225BatonRouge.com

When you meet him, you say to yourself you wish you could look that good in a suit.

And then he says hello in a way that makes you feel at ease, simultaneously giving a slight hint of an accent that oozes elegance and class and disarming even the toughest of customers.

Few of us are born for our jobs. Leonardo Verde was and knew it from a young age.

Today, he’s the general manager at Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Baton Rouge, taking the upscale restaurant to new heights. But you wouldn’t have expected anything less from a man whose resume includes dishwasher as a 15-year-old at the old Pastore’s in the French Quarter to being a captain in the garden room at Commander’s Palace to spending 10 years as one of Emeril Lagasse’s right-hand men in New Orleans.

That’s why he says simply, “It’s a great business. It’s a people business. I love it.”

Sullivan’s is a big gathering spot, for example, when the legislature is in session.

“You could see the tension in their faces. Those people are having bad days nowadays,” Verde says. “It’s up to us to change it and make their experience a pleasant one. And maybe brighten their day.”

Verde, known by everyone as Leo, is originally from Caracas, Venezuela. His family moved to New Orleans and spent time in Montreal before Verde returned to New Orleans to finish high school at De La Salle. He played soccer at the University of New Orleans and then began a do-it-all career in the restaurant business.

“I don’t want to do anything else. I don’t want to be a lawyer, I don’t want to be a doctor, I don’t want to be a painter, I don’t want to be an architect. I’m a restaurant rat, as they’re called.”

In 2000, Verde left Lagasse to take on new challenges. He was hired by Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc., to open the upscale steakhouses Del Frisco’s in New York and Las Vegas.

“But I just got homesick,” Verde admitted. “I love Louisiana. My kids lived here, and I came back.”

The return included opening a restaurant in New Orleans with famed chef Rene Bajeaux, running Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Baton Rouge and a return to New Orleans briefly before rejoining Lone Star and being assigned here.

“I love Baton Rouge,” he says.

Verde has 130 employees, most of whom are college students. He organizes, teaches and motivates. The end result is a top-notch fine-dining experience.

“Some people get burned out on it because of the hours, but there’s never a dull moment,” Verde says with a smile. “There’s not a monotony to it. Every day is different. Every customer is different. Every table is different. It’s a challenge every day.”