Family is the Secret Ingredient in 65-Year-old Verplanck Restaurant

Paradise restaurant started serving classic Italian meals made from family recipes in 1947 and continues in that same tradition today. Despite its location in the off-the-beaten path hamlet of Verplanck (population about 1,000), has managed to continue its successful family-oriented business.

When you ask owner Jerry Margiotta what the secret is behind his successful decades-old business, he will explain that it is all “family.” Jerry says that it has been his family -his father and brother that built the foundation and his wife Lucy and children who now run the restaurant - that have kept the Paradise a known standard for incredible Italian classics.

Margiotta, now 82 years old, and Lucy have been involved with the restaurant ever since it opened in the same spot it occupies today, a humble green wooden building on Broadway in Verplanck. Their son Joe runs the day-to-day affairs now, but the Margiotta’s are still very much involved in their business.

Margiotta takes pride in running his family business and treating his customers as family, just as his father did. “If you have the ability to bring this level of warmth and care to the people that desire your kitchen, then it is our responsibility to perform in a way that is special,” Margiotta said. 

The menu has selections that are crafted and prepared in a daily ritual.  Their thin-curst pizza is a customer favorite. But the restaurant also serves a variety of other dishes. Tomatoes from Italy are prepared and combined with the traditional recipe ingredients to create several sauces used in many different dishes.  The bread is served warm and can leave a table of fallen crumbs (a true sign of freshness) when enjoyed with a signature entrée.

While the owners are careful to provide a family experience and delicious home cooked meals like you would have at your own Nonna’s house, they also focus on value. The food is inexpensive, with appetizers for as low as $5; pasta entrées for about $12 and steak and seafood dishes for about $20. They offer an exceptionally affordable group deal of $25 per person for large parties.

While the dishes of chicken cutlets, fettuccine alfredo and mushroom tortellini are filling. Many customers still leave room for Lucy Margiotta’s classic desserts, like homemade cream puffs, to finish off a meal.

As long as the Margiotta’s keep caring about their family, they will be caring for Paradise and their customers, continuing to provide diners with an affordable destination to indulge themselves.

To view the menu and read more about Paradise Restaurant visit their Patch listing and like them on Facebook.

___
This article was provided by Joe Brown.