Verona undergoes location, name change

Rebecca Sitzes, The Shelby Star
·2 min read
Hardy Hassan and his wife, Nahla, wait on customers at their newly opened location on East Marion Street.
Hardy Hassan and his wife, Nahla, wait on customers at their newly opened location on East Marion Street.

For more than a decade, Verona has been serving residents fresh Greek and Italian dishes, and they hope to continue doing so but with a new location and name change.

Now called Bella Verona Pizzaria, the new location opened Monday near Subway on Marion Street less than a half mile from their former building in Shelby.

The original Verona, which opened in 2012, is now closed.

Hardy Hassan and his brother, Reda, operate the restaurant, and Hassan said they were looking to expand to a bigger location.

He said the word “Bella” means beautiful, and they wanted to bring something beautiful to Shelby. The interior is freshly renovated and has more dining space.

Hardy Hassan and wife, Nahal, along with Hassan's brother, Reda, recently opened Bella Verona on East Marion Street.
Hardy Hassan and wife, Nahal, along with Hassan's brother, Reda, recently opened Bella Verona on East Marion Street.

They will still offer the same Italian and Greek food their customers have come to know and love with menu items including appetizers, wings, salads, oven-baked entrees, pasta, Greek sandwiches and dishes, American dinners, pizza, strombolis, calzones, desserts, seafood, parmesan and Italian dishes. The restaurant has lunch specials Monday through Friday and offers discounts to police and military.

Hassan said they are originally from Egypt but spent many years in New York before moving to Cleveland County 22 years ago.

The restaurant is a family run business with his wife, Nahla, helping as well as Reda and his wife, Mona. Hassan said his employees are also like family, and they are committed to serving their customers and building connections with them.

He said one of the things he enjoys most about the restaurant is talking to the customers.

“I enjoy the customer service,” he said. “I want to make something good for all of Shelby.”

Hassan said he and his wife have four children, 10-year-old son, Ahmed, 8-year-old daughter, Nour, and 4-year-old twins, Mohamed and Malak. He said they are invested in the community, and his family lives in Shelby and his children go to school locally.

The restaurant, which is located at 1133 E. Marion St., is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Bella Verona can be found on Facebook or call 704-406-9867 or 704-406-9868.

Verona underwent a name and location change recently. Bella Verona opened beside Subway on East Marion Street this week.
Verona underwent a name and location change recently. Bella Verona opened beside Subway on East Marion Street this week.

Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Verona undergoes location, name change