recently vacated by Newton’s On State. Although the new sign hasn’t been installed, the inside has undergone quite a renovation from when I was inside just a month ago.
The new Italian restaurant is owned by brothers Jack and Sam Mavraj, with their cousin Ari. They converted the space quickly, having taken over the lease on October 1st.
Jack gave me a tour through the renovated space. High stools and round tables line the front windows, great for people watching while eating lunch or dinner. The main dining room is large and softly lit, with a stained glass piece anchoring the back wall. He showed me a private room where parties can be held for up to 70 people before we returned to the dining room and chatted over an espresso.
La Verona is serving classic Italian dishes, and have both a lunch and dinner menu. The menu includes antipasti, salads, pasta, chicken, veal and fish. They also will offer pizza soon after the new pizza oven is installed and tested. Jack recommends the eggplant parmesan, the prosciutto. He told me they make their own gnocchi, ravioli and tortellini. They also serve dishes such as Veal Saltimbucca and Black Angus Ribeye.
La Verona is open Monday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. For now, they are a BYOB but he hopes to have the liquor license by early December. There’s no corking fee.
La Verona is located at 114 East State Street, Kennett Square, PA. Call 610-444-2244 for reservations.
Hope they are able to build a client base. I think it might be a tough sell because people are still upset that Newton’s is gone. As a borough resident, I think some things that might help to win residents over:
-Post a menu outside the restaurant. There isn’t one as of right now and people want to scope out the scene.
-Hold a happy hour or advertise a special to get people in and talking about it.
-Send out coupons in the mail or offer a Groupon/LivingSocial deal, or on a Farmer’s Market Friday/ First Friday, have a server outside with some hors d’oeuvres and coupons.
-Set up a facebook account, website, etc.
Just some ideas… good luck!
I never went to Newton’s because of the high prices. I assume Verona will be costly too if they are paying the same rent.
Kennett’s commercial real estate owners and business people are really out of touch with the local population. They seem to think we are all living in the McMansions. Have they never noticed the mile after mile of suburbia? Or the large rural population?
Give us a decent meal at a decent price. If your business isn’t physically inside the country club, charge normal prices for normal people! The whole “let them eat cake” thing is getting old.
I love this new restaurant. The food is wonderful, and I like the ambiance. If you are dining for the first time, I recommend going on a weekday night, as I did. Naturally, the restaurant is not as busy as on a Friday or Saturday night, so you can enjoy the wait staff and get to know the owners. They are part of the great experience!
My son and I went on Saturday for an early lunch and decided to just have a few appetizers. We first ordered fried calamari and they were out of it…At 11:30 AM?
We ended up ordering the chicken soup, a classic antipasta and smoked salmon. The antipasta was wonderful! I would go back again just for that. The smoked salmon was good and the soup, after sending it back because it was barely warm, would have been delicious if not for massive quantities of salt, and I am a salt fiend! When I told the waitress she said that some batches are salty and some are not. Seeing how little we ate of it, I would have thought she would take it off the bill but she did not.
I probably will go back if only for the antipasta.
This place is lovely I did travel from west Chester to longwood garden and we try kennett square restaurants and I think is luck for them to have this place outdoor seating was so enjoyable and food was so good ,atmosphere was nice friendly and lovely treatment from start . Love this restaurant . Can’t waite to go back to kennet square .
I love La Verona!! The food is wonderful and the people are very friendly!!