John Nucci with one of The Willows more famous diners, Al Gore

In 1994 John Nucci was a chef at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC. “During the 90s there was a lot of downsizing in the hotel industry,” he told The Bay Net. “Rather than stay in the corporate world I decided to strike out on my own and open my own place. It’s always been a dream.”

The property value in St. Mary’s County at that time was very good, and while John had trouble finding a place he could afford close to the capital a friend told him about The Willows in Leonardtown. He came to check it out, fell in love, bought the restaurant and moved from Silver Spring where he was born and raised to the much quieter country setting of St. Mary’s.

“I love living here,” says John, “but it was an adjustment. At first I couldn’t sleep because it was so quiet. I was used to Silver Spring. There were helicopters flying over the house – that’s what I was used to.”

When he arrived there were seven layers of shingles on the rood, no walls in the apartment, no electric, and holes in the floor. The property had sat vacant for eleven months and he had to renovate what remained of the building into a fitting home for fine dining, and restore an property imbued with county history that dates back to the 1920s.

John was warned by some locals that he wouldn’t survive with his DC flavor in rural St. Mary’s. “When I got here you could basically take one menu from any restaurant around and order from it at any restaurant – fried shrimp, fried oysters, just about everything fried,” he laughed. Today he celebrates the 11th anniversary of opening his own restaurant at The Willows, and has clearly proved the nay-sayers wrong. While he now has a team of chefs, John continues to write his own recipes and menus, and is beginning to offer private cookery lessons.

To celebrate this eleventh anniversary, The Willows is offering a special promotion of Prime Ribs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for $11. You can find the restaurant and tavern on Rt. 5 in Leonardtown, or call 301-475-6553 for directions or reservations.