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After 26 years, Penticton’s historic Villa Rosa restaurant is no more

Demolition of the Italian eatery is to make way for two 3-storey townhous buildings
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The Villa Rosa property is now selling as Westmin 795 with townhouses and commercial space on bottom at Westminster and Power. (Westmin 795)

For 26 years, Villa Rosa Ristorante was a fixture on the corner of Westminster and Power Street, serving up Italian fare to thousands over the years.

As of this week, the iconic restaurant is no more, with two excavators turning the popular eatery into a pile of concrete and wood.

The restaurant held its last meal service on June 19.

Until the restaurant was demolished, the Villa Rosa sign board stood outside with words thanking Penticton for ‘26 amazing years.’

Villa Rosa owners Tyler and Nicole Gable have moved on to open Sociale on Lakeshore, offering morning coffee to the masses along with lunch and dinner options, keeping some of their signature recipes like the house Caesar salad dressing and home-made tomato sauce.

The Gables are also planning to bring back the Villa Rosa to a new location in the future, although where and when hasn’t been determined yet.

READ MORE: Sociale set to open new chapter in Penticton’s Villa Rosa story

Now the historic Villa Rosa property and two properties to the east along Westminster Avenue are clearing space to make way for two three-storey residential buildings called Westmin 795.

One building will include commercial space and face Westminster Avenue, and both buildings will feature 11 townhouses, with rooftop terraces. The residences on the building facing Westminster Avenue would also have room to run businesses out of the ground floor.

The project was approved by city council on July 19.

Westmin 795 is included as part of the city’s North Gateway, which calls for at least 2,000 new residential units and 30,000 square-feet of commercial and retail space for the area.

READ MORE: Villa Rosa development passes public hearing hurdle

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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