Post #234213 by ikitnrev on Fri, May 26, 2006 9:33 PM

Those of you who had planned on someday driving to southern Maryland and experiencing firsthand the charms of the original Vera's - well, I am afraid you are too late.

I drove by Vera's earlier today, to discover that Vera's has been sold, and the new management is doing some major modifications on the place. Vera is still alive, still lives next door to the restaurant, and is looking forward to stopping by when the place is ready to open. The new owner's will keep the Vera's name.

However, changes are happening.

Big change #1 - the big pink Vera's sign located on Highway 2/4 is no longer there - it has been replaced by this big sign

I drove my car to the vera's parking lot, which was full of various construction/contractor vehicles. There was a flurry of activity on the building. I looked and could not see any tikis on the premises - apparently, some of them were removed for protection during the renovation, while some of them were too rotted away and were thrown away.

Big change #2 - there is no longer an A-framed entrance. The new owners are going with a nautical theme, and the whole building and patio area (overlooking the Bay) is being designed to look like a ship.

I walked in the doorway, and met with one of the new owners, who kindly gave me permission to walk through and take these photographs.

Big change #3 -- Much of the bamboo and rattan was removed from the interior. The new owner said that much of this was in really bad condition, and was suffering from major dry rot. They have tried to preserve as many of the major pieces/artifacts that Vera had collected over the years. The former Penguin room had several key pieces safely stored there, including the big portrait of Vera, the gong, and that cool 60's London swinging picture that some of you may recall.

This picture shows some of the items, pushed to one side of the main entry room.

Vera's will no longer have the bamboo rich interior that it had before. The new interior will be more modern, and there will be an additional bar in the place. This pictures looks backwards, towards the main entrance and kitchen, where the entry gong used to be. There will be a new bar placed along the wall on the left-hand side. Note the new modern blue lights hanging from the ceiling.

I looked in the kitchen area - everything had been ripped out of there, and new kitchen equipment was waiting to be set in place - this is probably a very good thing, based on the stories I was told. The bathroom areas were also be completely redone, and many more items are being completely refurbished.

This is the main bar area, looking out towards the bay

This is the main dining room, with the seashell outrigger still hanging. It is a bit shocking to see the bare floors, but I did see the new carpet being laid out - it really looked nice, with a dark green vintagey jungle look

The new owners did say that the look and feel will be a bit different, and that things may look much barer than before. They also added that they hoped that they would also slowly be able to add more of their own pieces and decor through the coming years, much as Vera had done.

Big change #4. The original Moai head located on the patio facing the bay was relocated, to a small wooded area on the other side of the access road to the boat docks. The Moai head is in the foreground here - further back is the former patio area, now shaped to look like a ship bow.

A mermaid statue is now located on this patio area.

It was sad to see all of the above changes. Vera's will not be the same, but time will tell how the new vision of the owners works out. It is somewhat unfair, showing the above pictures, as they are taken in the middle of renovations. I'll have to come back later in the year, to see how things are working out.

I guess it is good news that Walgreens did not purchase the land. I do praise the new owners for keeping many of the decor items - other persons may have simply auctioned them off or offered them for sale on ebay.

Earlier in the day, I checked the nearby Solomon's Island Tiki Bar, where big changes were also happening. Read about those changes here.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=19679&forum=1&2

Vern