LUDLOW, Vt. – It is well known that running a restaurant involves a lot of hard work, long hours, planning, dedication, and learning to pivot when necessary. In recent years this has been especially true, and many smaller businesses did not make it. Fortunately, one of Ludlow’s longstanding establishments, a favorite of both locals and visitors alike, The Killarney, is still going strong, and preparing to celebrate their 20^th anniversary.

Located at 44 Pond Street, at the base of Okemo Mountain Road, The Killarney is a convenient après ski stop, but also has the feel of a neighborhood hangout. Mark and Judy Verespy began the work to reopen the fine dining restaurant as an Irish pub in late 2004, and first welcomed customers on Feb. 5, 2005.

Mark Verespy said when he and Judy started out, it was a learning experience. “I liked to cook, but I wasn’t a ‘kitchen guy,’” Mark said.

That’s where Jim Allen, Killarney’s head chef for 18 years, stepped in and helped to develop the pub menu, including the award-winning Buffalo chicken wings recipe, but Mark points to his own contributions as well, commenting, “I did live in Buffalo for many years.”

Judy had gone to school for restaurant management before becoming a teacher, so together, they made it work.

Although Allen recently retired, he and Mark remain great friends, and the team at Killarney maintains the same philosophy: keep it simple, and stick with the basics. Verespy said their most popular items are the scratch-made shepherd’s pie, and their much-raved-about fish and chips.

Although the regular menu might lean toward traditional pub fare, Mark is quick to say, “I mean, we have the ability to do ‘fancy stuff,’ and we do. Ossobuco, or pork shank, or scallops, we’ve got those on the menu too.”

Mark first visited the Okemo valley when he was in college and his family vacationed here. He had started working in the restaurant business at age 16, and continued until he “got hired from behind the bar” to work for Seagram’s.

Verespy said he spent 16 years employed by the well-known beverage brand, moving from Connecticut, to Buffalo, N.Y., to Wisconsin. After coming back east to work in the Boston market, Verespy recalled, he had an epiphany. While talking to a restaurant owner one day, he heard a voice telling him he was on the wrong side of the bar. He decided he wanted to own his own place.

Because Verespy’s family is Irish, he was leaning toward the idea of an Irish pub. He joked that he couldn’t call the pub by one family name without excluding another, so he landed on Killarney, named after the town on the shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park in Ireland. The area around Killarney, like Ludlow, has many lakes and rivers, as well as mountainous terrain.

As they ready for the 20^th anniversary celebration on Wednesday, Feb. 5, Verespy looked back on the many festivities they’ve hosted over the years – bridal showers, birthday, and bachelor parties, and reflected on all the people who started as customers and are now friends.

Verespy is excited for the regulars to come celebrate with them, but encourages everyone to stop by, commenting, “We’ll [be serving] a big cake for the anniversary!”

The Bear Mountain Boys, a local band whose lead vocalist is Patrick Ross of Tygart Mountain Sports, will perform, and there will be plenty of giveaways of merchandise, including T-shirts and chicken wings. For updated information, follow The Killarney on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheKillarney.