John and Pat Vilas
Time period/Bararboo: 1952-1990
Submitted by: Kathy Heffernan
John and Pat grew up in a small village in Greece occupied by the Germans in WWII. After the war the country was so ravaged with poverty they both left. They left behind parents, brothers, sisters and friends. We remember our parents sending back money to relatives to buy food.
They made their home in Baraboo in 1952. When John wanted to start a restaurant, he had no collateral for the loan but gave his word that he would pay it all back. With that, Baraboo National Bank granted the loan and John’s Coffee Shop was born.
Pat Vilas was a driving force in the family. She worked in the restaurant starting her day at 4:30 a.m. and worked until 8 pm. We remember her making all the soups, special of the day, and pies that were sold in the restaurant. There was always a cooked meal on Sundays, her day off. Yet our mom had a secret. She only had a 3rd grade education and could not read or write English. Because of this our mom drove home the notion that the Vilas girls were going to college – no excuses. We remember her walking us to the Baraboo Public Library to check out books, knowing she could not help us if we stumbled on a word. She got her wish – we both graduated from college.
People in Baraboo will also remember our mom for all the Greek Christmas cookies she would made for customers and friends. There were at least 250 plates of Greek cookies wrapped in tins for people to pick up at our home.
John Vilas was a kind and loving man. His Coffee Shop was known for the special chili dogs, gyros and fish fry. Dad fed people, but in more ways than people knew. Father Henry and Father Cassidy of the Catholic church asked dad if he would be willing to help those in need of a meal. They would pay a small amount and John would do the rest. Many times Dad knew the financial burdens of his customers and he would “buy” them a meal. My sister and I remember our Dad sitting down with us and telling us that when he was a young boy in Greece many nights he went to bed hungry. He was not going to have people in Baraboo feel that same pain.
Our parents have since moved back to Greece. They taught us independence, hard work and love our Greek heritage and language.