NJ restaurant gets makeover on Food Network TV show
Landmark Burlington Co. restaurant gets Food Network makeover
By BARBARA S. ROTHSCHILD - GANNETT / Courier-Post Staff
Villari's Milmarian on Route 73 has been variously known as Villari's; the Milmarian; The Mill; and most recently, Villari's Bistro, Bar & Grill.
A borough mainstay since Sicilian immigrant Paul Villari Sr. and his wife, Natalie, opened it in 1948, it's an institution -- with all the good and bad connotations that implies.
"There's not another restaurant like this in South Jersey," said Paul Villari III of Cinnaminson, who operates the family-owned spot with his parents, Paul Jr. and Helen. "After more than 60 years, our customers are extended family."
But after six decades, the familiar location was looking tired, and Villari wondered how to attract new diners while keeping the regular clientele. He's found the answer with help from a national cable TV network.
Following a nonstop renovation that began at 7 a.m. Sunday and ended about 37 hours later, Villari's reopened Monday at 6 p.m. with an upscale look -- and 300 reservations spurred by the buzz around town.
The overhaul, as well as the first dinner in the revamped digs, is the subject of the pilot for a new Food Network program, "Restaurant: Impossible." The hourlong show is a spinoff of the network's "Dinner: Impossible," hosted by celebrity chef Robert Irvine.
The pilot is expected to air toward the end of summer, said producer Marc Summers.
Irvine is hosting the spinoff pilot, and is in charge of the Villari's kitchen for the opening. Summers, who works out of Philadelphia and Los Angeles, is also a host of the network's food history show, "Unwrapped." He agrees with Villari the restaurant is a gem that needed polishing.
"We talked to about 30 restaurants in the Delaware Valley and this one tugged at our heartstrings," Summers said. "Its tradition gave us a warm fuzzy feeling, and we'd like to keep it going.
"But the carpet hadn't been changed for 100 years, and the place had a funeral parlor look and smell to it. So we hired two New York restaurant designers and gave them a shoestring budget."
"Restaurant: Impossible" gives designers a $10,000 budget to fix up a property in a day and a half of nonstop work. There's almost no sleep for anyone involved, including Summers' crew of 25 workers and Paul Villari.
Villari, 48, was kept out of the building so he could be surprised -- along with his customers -- by the new look. Instead, he roamed through downtown Palmyra's businesses and parks, spreading the word about the restaurant's newest incarnation.
By early Monday afternoon, Villari's two main dining rooms had been painted white. A large red panel hid the doors to the kitchen. Family photos had been enlarged and tinted in red, white and gray with touches of green.
Bathroom globe lighting fixtures were pressed into service to brighten up the far dining room, with red-checkered fabric covering them across three walls so the lights emitted a soft glow. Without a budget for hardwood floors, carpet squares had to suffice. Tables and chairs are not replaced.
Big Apple designers Michelle Agnese and Fadi Riscala said a makeover was long overdue, but it was important to keep the restaurant's tradition alive.
"We want to reflect the character of the owners, but the look was bland -- and that makes the food seem bland," Riscala said. "It was affecting the business without the owners knowing why."
There was no money in the budget to upgrade the kitchen. But the tavern area was renovated to lose its sports bar look, with neon coming down along with signs announcing 50-cent wings during Flyers games.
The new look is welcomed by founder Helen Villari, 77. The Cinnaminson resident is at the restaurant every day as hostess and bookkeeper, along with her husband, Paul Jr., 82.
"I'm excited," she said. "We're hoping for more business."
Paul Villari said Irvine will leave his fingerprint on the family business and continue to give input as part of the show's commitment. The menu is being revised and an executive chef has been hired, Villari revealed. But he was noncommittal on how the menu will ultimately play out. For that, he wants input from the "extended family" of patrons.
