‘It just means so much’: Columbia street named for iconic downtown Italian restaurant

Some things simply feel like forever.

Downtown Columbia has shifted and changed through the decades, rising and falling and rising again as businesses have opened and closed and the area has been reimagined. But across much of that time, one restaurant has stood resolute through it all.

Villa Tronco, believed to have been the first ever Italian restaurant in Columbia, has been located at 1213 Blanding St. for 84 years. Founded in 1940 by the late Sadie Tronco — known to loved ones as Mama Tronco — it has been a Columbia institution offering lasagna, pizza, its signature pan-seared chicken Villa Tronco and more.

Now the restaurant, which is located in a building constructed in the late 1860s that was home one of Columbia’s first firehouses, has been formally recognized for its longstanding importance to Blanding Street and downtown.

The Columbia City Council on Sept. 3 voted unanimously to honorarily name the 1200 block of Blanding Street, between Sumter and Main streets, “Villa Tronco Way.” A street sign designating the new name was unveiled Sept. 12 at the corner of Blanding and Sumter during a ceremony attended by Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and others.

Five generations of the Tronco family have had a hand in operating the business since 1940. Current owners Joe and Carmella Roche — Carmella is Sadie Tronco’s granddaughter — have overseen the restaurant for decades, and were on-hand for the Sept. 12 street-naming ceremony.

“It just means so much, with all the customers coming in through the years, and all the employees who helped us get there, and all the generations of the family,” Joe Roche said. “It’s just so neat to get that (honorary naming) on the street here.”

Villa Tronco, which is open from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, currently has about 15 employees, Joe Roche said, several of whom have been working for the business for many years.

Rickenmann, who is in his first term as Columbia’s mayor after a long run as a city councilman, is familiar with the restaurant business, as he once owned local restaurants including Yo Burrito and Birds on a Wire. He said Villa Tronco’s nearly nine decades of staying power in downtown has been remarkable.

“This restaurant is a quintessential example of what Columbia is all about,” Rickenmann told The State. “One of the reasons I stayed in Columbia is because our community supports small businesses. And here we are, where generation after generation has been here (at Villa Tronco). ... Their longevity tells you that customer service and food quality mean a whole lot to them. If you don’t have those two things, you aren’t surviving that long in this business.”

Carmella Roche noted that Villa Tronco has continued to evolve through the years. Its chefs experiment with various specials, and the restaurant often has musical events. On the evening of the recent street sign unveiling, singers and musicians with the Palmetto Opera performed a number of arias as guests dined.

“Our family is very blessed and very grateful that we’ve been here for almost 85 years,” Carmella said. “It’s another step in our business that we are still here and growing after more than eight decades.”

Tripp Roche, Carmella and Joe’s 19-year-old grandson, works at the restaurant and is part of the fifth generation of the family to have a hand in the business. He played a key role in the application process with the city for the honorary street naming, and said he first considered asking that the block be named Sadie Tronco Way. But ultimately, he felt Villa Tronco Way better encompassed the many generations that have been a part of the restaurant.

“We are very glad to have this done, for the whole family,” Tripp said.

Sign Up for The State, This Week