BATON ROUGE - Business owners Wayne and Luci Stabiler say they're passing on several popular Baton Rouge restaurants to their respective management teams, gifting them full ownership over those businesses.  

The pair made the huge announcement on Monday, saying the transition has been in the works for months. A list of those restaurants and their new owners can be found below. 

-Stab’s Prime Steak and Seafood: Kevin Kimball, Leo Verde and Dori Murvin

-Stab’s Steak and Seafood (Central): David Rine and Kevin Kimball

-The Little Village (both locations): Hugh Freeze and Kevin Kimball

-Sammy’s Bar and Grill: Joey Faciane, Kevin Kimball, Jeremy Webber, Dondi McNulty and Fritz Carville

“We have been so blessed in so many ways and we wanted to share those blessings with the outstanding team of people that have worked so hard in our community for so long. Luci and I fully trust our legacy in the Baton Rouge restaurant scene to this group and feel that they have earned a chance to be able to work for themselves. We donated 100% ownership of the restaurants to them. We could not be any more excited for them," Wayne Stabiler, Jr. said in a statement.

“The Stabilers have shown this community time and time again their love and commitment through philanthropic activity for decades," Kimball said. "This is over and above what any of us could have ever dreamed of. They have changed our lives and we are extremely humbled, amazed and will be forever grateful for their tremendous generosity."

"It's just an incredible gesture and it speaks volumes about his generosity," Freeze told WBRZ on Tuesday. 

The management partners for the Little Village locations, Freeze and Kimball, say customers will not see any immediate drastic changes. They hope to carry on the traditions already established by the Stabilers. 

Wayne Stabiler Companies restaurants in the Baton Rouge area include Stab's Prime on Jefferson Highway, the original Stab's Steak and Seafood in Central, Sammy’s Bar and Grill, Palermo Ristorante on Jefferson Highway at Bocage and two locations of The Little Village (Downtown and Airline Highway).