Charlotte restaurant The Stanley will close. What’s next for Chef Paul Verica?
Chef Paul Verica always promised himself he’d walk away when cooking stopped being fun.
And now is that time for The Stanley’s owner.
The restaurant on 7th Street in Charlotte’s Elizabeth neighborhood will close at the end of business on May 13. Verica plans to sell the restaurant and take some time off before figuring out what’s next.
“The last two years have been difficult for everyone in our beloved industry, to say the least, and I feel the effect deeply,” Verica said in a statement. “For me, it has been a good ride — great and even magical at times — but for me it’s time for this ride to come to an end.”
Verica was owner of both The Stanley and Orto, which recently closed in NoDa. He received a James Beard nomination for “Best Chef, Southeast” in 2016, and The Stanley was nominated for “Best New Restaurant” in 2019.
“I have always told myself that when cooking and creating stopped being fun and became work, I would take a step back and reassess. That time is upon me,” the Charlotte chef said.
“With the sale of The Stanley, I plan on taking some time off to re-energize and re-assess. The world is wide open for me, and I plan on exploring it and weighing all my options to see what my next endeavor will be. There are so many concepts and ideas that I have wanted to explore and have not had the opportunity to do so until now.”
Want to go say goodbye? You can still make reservations via Resy until May 13.
The Stanley
Location: 1961 E 7th St, Charlotte, NC 28204
Neighborhood: Elizabeth
Instagram: @_thestanley_
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
