Two Restaurant Veterans Are Bringing Something New To Yorkville

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A chef from Italy’s Amalfi Coast and a longtime New York restaurant veteran are teaming up to open Pepe & Vera, a new Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side.

Caterina Pepe and Wilson Vera are taking over the former Hollybrook Lane space on First Avenue near East 89th Street with plans for classic Italian cooking, a new bar and a cozy dining room.

They are aiming to open Thanksgiving week, though the timing remains tentative, they told Patch.

For Pepe, the project marks a return to the neighborhood where she began her American restaurant career.

She moved to the United States in 2014 and worked as a pastry sous chef on the Upper East Side until 2020, when she opened Cerasella, a bakery in Astoria.

After selling that business in 2025, she returned to the Upper East Side and met Vera. A conversation about their shared wish to open a restaurant became the foundation for Pepe & Vera, which combines their last names.

Pepe, whose family works in restaurants in Italy and the United States, said she began cooking with her mother and uncle at age six.

"So I’ve always been, all my life, in the kitchen," she said.

Vera, who is from Ecuador, worked his way through the restaurant business, starting as a dishwasher before becoming a busboy, waiter, manager and restaurant co-owner.

He previously co-owned Vespa on Second Avenue and said his years working in the neighborhood helped him understand what local diners want.

"That’s when I fell in love with Upper East Side — the people, you know, their passion for the food," Wilson said.

At Pepe & Vera, Pepe will lead the kitchen while Vera handles the dining room.

The menu is still taking shape, but planned dishes include tortellini in brodo — small stuffed pasta served in meat broth — and linguine with clams, Pepe said.

The menu will also feature vegetarian and vegan choices, including desserts.

"We want to make sure that everybody can eat at our place," Pepe said.

Inside, the partners are replacing the former restaurant’s blue walls with beige and green tones. Artwork and a new bar will round out a space they hope will feel modern, warm and comfortable.

For Vera, that sense of comfort is central to the restaurant.

"Ambiance is number one for me, because when you go to a place and you feel comfortable, you want to stay there," Vera said. "

The partners said they are taking their time getting the space ready, even as they work toward a Thanksgiving-week opening.

Pepe & Vera will be located at 1712 First Ave.

Know of a business opening or closing on the Upper East Side? Email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.