Palani Drive had been in the Libbie-Grove area for nearly 30 years. (Mike Platania photo)
Palani Drive has reached the finish line, but its space in the coveted Libbie-Grove area won’t be dormant for long.
The nearly 30-year-old restaurant at 401 Libbie Ave. was sold last month to Veronica and Tommy Hussey, who are planning to sunset the Palani Drive concept and open a new restaurant, Lily’s Italian Bistro.
Jeff Weatherly founded Palani Drive in 1998 and built a following with its smoothies, salads and wraps.
In the spring, Weatherly put the restaurant up for sale as he looked to retire, and by late June had struck a deal with the Husseys, who previously owned Lola’s Farmhouse Bistro in Goochland County. The couple bought Palani Drive’s lease, equipment and business assets in a deal that closed in late June. Terms were not disclosed.
Veronica and Tommy Hussey
The Husseys said they sold Lola’s in early 2025 and have been itching to get back into the restaurant business.
“We got kind of bored and missed the business, the people, the excitement and all that,” Veronica Hussey said. “So we were looking around for probably the last six to nine months for a perfect spot.”
She said when they saw that Palani Drive was available, they jumped on it.
“It was the area, definitely,” Hussey said of what drew them to Palani Drive. “We like the Libbie-Grove area.”
Named for the Husseys’ granddaughter, Lily’s Italian Bistro will be a “modern Italian-American” spot. Hussey said she couldn’t yet share any menu specifics, but Tommy, a longtime chef, will oversee the kitchen.
“I’d say it’s ‘innovative Italian,’” Veronica Hussey said. “He does more than just chicken parm and lasagna.”
Lily’s will be open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner service, as well as for Sunday brunch. The Husseys are planning to repaint and renovate the roughly 1,800-square-foot space with plans to open in late August.
“It’s going to be totally be different,” she said. “That’s what we’re working on now, just freshening up the space to make it look new.”
Jeff Weatherly
Weatherly said that the sale process was a whirlwind and that he thinks the Husseys and their new restaurant will fit into the neighborhood.
“My kitchen manager and I met them and liked them right away,” Weatherly said. “That concept will be good, I have confidence in them.”
In late June, days before the sale closed, Weatherly said he held a sending-off party for Palani Drive. Friends, family, former employees and multiple generations of customers packed the restaurant. Some bought artwork off the walls to take home as memorabilia. Weatherly said it was a tremendous and humbling experience.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the people I met and got to know. … They’re not just customers,” Weatherly said. “Some people met there and got married. Some even had their receptions there. (The last night) was a lot of people with emotions. It was a very happy conclusion.”
Elsewhere on Libbie Avenue, Marianne Trak Hess, the restaurateur to whom the Husseys sold Lola’s Farmhouse Bistro, is working on a new restaurant, Opa! Social, a Mediterranean spot in Libbie Mill.
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