After weeks on the market, Vashon’s Isola restaurant is under new ownership.

The new owners are chef Dre Neeley and his wife Pepa Brower who will be moving from Seattle to the island next week. The two hope to open their restaurant, Gravy, in the space by the end of the month.

“We’re only making cosmetic changes to the space which is why this is so fast,” Brower said.

The restaurant will feature Neeley’s seasonal American cuisine with southern influences, and Brower said that they will be dedicated to using as much seasonal and local products as is possible, while also keeping prices low. Brower said the plan for operating hours is to have Gravy closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, open for only dinner in the winter and open for lunch and dinner in the summer with to-go picnics available.

“You won’t see tomatoes in our dishes in the middle of winter,” she said. “This will not be a special occasion restaurant, it will be something you can come to every day. It will be very accessible with approachable price points.”

Although the two are not currently islanders, the couple does have an island connection as Brower’s mother, Donna Romero, is an island artist who has lived on Vashon for more than a decade Brower said she and her husband are excited to open their own restaurant and become part of the community. An islander is already working on the restaurant’s new signs that will be installed later this month.

“We’re new to Vashon as far as being residents, but we hang out here with her (Romero) a lot,” Brower said. “We have support and friendly people and we plan on becoming a part of the community. We want to be here for many years, we’re laying down roots on Vashon.”

The two have owned and operated Gravy Catering in Seattle for the past eight years and both have extensive restaurant experience. Brower said she and Neeley have always wanted to open their own restaurant and now have the opportunity to. Brower has managed multiple restaurants and Neeley, who is from Alabama and attended college there, has been a chef at multiple Seattle restaurants. According to a blog by Seattle restaurant owner Jim Drohman, after school, Neeley worked at the Cliff House restaurant in Browns Point, as well as at Vios Café and Market Place and Barrio Mexican Kitchen, both in Seattle. He was the opening Executive Chef at Captain Black’s on Capitol Hill and began working at Cafe Presse, a French cafe near Seattle University, in 2010 as a sous chef. Neeley was named Cafe Presse’s chef de cuisine in 2013. Two years later, in 2015, he was hired as chef of Maxwell’s Speakeasy and Lounge in Tacoma, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

“Dre’s idea with the menu is to change it based on what he finds. We’ll have specials, so if you want a nice salmon and some wine you can have that, but you can also just come by for a sandwich or some soup,” Brower said.

The business’ sale was finalized on Sunday after roughly one month on the market. It was put up for sale in late January due to financial difficulties, according to Lueck.

Meanwhile, The Vashon Tea Shop is up for sale after nearly four years of ownership by islander Elizabeth “Boo” Dinan-Slack.

Dinan-Slack told The Beachcomber early last week that she has put the business up for sale as she is approaching her 70s and wishes to step back. She said she is hoping a new owner will come forward, if one doesn’t in the next few months she will have to close the tea shop.

“I really want to thank the customers and those who have supported the shop,” she said. “I really want them to know that was appreciated.”

The shop is listed through Windermere Real Estate for $40,000. Interested buyers can contact the shop at 206-463-5202, or Windermere agent JR Crawford at 954-9959.

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