A Napa Family Tradition Since 1972
More than five decades of family, authentic Mexican cooking and hospitality in the heart of Napa Valley.
The Villaseñor family: Fernando, Gabriela, Ismael, Guillermina, Daniel and Carlos. Brother Miguel not pictured.
More Than 50 Years in Napa Valley
The story of Villa Corona begins with Ismael and Guillermina Villaseñor, who came to California from Mexico and eventually made Napa Valley their home. After years of hard work, Ismael had an opportunity to pursue a dream that would become a lasting part of Napa's restaurant community: opening a restaurant of his own.
In 1972, Ismael and Guillermina opened Villa Azteca Mexican Restaurant in Napa's Bel Aire Plaza. The approximately 60-seat restaurant was built around the traditional Mexican dishes Ismael knew and loved, including birria, menudo, chile verde, chile colorado and enchiladas.
There was no restaurant group or corporate recipe book behind it. The food came from family traditions, hard work and a desire to share the flavors of home with their new community.
Growing Up in the Family Business
From the beginning, the restaurant was a family affair. The Villaseñor children grew up around Villa Azteca, helping their parents when they weren't in school and learning firsthand what it meant to welcome guests, prepare food and take care of a family business.
Ismael and Guillermina also made traditional Mexican cheeses, including queso fresco and panela. The family made trips to San Francisco's Mission District to deliver their products, building relationships and sharing foods and traditions they had brought with them from Mexico.
Those early years established something that remains at the heart of Villa Corona today: food, family and community have always been connected.
A New Chapter Begins
In 1983, while the family was still operating Villa Azteca, Ismael began another venture in Napa called Villa Corona. For a period, the family operated both businesses before Villa Azteca was sold in 1985 and the family's next chapter continued under the Villa Corona name.
The name itself reflects the family behind the restaurant, bringing together the Villaseñor family name with Guillermina's maiden name, Corona.
Villa Corona initially had strong roots as a Mexican market, offering homemade tortillas, tortilla chips, traditional baked goods and other Mexican specialties. Restaurant service became part of the business as the family continued sharing the foods and traditions they knew from home.
Building the business wasn't always easy. When customers weren't finding Villa Corona, Ismael found another way to reach them.
Ismael's La Venta
One of the most memorable chapters in the Villa Corona story happened far beyond the restaurant's doors.
Ismael loaded the family's food into his vehicle and traveled through Napa Valley selling directly to Mexican families and farmworkers. The family affectionately referred to these trips as Ismael's la venta — "the sale."
His route took him from Napa along Silverado Trail, through the valley toward Calistoga and back down Highway 29. Long before Villa Corona became familiar to generations of Napa diners, Ismael was personally bringing his family's food to the people who would become part of its community.
It's a simple story, but one that says a great deal about how Villa Corona was built: one meal, one customer and one relationship at a time.
Fernando & Gaby Carry the Tradition Forward
When Ismael and Guillermina retired to Mexico in 1999, the Napa restaurant passed to the next generation. Their children Fernando and Gabriela "Gaby" Villaseñor continued the family business and the traditions their parents had established decades earlier.
Today, Fernando and Gaby carry that legacy forward at Villa Corona Napa. While Napa Valley has changed tremendously since their parents opened their first restaurant in 1972, the foundation of Villa Corona remains remarkably familiar: family recipes, generous hospitality and Mexican food prepared with care.
Other members of the Villaseñor family have carried the Villa Corona tradition into other communities, but here in Napa, Fernando and Gaby continue the story that began with their parents more than 50 years ago.
Traditions That Continue at the Table
Some family traditions are best preserved by continuing to make them. Recipes handed down through the Villaseñor family remain an important part of the Villa Corona story.
Among them is Guillermina's homemade flan, a family recipe that has been served in her honor and represents something much larger than dessert: generations of family history shared around the table.
That's what Villa Corona has always been about. Food brings people together, and the recipes become part of the memories made along the way.
A family tradition — Guillermina's flan.
More Than a Restaurant
For more than five decades, the Villaseñor family has called Napa Valley home. Villa Corona has grown alongside the community, serving generations of local families as well as visitors discovering Napa for the first time.
Over the years, the family has supported local organizations, fundraisers, schools, teams and community events. That connection to Napa isn't a marketing slogan. It's part of the family's history.
Many customers who first came through the doors years ago now return with children and grandchildren of their own. For the Villaseñor family, there may be no better measure of what more than 50 years in the restaurant business really means.
Come Be Part of the Story
What Ismael and Guillermina began in Napa in 1972 continues today with Fernando, Gaby and the Villa Corona family.
Whether you've been coming to Villa Corona for decades or you're visiting us for the first time, we're grateful to welcome you to our table.