BY ANN GENADER
OAK RIDGE — The property at 11 MarquisTrail where Bella Vista Ristorante is now located has been a restaurant with changing names and owners since the 1930s. Long time area residents may remember it as the Deer Trail Inn - but that’s what it was called a long time ago.
It is now known as Bella Vista Ristorante. Current partners who operate it are Tishi Dika and Johny Sela.
Dika, who lives in Lincoln Park, handles the restaurant and bar and Sela, of West Milford, is the chef. They both are originally from Albania. Their restaurant in Oak Ridge opened in August, 2016.
Dika has been in the restaurant business for 40 years and his experience includes working for NATO in Bosnia and Serbia. He started as a bus boy in Hawthorne and worked his way up to higher positions. He worked at Gardenia in Wayne and at restaurants in Manhattan and the East Village in New York during his long career.
Sela went to cooking school in Italy and had a restaurant in Garfield named IL Placere. His career has spanned over 30 years.
At Bella Vista Ristorante, Dika, Sela and their staff offer lakeside dining in an intimate atmosphere with both indoor and outdoor options. They believe in personal and attentive service and food prepared with dedication and care. They are determined to meet this goal.
All dishes are served with both soup and salad. A wide variety of chicken, veal, meat and fish dishes, prepared in a variety of ways, are featured on both the lunch and dinner menu.
Parties tooThe restaurant can accommodate up to 90 people and can handle showers, weddings, birthday parties, retirement parties and other events.
The restaurant is closed Tuesdays. It is open for lunch and dinner from noon to 10 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays. Sunday hours are 1 to 9 p.m.
There have been a number of owners and businesses on this location. Among the names it was known by is “The Water’s Edge” in 1989.
Four or five years ago, recalls lifelong resident John Fredericks, it was renovated by a woman who reportedly put a lot of money into her project. He said her design for the facility included an outside dining area. She named her restaurant “Giselle’s.
And now it is Bella Vista.