“Day in, day out, season after season…it’s just hard keep a 9000 square foot restaurant going,” admitted Jeff Parrott, manager/partner in the family-owned Villa Farotto restaurant in Chesterfield. So after a reasonably successful 11-year-run, Parrott decided to “quit hoping things would eventually get better,” and closed the doors after service on Mother’s Day, May 10. (Sauce magazine was the first to report the news.)
“We had an opportunity to sell the building to St. Luke’s, for use as an Urgent Care,” he said. “It was time to cut our losses and move on.”
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Parrott will now focus 100% on the continued development of the flagship location, a fixture in Rock Hill since 1956. Last fall, the family was able to acquire the house behind the restaurant to make way for 20 additional parking spots and a 1900 square foot deck that seats 100. “We really didn’t have much outside seating before,” Parrott said, referring to a small patio on the front side of the restaurant. “We do now.”
Parrott says the deck (below) will have its own bar and should open in a week or so. He says he plans to keep his construction manager’s hat on, as a roofing system, removable walls, and gas heaters will be installed in a few months, affording Farotto’s customers three full seasons of use.
