Gia Visto, the Italian restaurant in Penn Hills that closed under Allegheny County Health Department orders in August, has reopened after getting a permit and upgrading its kitchen.
Owner Jill Varmecky characterized the permit situation as a mix-up.
“I’ve always had a pleasant relationship with the Health Department all these years,” she said. “I’m not a rebel or a rule breaker.”
In July, the Health Department issued a permit to Flowers in the Attic, a combined florist, gift shop and tea house that had operated out of both buildings on the property.
Varmecky believed the license would cover Gia Visto, which had moved into the main house after she bought the entire site in May off former Flowers in the Attic owner Ken Milko for $575,000.
Milko sold the business’ name and assets to Jennifer Caputo-Yates, who leases the carriage house behind Gia Visto from Varmecky and runs her iteration of Flowers in the Attic there, for $70,000.
Then, on Aug. 29, a health inspector showed up at Gia Visto and cited it for operating without a valid permit.
“They explained to me after that it’s not the premises that need approval, it’s the individual business,” she said.
County records list Gia Visto as one of seven establishments this year cited for serving food without a permit and the only one in Penn Hills.
The inspector also wrote up Gia Visto for lacking sufficient sinks and coolers to support its menu.
With the Health Department hang-up behind her, Varmecky is focused on settling into the three-story, roughly 150-year-old home at 7505 Saltsburg Road.
As of Oct. 9, there is no signage for Gia Visto, save for an electronic ticker below the roadside Flowers in the Attic sign. Varmecky hopes to add a sign and banner for Gia Visto soon.
Besides serving upscale Italian fare, Gia Visto offers tea parties and occasionally hosts flea markets.
There also is a gift shop inside, which sells locally made honey, jewelry and more.
Varmecky plans to add cooking classes for kids in the near future, a carryover from her restaurant’s previous location in Monroeville. She let her lease expire there early last year, only to reopen as part of Flowers in the Attic in December before fully taking over the building at the time of the sale.
County spokesperson Abigail Gardner confirmed last month Gia Visto had a permit in Monroeville.
So far, Varmecky has found moving from a plaza tucked off Old William Penn Highway to her current spot, rich with history and greenery, was the right decision.
“I love it here,” she said. “When I cook at night and I look out the window into the yard, it is absolutely beautiful.”
In the carriage house, Caputo-Yates is finding early success selling flowers and small gifts, leaning on her 30 or so years of experience arranging while learning to run a business on the fly.
“I’ve put a lot of time into doing this, but it’s always been for somebody else,” she said. “I come to work every day very thankful.”
