Westmoreland developments: The Venue, former Weyand Signs building search for new owners

After closing his 6½-year-old restaurant in late June, Michael Villi will reopen The Venue in downtown Greensburg this month while searching for a new owner to operate the business.

Looking to retire from the restaurant business, Villi closed The Venue to search for a new owner. But after having his staff at his home for a Labor Day weekend gathering, Villi had a change of heart.

He decided to reopen the restaurant Thursday, Sept. 18 to keep staff employed in the transition. He is also looking to hire five additional staff members.

“We’ve had several people, some of them local, who have expressed an interest in (the restaurant),” Villi said, “but I think they came under the guise that this is a failing business.

“The ideal thing for me is to have somebody, an investor or someone, who’s interested in a little growth on their end, who wants to take the best restaurant in town and run with it.”

The Venue is among several business developments happening in Westmoreland County — including the sale of the former Weyand Signs & Lighting building in Southwest Greensburg and the potential construction of two new Somerset Trust Co. bank locations in Mt. Pleasant and North Huntingdon.

The Venue

Villi, 73, of Hempfield purchased the building at 113 S. Pennnsylvania Ave., intending to demolish the abandoned structure and sell the vacant lot. But when Villi applied for a demolition permit, the city informed him it is a historic building and could not be torn down.

“When I bought this building, it was a disaster. There was 10 inches of water in the basement. This whole place had water running through it, down the floor,” he said. “It was a mess. It was a rainforest.

“I had mold coming off the ceilings. … I had 2-inch wisps of black mold waving in the breeze as you walked by. I’m crunching toadstools coming onto the floor.”

Villi previously worked in the automotive service industry and owns several businesses — including a real estate company and Norwin Messenger Service notary in Hempfield.

And delving into the restaurant industry was never part of his plan.

Villi decided it would be best to restore the building to its former use as a restaurant. The structure housed One Eleven, an upscale eatery, for about six years until its abrupt closure in 2017.

“I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars opening this restaurant,furnishing it, new utilities, gas lines, water lines, sewer lines,” Villi said. “All of the infrastructure in this building was brought up to code.”

But Villi is most proud of the staff he has curated to run the restaurant.

“My main concern as a business is we’ve developed a family environment in here,” he said. “These people are friends of their coworkers. They’re just great at what they do, and they’re committed.”

The Venue will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, closing its kitchen at 10 p.m. each night. It is best known for its crab cakes, arms-length crab legs and fresh-cut steaks.

“I’m so proud to be affiliated with (this staff),” Villi said, “because I’ve been blessed. It’s divine intervention — the whole package of it.”

Weyand Signs

As drivers passing through Southwest Greensburg have likely noticed, the building that once housed four businesses at 733 S. Main St. was demolished with a new structure under construction in its place.

The building, owned by RJ Repasky, housed Columbia Auto Seat Covers, Edwards Auto Body, Warehouse Rentals & Supplies and Weyand Signs & Lighting.

Weyand Signs was the only business still left prior to the recent demolition. Repasky, who also owns Warehouse Rentals & Supplies, moved the business about a mile farther south on Main Street. The owners of the two other businesses died in recent years.

The demolition and renovation will cost more than $1 million, Repasky said. He is aiming to finish the building — which could be used for small contractor storage or offices — by the end of the year.

“It was a complete demolition project,” he said. “We demolished the entire wall, roof, flooring, structure and it’s a complete rebuild with new walls, roof, flooring, wiring, plumbing. It’s basically a brand new building.”

Those interested in the property can contact Repasky via email at rj@jodaron.com.

Repasky owns Jodaron Realty LLC with properties in 10 states. The company is also building a 30,000-square-foot private hangar for the Laurel Highlands Jet Center at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.

Somerset Trust Co.

Two new Somerset Trust Co. locations could open in Westmoreland County — one in Mt. Pleasant and one in North Huntingdon.

The banking company filed applications last month to open locations at 3894 Route 981 in Mt. Pleasant and 11361 Route 30 in North Huntingdon.

The company also applied to move a New Florence location to another street in the borough. It is currently located at 161 12th St. but could be moved to an adjacent property at 166 N. Ligonier St. Somerset Trust Co. owns the Ligonier Street property, according to the Westmoreland tax map.

The Mt. Pleasant property is owned by Camillachi LLC, according to the tax map. It has previously been used as a bank. The North Huntingdon property, also a former bank, is owned by Gary Pirschl, the tax map says.