La Vera Pizza in Santa Rosa closing after 36 years

Ric Kade has a 5-year-old grandson ready to lose the training wheels on his bicycle. Kade relishes a major role in the lad's transition.

It's one reason that at month's end he and his wife, Sue, will close La Vera Pizza, a jewel of hospitality in downtown Santa Rosa since 1983.

“This is the time,” Ric Kade said. He and his wife, both 65, seek to stop working constantly and free up time for other interests “while we can still walk.”

The Kades will lease the Fourth Street building to a new enterprise. Ric Kade said “a couple of interesting concepts” are in the mix, but it's too early to say what will come after La Vera.

Need a new go-to pizza place? Try one of these spots for some of the best slices in town.