La Vigneta buys old Cooper Station restaurant for $819,000, scraps farm plans

The former site of Cooper Station Restaurant in Winfield has changed hands again, this time to undergo a coastal Italian makeover and become the new home of La Vigneta Winery.

Co-owner Francesca Howden, along with her husband, Bob, bought the property along Route 356 last month for $819,000.

The site had been languishing without much apparent activity since used car dealer Lenzi Auto Sales acquired it in June 2023 from the now-defunct Cellar Works Brewing Co. It went back on the market about a year later.

Lenzi did not return a TribLive request for comment.

“We’ll definitely bring it back to life,” Howden said.

After a full remodel, Howden plans to open a restaurant in the main structure, complete with a cocktail menu, tapas-style bites and, of course, plenty of wine.

An adjacent building will be used to ferment, bottle and store their product.

Howden’s ultimate vision includes an outdoor dining area and possibly a gift shop or banquet room.

An additional seven to 10 employees will be needed on top of the 18 current ones.

Howden’s parents, Chuck and Maria DiPiazza, also work for the winery.

If La Vigneta’s existing tasting room along Route 356 in Buffalo Township is “mini,” Howden said, its new spot will be a “full-scale” iteration of the business.

The Buffalo Township entrepreneur had originally planned to convert an acre of her farm into the winery’s longterm home. After seeing the listing for the nearly 4-acre property in Winfield, she changed her mind.

“As soon as it went on the market, I called,” Howden said.

The winery, founded in 2011 out of Howden’s basement, produces 25 wines and around 40,000 bottles a year. Its selection of reds and whites range in price from $15 to $24 per bottle.

Its wines are sold online and at the tasting room in Buffalo Township, around 25 area Giant Eagle locations, several Shop ’n Save grocery stores and 100 various off-site annual festivals throughout Western Pennsylvania.

Right now, the winery sells 80% of its bottles outside of the Sarver area. Howden hopes her business’ new digs will grow that hometown presence, though a national — or even international — audience would be appreciated, too.

“Maybe the Italians will start to drink Pennsylvania wine,” she said.

La Vigneta, soon to be located at 352 North Pike Road (Route 356), will begin hosting farmers markets in April before fully opening in the summer.