A popular Bucksport restaurant with a robust tapas menu and wine list on Verona Island is for sale.
Owners Colleen and Mike Gross didn’t have commercial kitchen experience when they started the intimate, laid-back eatery in June 2016. But they had a shared love of wine and a desire to do something different. Years later, Verona Wine and Design has a small menu centered around tapas-style small plates, desserts and a carefully selected wine and beer menu, as well as wine and gifts for purchase.
“The community absolutely loves the restaurant and they’ve been so supportive and right now they’ve been telling us how sad they are,” Colleen Gross said.
That’s why she is hoping to find the right owners to carry on with the business.
Colleen Gross said that she and her husband are looking for someone who will bring a similar level of passion and enthusiasm to the restaurant that they have.
“This was something that Mike and I created together from scratch. Neither one of us had any experience in the food industry but we both had been self employed and had different ventures through the years,” Colleen Gross said.
With the couple getting older, Colleen Gross said they want to spend more time with their family including their growing grandchildren, as well as traveling.
Verona Wine and Design is expected to remain open through the summer and into the fall under their leadership, according to an announcement. But, they said, it’s time to move on.
What Colleen Gross will miss most are the connections they’ve made with returning patrons and regulars.
The popular eatery has a dedicated customer base and a devoted staff that Colleen and Mike Gross said would like to work at the next iteration of the restaurant.
Verona Wine and Design focuses on tapas with a menu that features a variety of shareable dishes like Shrimpcargot (baked shrimp with garlic butter, pesto, bacon and asiago cheese served with fresh bread points), Goat Cheese Pizza (a flatbread pizza with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, Greek olives, oregano, garlic and Regato) and Edamame Salsa (edamame, black beans, roasted red peppers, corn, red onions and vinaigrette served with naan bread for dipping).
It also features a few sandwiches, soups and desserts as well as an extensive wine and drink menu.
They’ve already had some interest in purchasing the restaurant, though it’s still in the early stages.
“We’re meeting with folks and we’re sort of handpicking too because we want to make sure that they are as passionate as we are,” Colleen Gross said.
Mike Gross has done the cooking and his recipes — including the signature Bacon Swiss Dip — will come with the sale.
“As a self-taught chef, he has done a fantastic job,” Colleen Gross said.
And although they want to keep the terms of what will be a private sale private, Colleen Gross said that the asking price is “under six figures,” for the restaurant that operates in a leased space. The building owner, she said, will extend the lease to the new owner and is invested in keeping a restaurant there.
“It is a historic building so he has a vision for that building. [The building owner] would like to see it continue the same,” Colleen Gross said.
The sale will be bittersweet for Colleen Gross and her husband though, who’ve poured so much into the business. They live locally and hope to still visit the restaurant — but as patrons.
“We want it to happen. We’d like to see it go on the same as it is or better,” Colleen Gross said.
She envisions the new owners bringing back popular wine pairing dinners that the public has enjoyed. And the musicians who’ve played regularly also want to continue doing so.
“It’s been our little baby and we’ve seen her grow and right now she’s really flourishing,” Colleen Gross said. “We did all the hard work and we’d love to sort of pass it on to someone who could continue… the legacy.”