\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n FORT MYERS, Fla. (Dec. 11, 2017) \u2013 Most professionals are planning their retirement after 40 years of working in the same industry. But Paul Peden, owner and founder of the Veranda restaurant in downtown Fort Myers says he has no plans to slow down or walk away from his cherished dining icon.<\/p>\n Photo by Brian Tietz<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n In 2018, the Veranda will celebrate 40 years of operation. Peden, who bought the two three-story, turn-of-the-century Victorian homes in 1978 and transformed them into the Veranda, has always maintained that there is no finish line for the restaurant. He says constant hard work, attention to detail and a consistent level of quality and service is what has kept his restaurant successful for the past four decades.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe still work hard every day to improve our food and service; we are never satisfied,\u201d said Peden who has operated nearly 30 restaurants in his career. \u201cWe are constantly evolving to meet the changing tastes of our patrons. From the front of the house to the back of house, everyone works very hard to make it a great experience for our guests every time they dine with us, and I think it shows. It takes a skilled, caring staff honed to the needs of our patrons to keep them coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yet surviving for 40 years in a $799 billion industry where most restaurants fail within their first years is to be celebrated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fort Myers resident Brad Miller and his high school sweetheart and wife of 34 years Crystal have grown up with the Veranda.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe first came here for dinner before high school dances and years later our engagement party was held here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think what\u2019s always helped is that the Veranda\u2019s owner Paul Peden understands that his patrons appreciate the consistency the restaurant delivers through its systems and processes\u201d Miller said. \u201cThe Veranda\u2019s recipes are a documented process and have continued to deliver the same consistent result again and again, even 40 years later.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Miller remembers the intricacies of having to learn how to make the Veranda\u2019s Caesar salad.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe general manager was a stickler and before you were allowed to serve the tableside Caesar salad you had to prepare it in front of him while he watched and then he would taste it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The story of the Veranda is ingrained in the City of Fort Myers\u2019 own history. In the early 1850s, a fort on the Caloosahatchee River was reactivated and named for Colonel Abraham Myers. The fort contained 57 buildings, a hospital, lawns and gardens. A trading post pioneer by the name of Manuel Gonzalez delivered supplies and mail to the fort in his riverboat. After Seminole Chief\u00a0Billy Bowlegs<\/a>\u00a0surrendered in 1858, the fort was abandoned until\u00a01863<\/a>\u00a0when a small number of\u00a0Federal<\/a>\u00a0troops re-occupied the fort during the\u00a0Civil War<\/a>. After the war, the fort was again deserted. In\u00a01866<\/a>, Captain Gonzalez returned to the fort with his five-year-old son Manuel to become the first known residents of Fort Myers. For years, the Gonzalez family would operate a trading post on the site of the present Federal Building.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1902, young Manuel Gonzales built two houses at the corner of Second Street and Broadway. He and his family occupied the corner house, while the second home was built for his mother and was located adjacent to the first house (in what is now the Veranda\u2019s parking lot).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the early 1970s, Peter Pulitzer, son of the publisher, joined the two houses for his long-time fishing buddy, Fingers O\u2019Bannon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The original kitchen building from the second house, along with a secluded landscaped garden courtyard featuring a waterfall and Koi pond, now joins the two houses.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Paul Rosete and his wife Randi have been coming to the Veranda on an almost weekly basis for 27 years. The North Fort Myers couple say they enjoy Thursday and Saturday evenings, especially listening to the live music in the piano lounge.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Chateaubriand is our favorite meal,\u201d Randi said. \u201cOf course the lamb is excellent and Paul likes to the get the filet Pittsburg style, charred on the outside and rare in the center.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Publisher David Atkinson enjoys stopping into the Veranda for\u00a0lunch when he often travels to Fort Myers for business.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s convenient and it\u2019s a great place for easy conversation,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I want to impress a client, they never turn down a chance to go to the Veranda.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Atkinson, who owns AMM Publications, publisher of Southwest Florida\u2019s Destination Magazine, said he also likes to entertain friends and clients for dinner. <\/p>\n The Veranda\u2019s interior is best described as an elegant Southern Victorian house. The low-lit, spacious, mahogany piano bar just inside the front door beckons patrons to have a seat at one of the high back cushioned chairs, order a drink, enjoy an appetizer and live music, relax and take in the vintage photos which line the walls. Along with the fully stocked bar, the Veranda also boasts a large selection of vintage wines.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Through the years, the ownership has meticulously maintained the home\u2019s interior and exterior to preserve the restaurant\u2019s authentic charm. Carpeting is regularly replaced; walls are repainted or re-wallpapered, drapes are redone and the signature high backed, padded dining chairs are re-cushioned with new fabric.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe remodeling never stops,\u201d said Peden. \u201cOur patrons might not notice the changes because they are subtle and meant to maintain the restaurant\u2019s same comfortable feel and charm.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe started coming to the Veranda when we were first dating in 2005,\u201d said Jacquie and Doug Flenniken of Cape Coral.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The couple were married a year later and have enjoyed dinner and drinks at the Veranda every other week as well as numerous New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe tell our friends, you don\u2019t need a special occasion to go to the Veranda, you just need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Veranda\u2019s menu continues to feature Southern cuisine staples including Southern Grit Cake, Blue Crab Cakes, Fried Green Tomato Salad, Bourbon Street Filet, Chicken Orleans and Warm Southern Pecan Praline Tart, as well as traditional favorites like Beef Carpaccio, Escargot in Puff Pastry, Spinach and Caesar Salad, Filet Mignon, Rack of New Zealand Lamb, Pan Seared Grouper and Triple Layer Chocolate Pat\u00e9.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the last decade, lighter menu items and gluten-free selections have been added to accommodate special diets.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOur success can be attributed to the amount of experience our staff has. Our team has been doing this for a long time and they really know the business of taking care of people,\u201d said General Manager Dennis Genge who has been with the Veranda since 2000.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s truly a unique dining experience you can\u2019t get anywhere else, whether it\u2019s an afternoon luncheon or romantic dinner under the stars,\u201d said Peden.\u00a0\u201cThe Veranda continues to be my passion. We work together each day to not only make sure we are meeting our patrons\u2019 needs and expectations but also to make sure we have our plan for the next decade of the Veranda\u2019s success.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Veranda is located at 2122 Second Street in two turn-of-the-century Victorian homes. The restaurant features Southern regional cuisine with a full bar, extensive wine list and first-class service in a romantic setting. The Veranda is consistently honored as one of the most award-winning restaurants in the area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lunch is served Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. A mid-day menu is served Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. Dinner is served Monday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. Private dining is also available from 10 to 400 guests. Live entertainment is featured in the Veranda\u2019s piano lounge Wednesday through Saturday evenings from 6:30 to 9:30. Street parking is available for lunch and dinner, as well as valet parking in the evenings. For reservations and more information, call 239-332-2065 or visit\u00a0www.verandarestaurant.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Downtown Fort Myers\u2019 gem celebrates 40 years of impeccable dining \u00a0 FORT MYERS, Fla. (Dec. 11, 2017) \u2013 Most professionals are planning their retirement after 40 years of working…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15245\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Waiter-Keith-Burgess-with-Brad-Crystal-Miller-300x200.jpg\")
Brad began working at the Veranda in 1979, just a year after it opened. He left the restaurant business three years later to start Interior Plant Scapes and today his company provides interior plants for the Veranda. In his 2014 book,\u00a0Victory Goes to the Business with Superior Systems: How to Transform Your Business and Your Life Through Systems,\u00a0<\/em>he includes a chapter on some of the winning systems he learned while employed as a waiter at the Veranda.<\/h1>\n
\n\u201cThe bar is very enjoyable; they have a fantastic piano player and meeting friends for a drink there first is a perfect way to start a great evening.\u201d<\/p>\n