Hatboro's Village Italian Bistro to Reopen

Rosalina Cordero has an ambitious goal for reopening the recently shuttered Village Italian Bistro in Hatboro.

Cordero, a California native who moved to Horsham about two years, intends to reopen the former eatery, which is situated in a strip mall within the Victorian Village age-restricted community, by the first week of January. The restaurant had closed in October, following the death of previous owner, Jacqueline Geiger.

"Because of the holidays," Cordero said she realizes that the opening may need to be pushed back to the second week of January.

Once opened, the family-run restaurant will be called Victorian Village Italian Bistro, a slight modification of its previous name. Hatboro Main Street Manager Stephen Barth said the new name is aimed at creating a "tighter union between Victorian Village itself and the restaurant."

"It’ll be Italian food but a totally new menu," Barth said.

Although Cordero is not of Italian descent, she said her chef at the impending Victorian Village Italian Bistro has been preparing Italian fare for 18 years. Prior to relocating to Pennsylvania, Cordero and her family had owned a restaurant in Arizona, where they had been living at the time.

"We still wanted to try out having a restaurant, but here in Pennsylvania," Cordero told Patch, adding that she's been searching for a restaurant venture for about two years. "It’s not as easy to find."

But, now that she's found a business to call her own, Cordero said she doesn't plan to change a thing.

"The sign’s still going to be the same up there," Cordero said of the blue sign on the restaurant's facade. "We’re not doing anything to it, but cleaning it and keeping it beautiful."