‘Villa Tronco means everything’: As downtown Columbia changes, one Italian spot is a stalwart

Downtown Columbia, particularly the Main Street District, is kind of like the ocean. It has ebbed and flowed across the years, a business and retail ecosystem that is ever changing and seemingly never sits still.

And right now it’s high tide.

The core of downtown, just north of the South Carolina State House, has seen a renaissance in the last decade-plus, as new restaurants, bars, shops, hotels, apartments and more have infused the area with new energy. Taken in totality, the resurgence of Main Street and other nearby streets has been an unqualified success for Columbia. It’s the reimagining of a once moribund and nearly forgotten section of the city.

And through all of that and much more — across more than eight decades downtown, actually — there has been one little restaurant that has seen it all and has weathered the down years and the roaring revitalizations in the area for nearly a century.

Indeed, Villa Tronco never left.

For 82 years, the Italian restaurant has been welcoming customers at 1213 Blanding St. Founded there by Sadie Tronco in 1940, the business that would become Villa Tronco has remained in the family and is believed to be the oldest Italian restaurant in Columbia. It is now owned and operated, as it has been for decades, by Carmella and Joe Roche. Carmella is Sadie Tronco’s granddaughter.

On a recent Monday morning when a reporter from The State dropped by the restaurant, the Roches — who have been married for decades and were high school sweethearts at Cardinal Newman School — were busy attending to the little details that help keep a long-running business humming along. Joe was syncing up with up a crew of workers who were updating the exterior lighting at the restaurant, and Carmella was chatting with vendors and others who came to the front door.

Carmella said the family has marveled at how much the Main Street District has changed in recent years and has welcomed the influx of new customers that have come along with that reemergence.

“It’s exploded,” she said. “It is amazing to us. There were years where we would come down to open up on Saturday, and there were no cars on Main Street. There were no businesses open on Saturday. It was a ghost town. ...

“To be honest, our business is the best it has ever been right now, and we don’t do lunch anymore. We are very fortunate that the things that have happened downtown have enabled us to work dinners and be very successful at that.”

‘Pizza’s the best’

Villa Tronco’s menu is buoyed by a number of long-running crowd pleasers, from lasagna to homemade cheese ravioli to the restaurant’s signature dish, the Villa Tronco Chicken. But at least one member of the family has a different go-to menu item.

“Pizza’s the best,” said Jorja Roche, Joe and Carmella’s granddaughter, who lives in Chapin and often visits the restaurant. Young Jorja sat in on The State’s recent morning interview with Joe and Carmella and also kept an eye on the front door in case any delivery people arrived to bring fresh stock for the day.

Carmella said the restaurant works to maintain its classic dishes, while at the same time allowing head Chef Nate Skipper and others in the kitchen the opportunity to mix in some culinary twists with nightly specials.

“Our regular menu is all family recipes, favorite signature dishes that we’ve done for years, and people love those,” Carmella said. “But we have creative chefs, and we want them to show their creative flair on Italian. They are allowed to create some specials every night, and they love to do it. They are talented people.”

Not only is Villa Tronco a historic business in Columbia, but the very building it is in also is a piece of living history. It was built in the mid-1800s and was one of the city of Columbia’s first fire stations. The exposed brick walls and low lighting make for a comfortable environment, one that almost begs diners to take their time over pasta and perhaps dessert, with glasses of wine at their fingertips.

Carmella said being in such an old building has plenty of charms, and also a few challenges. They have worked hard through the years to keep the historic character of the building intact.

“It is challenging” she said. “It’s very old, and there are so many things you have to do keep it updated, the building structure itself.”

‘Customers are like family’

Matt Kennell leads the City Center Partnership, an organization that advocates for property owners in the Main Street District in the heart of downtown. He said Villa Tronco’s longevity and adaptability have made it a key anchor for the district.

“Villa Tronco means everything to the district,” Kennell told The State. “It really is kind of the identity of what we are. The authenticity of Villa Tronco is what makes it as successful as it is. The whole family is just wonderful. They are a great family that is so supportive. I’ve been (with the City Center Partnership) for 21 years, and from the very beginning, they have been so supportive of new things.

“They are an 80-year-old restaurant, but they are always excited, always happy and they are cheerleaders when other businesses open.”

While he knows Villa Tronco has many longtime, loyal customers, Kennell said he enjoys seeing a new generation discover the Blanding Street gem. For instance, the Main Street District leader said his two daughters, both in their 20s, love going to the cozy Italian spot.

“I think a lot of younger people really seek authenticity,” Kennell said. “Nothing against the Olive Garden, but they’d much rather go to Villa Tronco than the Olive Garden. They appreciate that experience.”

Carmella Roche said she and Joe have been tickled to see the new customers that have discovered the restaurant in recent years. She said they have grown to know their longtime customers over time and often ask new customers how they learned about the restaurant. Some have read about the place in magazines or online, others discovered it while they were visiting other spots in the Main Street area.

“We love to see the younger generations of people,” she said. “Most of our clientele was the older generation. But we’ve found out we have a really good mix of different age groups coming to see us.”

Whether they be legacy customers who have been coming for decades, or new diners who are discovering Villa Tronco for the first time, Joe Roche said the relationship between the restaurant and the people is clear.

“The customers are like family,” he said.