The Swan family already owns five popular restaurants in Rochester, but it's their newest spot, Vern's, that feels the most personal. Co-owned by siblings Jon, Ashley, and Paulina Swan and barman Casey O'Mara, the recently-opened restaurant and bar is named after the siblings' grandfather, Vern Swan, and inspired by childhood visits to their grandparents' home in Jamestown, New York.
Jon Swan fondly remembers his grandfather sitting in a blue La-Z-Boy recliner, stirring a glass of Scotch with his pinkie finger, while his grandmother tended to a pot of homemade sauce. Swan wanted a restaurant with the same warm, hospitable atmosphere: "To me, that meant grandma's house," he says.
