POPULAR VILLA MARIA SURVIVES FLOODS, FIRE
No mere disaster can stop the Carias from serving up classic Italian fare
Given all that’s happened to Danny and Maria Caria over the past few years, it wouldn’t be odd to see them stocking up on insecticide and buying locust insurance.
First there was a flood. Then another flood. Then a fire. What’s next? A plague of locusts?
The owners of Villa Maria at 121 — 17 Ave. S.E. (403-2285556) have been through it all. Back in 2007, when the couple owned Il Pescatore, that year’s flood caused a major backup that soaked their restaurant. Insufficiently insured at the time, the Carias sustained significant losses. After renovations, they signed up for full overland flood coverage.
When the land Il Pescatore stood on was sold, they shifted over to the 17th Avenue location that had formerly been Da Paolo, and originally was La Chaumiere, and took their insurance coverage with them. So, when the Great Flood of 2013 hit and filled Villa Maria more than a metre deep with water and sludge, they were able to get compensation. The restaurant was gutted and fully rebuilt, including wiring, insulation, plumbing and almost all of the kitchen equipment.
Villa Maria was closed for six months after the flood and now looks fresh and clean. It adheres to the old-school style of linen tablecloths, carpeted floors and sound-baffled ceilings. ( You can actually hear a table conversation!) But customers have yet to re-engage with the area, especially since the neighbouring Il Gallo Nero and Lion’s Den didn’t reopen post-flood.
And then there was the fire. A couple of weeks ago, a large condo development next to Villa Maria went up in flames. The Carias were at home when they received a call from a restaurant neighbour telling them there was a small fire on the roof of the building. A few minutes later, the neighbour called back to say the fire was now huge. But the Carias were lucky this time. There was no damage to their building and only a light scent of smoke in the air. They had to close the night of the fire but have been up and running with their classic Italian cuisine ever since.
Now they’re just on the lookout for locusts.
WELL JUICERY
Villa Maria wasn’t the closest neighbour to the fire. Between the restaurant and the burned building is another structure that houses De.zin, a furniture, decor and home staging company and Well Juicery. Well follows the current hot trend of cold-pressed juices.
Note: Cold-pressed juices are pressed under thousands of pounds of pressure in a hydraulic press while many “old-style” juices are made by blade-slicing fruits and vegetables and extracting through centrifugal force. The blades can heat up and oxidize the goodness of the fruits and veggies. Cold-pressed juices are purported to be more nutritious. Many pounds of fresh produce go into each bottle so a typical price for 475 millilitres is about $8. And they are mighty tasty.
Partners Zack Lister and Jeff Tumbach created Well Juicery about a year ago and currently wholesale their drinks to places such as Calgary Co-op, Phil & Sebastian and Good Earth. They do four fruit-vegetable juices plus a nut milk.
When the fire hit, Well Juicery employees were busy pressing and bottling. It wasn’t until firefighters came knocking that they realized an inferno was blazing just a few metres away. Fortunately, like Villa Maria, they escaped damage and were able to resume business quickly.
By the way, cold-pressed juices are big business in Calgary. Cru Juice in Bridgeland produces more than a dozen varieties and is sold in Holt Renfrew; Juice Because offers delivery and sells through Market Collective, a local independent market; Jenn Silver operates both Bava, an online business, and the allorganic Wild & Raw, which has an outlet of Kensington Road N.W.; and, Delicate & Raw works in conjunction with A Ladybug Bakery & Cafe.
Easter is just around the corner and many of us are looking for a place to celebrate the occasion with family. The Fairmont Palliser has some options. A big Easter buffet brunch, along with egg decorating and an Easter egg hunt, will be offered in the Crystal Ballroom followed by an Easter Afternoon Tea on April 5. And a huge, prime rib buffet dinner will finish the day. Weekend packages are available at the hotel at www.fairmont.com/ palliser-calgary.