By Kate Barlett
Villaggio is celebrating 7 years of bringing relaxed Italian dining to the Village of Ellicottville this week. Nick Pitillo, founder and managing partner of Villaggio has plans to make the 7-year Anniversary a memorable celebration. But first let’s take a trip down memory lane to see how it all began.
“Villaggio started when Cheryl and Randy Kane visited me at our first restaurant, Osteria 166 in Buffalo. Cheryl asked if I’d ever considered coming back to Ellicottville, and at first, I wasn’t sure. I was a bit overwhelmed with one restaurant, but the idea stuck with me. Fast forward a few months, I visited Ellicottville on Father’s Day, as we frequently did, with my wife and young daughters. On that fateful day, I made a left on Monroe Street with the idea churning in my head and told my wife I wanted to show her something. As we walked into 7 Monroe Street (formerly The Barn) I asked her what she thought of this location for ‘another Osteria’ and she began to cry. I wasn’t sure if they were good tears or bad tears when she responded “Why didn’t we move to Ellicottville when we moved back to Western New York? I knew they were good tears, and the start of a wonderful chapter in our lives. We are forever grateful to Cheryl and Randy Kane who made it possible for us to raise our daughter, Olivia in my hometown, and for starting the story of Villaggio.”
Villaggio is simply named for the village of Ellicottville. “I absolutely love our Village. It is exactly where I wanted to raise my family and spend my remaining years. It takes a village to be who we are.”
The menu is similar to Villaggio’s sister restaurant in Buffalo (Osteria 166), but with a few less dishes. “We had to take the size of the kitchen, the seating capacity, and the seasonality of the operations into account. The small kitchen keeps the actual number of dishes offered lower than Osteria 166. With three times the seats and half the kitchen space of Osteria, we needed to reevaluate. We also have certain things we love to serve, but cannot serve in season. Pizzas, are a great example of this. Although we love our pizzas, we don’t have space for a proper pizza oven, so we have to use our main oven. Yet we also use the oven for several other dishes. If we leave pizzas on in ski season, the oven is opened and closed too frequently to hold its proper temperature, thus slowing down service. We are working on a plan to install a new pizza oven in 2023. Taking these things into consideration, as well as our Italian roots, we settled on a menu that we feel confident in. And we run extensive specials weekly. Some of which remind me of coming to The Barn in the 70’s, like our prime rib Sundays.”
Villaggio has certainly evolved over the years, and has become much more stable and efficient in its operations while still staying true to its roots. “We are an Italian restaurant in a resort town, with family recipes at our core. But we also have to adjust to the seasonality of our village. Our locals are our life line. Without the locals we would not still be standing. So, we try and make our menu approachable to the local community all year. Another reason for our evolution is the amazing staff we have. We have had very little turnover throughout the first 7 years, with many current employees being opening team members. The personal growth of these employees has made us better each and every year. No one exemplifies this more than our General Manager, Andrea Austin. Her personal development is reflected in the growth of the operation, along with several other team members.”
Villaggio has hosted several events throughout the years. “One of my favorites was our Grand Opening 7 years ago. Under a time constraint to get open (we did a complete remodel in 27 days), we were struggling with the ability to properly train our staff. So, I invited the whole town to dinner! We bought everyone’s meals, and EVERYONE showed up. We learned so much that night, that we were able to figure out our service and prepare for fall fest two days later. Other favorite events include our fundraisers, hoedowns, concerts, street dancers and proms.”
Nick is proud of his staff, many of which are third generation. “We have legacy families that appreciate how we treat their oldest sibling, and the upcoming brothers and sisters come on board for their first job. They often stay throughout their time in Ellicottville and have made Villaggio what it is today.”
According to Nick, Villaggio has many unique features. “My two favorites are the staff, which is absolutely our best feature, and the design and vibe of the restaurant. My baby sister Kim did all the design work and it just feels right.”
Nick is holding a week-long celebration; 7 days for 7 years. “The Anniversary party on Wednesday, October 5 will showcase amazing samples from our culinary and bar teams, live music from Chris Maloney, and several other surprises. On Thursday the 6th, we will be having our weekly Oysteria Night with Oyster and clam specials, and on Friday we will kick off fall fest with our Friday night fish fry features, and maybe a surprise DJ set. Saturday and Sunday we will have Oysteria and a 50/50 drawing for the Frank Pitillo Memorial Lighting Fund at our tent on Monroe Street and stay open until 2am. We will also have The Dynamic Duo DJ Team of Lil Gabby and DJ Nini from 11-2 on Saturday. On Wednesday the 12th we close out our birthday week with the Jackson Stokes Concert.
Now that you know the story, come help Nick and his team celebrate 7 years of “The Village” at 7 Monroe