Darryl Stahley was 6 months old when his father, Donald, opened their family restaurant in 1968.
The “heart and soul” of the business venture, Stahley called his father, and a hell of a businessman.
“We lived here,” Stahley said of the restaurant. “It was a cellarette. The bar and restaurant [were] in the basement. The kitchen was upstairs and this was an old house, and we just kept transforming it and transforming it over the years, putting the money back into it.”
Having become one of the co-owners about 30 years ago, Stahley lives about a mile away from Stahley’s Family Restaurant and Sports Bar — it’s the first place he goes every morning. He and his brother, John, primarily run the business, which has a of sandwiches, pizza, seafood, wings, tacos and platters.
So it’s not surprising Stahley is feeling a certain way, now that the landmark establishment is close to changing ownership. The family expects to close on a sale by the end of the summer.
“You won’t know how it’s going to feel until it happens,” Stahley said Thursday. “But like I told my brother and my other family members, that these emotions you’re going to go through are going to be the same now or as if you sold it 10 years from now. It’s going to all be the same thing.”
The Stahley family, who Darryl said has put the restaurant up for sale several times over the years to explore offers, intends to sell the property at 1826 Hanover Ave. to Zonia Sibri-Quinde, who owns .
The parties have signed a sales agreement, Stahley said, but haven’t finalized the deal, as they are still waiting on steps like financing and for the liquor license to transfer ownership.
“You don’t know until it’s 100% sold and nothing is 100% yet,” he said.
Stahley called Sibri-Quinde a very successful businessperson and added, “We wouldn’t just sell it to anybody. We wouldn’t sell it to someone that we didn’t think was going to be able to do it right, you know what I mean? And she seems like a perfect fit.”
Sibri-Quinde couldn’t be reached for comment.
Aside from some potential minor changes to the menu and restaurant interior, Stahley said Sibri-Quinde plans to keep the restaurant and its name the same, and that his family would want to help her with the transition.
He’s open to continuing to work there after the sale.
“I might,” Stahley said. “Me and my brother both talked about … well, we’re definitely going to stick around for a while and help her get organized. Very nice lady, I want to see her do well. She’s going to do well.”
Remember Stahley’s father, Donald? He’s retired and lives in the Poconos, but still visits the restaurant when he comes down to the area.
“And when the new owners take over, he’s going to continue to come in, and I probably am too,” Stahley said.
