The owners of Villa Europa want locals to know the long-standing south Augusta diner is not closing.
“We’re actively looking for new locations, as our building has seen its younger years,” said Manager Brittany Rose, responding to recent reports that the restaurant is about to shut down.
The building on Deans Bridge Road, where the eatery has operated since 1974, was actually built in 1965, according to property records.
As recently as Sept. 22, the German-themed bistro has been soliciting for new workers, posting on social media that Villa Europa is currently hiring for line cooks, dishwashers, hosts and servers in anticipation of a busy season.
Villa Europa’s food truck, the Villa Wagen, has recently undergone maintenance by Farm to Truck Diesel Repair, after being out of commission since the beginning of June, says Rose. The truck was up and running just in time to set up at the Savannah River Brewery’s annual Oktoberfest event over the weekend, and is also slated for Oktoberfest at Bath Gardens on Sept. 29 and 30.
“Regardless of what happens to the restaurant, the food truck will continue,” said Rose.
Villa Europa also assisted with the Germany food tent at the Arts in the Heart festival, which she said yielded “an incredible show of support, all weekend long.”
Promotions for the restaurant’s own yearly Oktoberfest bill it as its final one. Rose notes that, particularly amid the search for a new site, Oktoberfest “as we all know it” won’t be the same at as the “last few decades have been.”
“When we find a new location, I’m sure we will continue the honor of hosting Oktoberfests,” she said. “How couldn’t we? But it will be different.”
She’s also quick to point out to inquiring patrons that “different” isn’t a bad thing. “The future is exciting when you think about it,” she said, adding that ideas have been circulating among management on what new form Villa Europa’s observance of the German festival will eventually take.
Villa Europa itself is the product of several transformations, starting in 1971 as a franchise of what was once the Pizza Villa chain of pizzerias, owned by Fred Ozanne. In 1974, Anneliese Schaffer-Neises took over management, adding the now signature German and other European cuisine to the menu.
By 1986, after several remodels and rebrandings, what was formerly Pizza Villa and Roman Villa became Villa Europa, run by Schaffer-Neises and her daughter, the late Patricia Schaffer. Rose says the priority for the restaurant is doing justice to their legacy, likening the search for the next location to “finding a forever home.”
“We will make sure to do everything we can to honor what they have built the last 50 years into a new future,” she said. “We are a family, literally, and our customers are a part of that.”
Villa Europa, currently at 3044 Deans Bridge Road, will host its final Oktoberfest on Oct. 15.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
