Leechburg woman, local restaurants featured on HGTV's 'My Lottery Dream House'

Two Alle-Kiski Valley restaurants and a Leechburg woman were to be featured Friday on an episode of HGTV’s “My Lottery Dream Home.”

The series follows its host, David Bromstad, as he helps lottery winners purchase luxury properties with their newfound winnings.

Friday’s show was to feature a Leechburg woman, Charity Stivason, who won $1 million in April 2020. Her bounty came from a $20 scratch-off lottery ticket she bought at Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market in Leechburg.

The two restaurants — Moonlight Inn and Twisted Thistle — were used as settings for the interviews with Stivason.

“I thought it was a joke when a producer called me at work,” said Moonlight Inn co-owner Nico Dongiovanni. “But I remembered someone in Leechburg winning the lottery.”

The show filmed a scene from the covered patio of the eatery, which was founded in 1985 by his grandfather, Franco Dongiovanni. The patio offers expansive views of West Vandergrift.

The family-owned and operated Moonlight Inn is on La Belle Vue Road in Vandergrift and serves classic American fare.

“I heard a real estate professional recommended our place to producers,” Nico Dongiovanni said about why the Moonlight was chosen.

Moonlight employees kept the news under wraps for more than a month.

“We weren’t telling anybody, and I had to sign a nondisclosure agreement,” Dongiovanni said. “The crew was friendly and down-to-earth, and they were complimentary of the restaurant.”

The Moonlight Inn was not compensated financially but is happy to receive the publicity.

“We weren’t that busy that day so customers didn’t even ask what was going on,” Dongiovanni said.

Customers can watch tonight’s episode in the bar area.

The Twisted Thistle in Leechburg also welcomed film crews to the restaurant in June. Owner Linda Alworth said filming occurred on a day the restaurant was normally closed.

“It’s fabulous and exciting, and we’re so happy for Charity and her family,” Alworth said. (The Twisted Thistle closed in late June for the summer because of a lack of staffing.)

Stivason, who described the filming process as “fun,” was shown three houses in the show.

“I was looking for something that didn’t require any maintenance,” said Stivason, who still is a full-time direct-care worker.

Stivason said she hadn’t previously watched the show, on the air since 2015, but her grown daughter suggested she apply for consideration.

“I sent an email, and the show called me and asked me to submit images of dream houses and tell my story,” Stivason said.

Stivason’s lottery story was especially poignant, as she was still grieving the October 2019 death of her husband, Travis Stivason, when she won the prize. Stivason said she thought of her late husband often during the filming process.

“It was awesome experience, and David is so down-to-earth,” said Stivason, adding she hadn’t laughed like that in a more than a year.

She recently moved into her new home. It’s in Southwestern Pennsylvania, but the exact location is not revealed on the show.

“Travis would love this house, and I was thinking of what we would have purchased for a retirement home,” Stivason said. The couple was married 24 years.

Stivason said she planned to watch herself from home.

“It’s nice to see the Leechburg area in a good light,” she said.

The episode of “My Lottery Dream Home” was set to air at 9 p.m. Friday on HGTV.