Pizza restaurant brings old-world flavor to newest community
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The word “veraci” in Italian means “authentic”, and for the owners of Veraci’s Pizza, the name is fitting.
The warmth coming from the large brick-oven flows through the front half of Veraci’s restaurant. The sound of Jack Johnson’s “Banana Pancakes” can be heard over speakers while two young women hand roll pizza dough and share jokes with each other. The other half of the restaurant houses a room with vaulted ceilings where the only light available streams in from the large glass doors that lead to an outdoor deck overlooking the Spokane river.
“It’s a really homey atmosphere where customers feel relaxed and like they can have fun here,” Jillian McCann, a waitress of Veraci’s, said. “Not only is the pizza great, but people also love being in here and we kind of get a variety of everyone. There’s the Kendall yards regulars, couples with kids, retirees, students, heterosexual and homosexual… I love the diversity of it. It’s a very cool, calm and collected space.”
For five years, Veraci’s Pizza had strictly been serving local farmers markets, but in July the owners, Seth and Laura Carey, decided to open up a location in Spokane’s new neighborhood when the CEO of Greenstone, a Kendall Yards development and homebuilding company, approached them to open up a restaurant.
“We did the Liberty Lake Farmers market and that’s where we met Jim Frank,” Laura Carey said. “He really liked our product and he has a commitment to small businesses and local artisans so we fit right into his vision.
“I think it would be cool if people could come out and see what’s up with Kendall Yards because it’s a whole new community in Spokane that’s quickly blooming… And it’s cool to see that.”
According to Jazmyn Long, a waitress with Veraci’s for 2 years, the location of the restaurant isn’t as unique as the product and the comparison to other pizza restaurants in Spokane.
“It’s the fact that everything is hand-rolled and prepped with care with a lot of organic, natural and community foods,” Long said. “Compared to somewhere else where their meats come in a box, we hand cut everything and most of our food doesn’t come out of a box or a can. When you go to Pizza Hut you can tell that it’s just canned red sauce, but then when you try our red sauce you can taste hints of flavors that you’d never get anywhere else. It’s pretty impressive, we could have moved into any building or any area and our product would still be unique.”
According to MCcann, the opening of the restaurant has given way for customers to get year-round Veraci’s pizza and has boosted sales for the business.
“I think the whole and vibe of the cart has transferred to the restaurant,” McCann said. “We’re just so different from everything else. I think a lot of pizza places get by with just mediocre products and that’s the difference between them and us. It’s not the pretentious pizza that people talk about a lot but it’s just that we put a lot of thought and heart into our product and that shows through.”