Growing up, Nexh Veke always wanted to be like his father. The two are now closer, and sharing space in the kitchen.

The 25-year old with Albanian roots has seen his fair share of travels. Veke was born in New York and lived there before moving to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Veke has been in the Italian restaurant business for most of his life, and now he and his father, Zek, are opening another restaurant together, Calabria Italian Restaurant on Main Street in New Iberia.

The restaurant opened on Friday, and it’s no surprise what type of food the two are set to make for New Iberia.

“My father has been into that time of food ever since I was born,” Veke said. “I started working in the restaurants he had when I was 12 or 13 years old.”

Veke started from the ground up, first busing tables before moving on to working behind the restaurant, cooking food in his later teen years, and has always enjoyed being with his father.

“I’ve just been working with him,” Veke said. “And now I am here.”

The two already have a restaurant in Jennings, but wanted to expand the business in Louisiana and found New Iberia offered them that opportunity.

“We’ve been eyeing for a year now,” Veke said. “New Iberia has 30,000 population and no Italian restaurant so why not give it a try.”

While driving around the city, Veke noticed the lack of Italian cuisine in the area and jumped at the chance to bring a new flavor to New Iberia.

Veke credits his father for teaching him the tools of the trade and a love for cooking. Though it was hard when he was younger, he says he’s better for it now.

“He was pretty tough on me,” Veke said. “Anytime whenever I did something wrong, he would always tell me to learn from those mistakes.”

Those mistakes he learned from were worth learning, as Veke shared the same dreams as his father. Now he’s achieved those dreams.

“I find myself wanting to do this, especially Italian cuisine,” Veke said. “It’s my favorite food. I’ve always enjoyed it.”

Working together with Zek isn’t a new thing. It’s a tradition for Albanian fathers and sons to work in tandem, Veke said.

“It makes it easier because we’re really close,” Veke said.

Veke appreciates his father for constantly pushing him to become the man he is today and said he will forever be grateful for that.

“My father taught me everything I know,” Veke said. “Everything came from him.”