The news came down swift on Wednesday afternoon, Pizza Villa, a Portland restaurant/bar that has spanned generations of patrons, would be sold in 2019 so that the current owners can retire. That wasn't the surprising part. The surprise came in the announcement that the building, and the business, would be purchased by Maine Medical Center.

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According to the Portland Press Herald, lovers of Pizza Villa shouldn't fear the change. Maine Medical Center has no plans to permanently close the business. Instead, the hospital will conduct a search to find a new operator for the Portland favorite. There's potential that Maine Med will use the upper floors of the Pizza Villa building for medical offices in the future.

The cost of the purchase is part of the $512 million dollar expansion plan that the hospital has already begun to undertake. The current owners of Pizza Villa will remain in place until March of 2019 barring any snags in the deal.

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