The bright, new addition to Savannah’s food scene is run by couple Alicia Farrell and James Ciminillo.
Written by ALLISON ARBUTHNOT SANDERS
WHILE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC still casts a shadow on the restaurant industry, a few bright spots did emerge as a result of that darkness. One such bright spot is Veratina, a new Italian restaurant in Savannah’s South Historic District and the joint effort of wife-and-husband team Alicia Farrell and James Ciminillo.
“During our entire relationship, we’d been like two ships passing in the night; he’s a chef and is in restaurants all the time, and I was an attorney and at the office all the time,” says Farrell. “Our story is now kind of a typical Covid story; during the pandemic we realized that we needed to make some life changes. We wanted to see each other!” After 15 years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Farrell and Ciminillo set their eyes on the South.
Steve Vilnit/SV Images
After exploring various cities, they decided on Savannah and opened Veratina in December 2024. “Veratina is our baby,” says Farrell, who has since stopped practicing law. “It’s been the two of us working on it together since day one, and it’s near and dear to our hearts. We knew we would be spending all of our time here so we wanted it to be a place that we would genuinely enjoy, and of course we want other people to love it as well.”
Farrell and Ciminillo’s thoughtful renovations transformed a tight, dark space on Abercorn Street to one that is open and inviting — a bright spot in the mostly residential neighborhood. Warm-toned wooden floors and chairs complement the white marble tabletops and bar, while sage green trim against off-white walls adds a sense of nature.
Steve Vilnit/SV Images
Steve Vilnit/SV Images
Steve Vilnit/SV Images
An open kitchen with a brick oven faces a bar stocked with Italian wines and spirits, along with a handful of local Georgia liquors. Off the bar, tucked safely away from street noise, a small, walled patio offers seating to those who prefer dining al fresco. Parties interested in private events can book the patio, the back bar, or even the whole restaurant.
Ciminillo has worked in every type of cuisine, but his roots are in Italian comfort food; his parents opened their first pizza place in West Virginia when he was 8 years old.
“Once we found this space and I saw the brick pizza oven,” he says, “It was an easy decision.” (The space previously housed a vegan restaurant, The Haunt, and before that, an Italian place, Leoci’s Trattoria.) Veratina is much more than a pizza place, though.
“We want it to be a unique wine experience,” says Farrell. “We’re purposely picking wines that people have hopefully never seen or heard of.” // Katherine Ives Photography
The small lunch and dinner menus offer some Italian restaurant classics, like a chicken Parmesan sandwich, and potato agnolotti with mushrooms, rosemary, and porcini butter. But most of the Italian dishes boast a modern and/or regional flair. The focaccia is served with sweet potato butter, Calabrian pepper pimento cheese, and giardiniera (Italian pickled vegetables), for example, and the branzino is dressed non-traditionally in a pumpkin seed salsa verde. Quarterly seasonal menu changes keep the selections fresh.
Another easy decision was to cater to locals, which Ciminillo and Farrell have successfully done. (Tourists are, of course, welcome.) The Southern hospitality from local business owners has blown them away, they say. Ciminillo is also building relationships with vendors to bring local foods and products to the menu. The wine list, however, is all Italian.
Steve Vilnit/SV Images
“We’re not going to have an extensive list like most Italian restaurants,” says Ciminillo. “We’re keeping the list short, with different varietals than you see in most places. For example, we don’t have a cabernet or a pinot noir on the list.”
“We want it to be a unique wine experience,” adds Farrell. “We’re purposely picking wines that people have hopefully never seen or heard of. We have a really cool wine made from the Falanghina grape which, I have to admit, I didn’t know existed until we started doing this. So that’s what we tell all the alcohol reps: Bring us things that are only from Italy, and that people have never tried before.”
Steve Vilnit/SV Images
Steve Vilnit/SV Images
For Farrell, the pivot from law to restaurant life was a big one. Beyond actually being able to see her husband every day, the most significant change of her new career is the simple joy she gets from interactions with Veratina diners.
“I love the change,” says Farrell, her beaming smile matching the brightness of Veratina. “As much as I love my clients, it’s a very different type of interaction when you’re practicing law, typically very serious. Now I am out and about, I’m interacting with guests. It’s such a warm, personable experience. I really love it.”
Find this story and so much more in the May/June issue of Savannah magazine.
Dining and Cooking