Sperryville bakery site gets a new lease on life, will reopen under Ted Pellegatta’s name
By James P. Gannon
The Apple Hill Bakery is closing for good this weekend, but the favorite Sperryville gathering place for morning coffee and gab will be reopening soon with a new name and new proprietor, Ted Pellegatta, one of the regulars at the Main Street bakery.
Pellegatta, who has extensive experience in the restaurant and food business, will open what he calls simply “an eatery” under the name Pellegatta’s. Sitting at the big round table in the bakery Friday morning, Ted displayed a design of a logo that was used by his grandfather’s hotel in Bethlehem, Pa, which will be resurrected and used for the reborn cafe he plans here.
Valerie Gallo and Ted Pellegatta at the bakery
Apple Hill Bakery’s last day of business will be Monday, Labor Day, after which the place will close for about a week or so while Pellegatta organizes his new business, which he expects to open by mid-September or sooner.
Asked about his plans, he responded: “It’s more of a community service than a business. We need a place like this in Sperryvillle.” He referred to it as a “patron-funded restaurant” because several friends and regular customers of the bakery, who hated to see their gathering spot close down, kicked in some start-up funds to help Pellegatta get the new business off the ground.
Pellegatta’s will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. It will feature pastries and baked goods–but not the famous maple doughnuts that were a specialty of Apple Hill. “The doughnuts are too labor-intensive,” Pellegatta said, but he will introduce some additional breakfast items such as omelettes, sausage gravy and biscuits, and traditional breakfast fare. He’ll also add cappuccino to the coffee offerings.Sandwiches, soups, and a daily special such as meatloaf for lasagna will be offered for lunch. “I’m a pretty decent cook,” Ted said. “Some people call me a chef but I don’t like that term.” He’s had plenty of experience in kitchens, having worked in restaurants in New York, London, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Over the years in Rappahannock, he’s also worked at the Blue Rock Inn, Four and Twenty Blackbirds and the Mountainside Market, and for several years ran a wholesale produce business.
Another plan is to occasionally bring in “guest chefs” to come in for a day and produce one of their special dishes. “That’s how I got started here, doing an ‘Italian night’ dinner,” he said. Pellegatta will employ several part-timers, including Valerie Gallo, who has worked at the bakery and become an integral part of the business.
Pellegatta has taken a six-month lease on the property from the owners, Wayne and Dorothy Waller, whose daughter Eileen and her husband Lucky Yilmaz have run the Apple Hill Bakery for about three years. Pellegatta hopes his success over the next six months will be sufficient to give his new eatery a long-term lease on life.
Ted, who lives in Castleton, is known to many in Rappahannock County as an accomplished photographer. Some of his beautiful scenic shots of Rappahannock landscapes and landmarks adorn the walls of the small cafe on Main Street.
There were plenty of smiles around the table Friday morning as some of the regular patrons listened to Ted tell RappVoice about his plans. Their gathering spot has been saved from extinction, and the vitality of Sperryville’s Main Street is getting a new booster shot–a real community plus.
-- James P. GannonComments
Comment from Kim Gibson
Time: September 4, 2007, 8:18 am
WONDERFUL NEWS! Though we may be “just weekenders” for the time being, we will be sure to patronize Ted’s new establishment as much as we can. We, too, applaud his commitment to preserving a meeting and eating place for both community and travelers alike!
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