New Space. Same Heart.

Don Perico Reopens In Downtown Napa

By Craig Smith   |   Photos: She Shoots Shots

After being closed for eleven months, Don Perico Mexican Restaurant is once again open for business in a new location, this time on Coombs Street near Deuces Market and across from the old Kohl’s location, part of the First Street Napa shops. (Long time Napans will remember the new spot as Buckhorn, Racers before that.) Don Perico regulars will be pleased to find their favorites menu items are still being offered, some slightly tweaked to make them even more delicious. And the great customer service people expect is still there – over ninety percent of the staff members have returned, some of whom have been with Don Perico’s for over twenty years. The new space is warm and inviting and still has a local family feel. The restaurant also has a full bar.

The popular restaurant first opened on First Street in 1994. Twenty years later, Marco and Berenice Castaneda, owners of Don Perico Mexican restaurant, were celebrating twenty years in business and had just purchased a full liquor license. The celebration was interrupted when, like most people, they were jolted awake at 3:20 a.m. August 24, 2014, after an earthquake shook Napa to its core. Castaneda knew things were bad as soon as he got downtown. The streets were strewn with broken glass, and in some cases, large sections of buildings that had collapsed during the shaking. Water leaks from burst pipes, some of it gushing, were evident everywhere. Castaneda opened the front door of Don Perico and used a flashlight to look around. “It was pretty bad,” he said. Large areas of the ceiling had collapsed, and rubble was everywhere. It was obvious that, had the quake hit during dinner the night before, people would have been seriously injured, or worse. Castaneda wound his way through the mess, turned off the gas, looked around and realized there wasn’t much else he could do at that time. Still, it never occurred to him that the restaurant was doomed at that location. “I knew the damage was bad, but figured we’d be open again in a couple of months.” It turned out to be far worse than he initially thought.

After being closed, again for eleven months, Don Perico’s reopened across the street in Dwight Murray Plaza, where they operated for eleven years. Then came word of the second closure. In August last year the Kohl’s building, including Don Perico, were razed to make way for the hotel and condominiums scheduled to open next summer. This time, though, it was different. Casteneda knew well in advance that that he had to make a move, and he had time to think about it. He even thought about retiring – for about five minutes. “Our staff is like family, and we want to support them.” That, and some of his customers practically grew up in Don Perico and now visit with their children. “When some of them come in, we hug.” He is very grateful for the support Napa has given him, his family and their business, and counts himself a lucky man.

Marco started his restaurant career as a busboy in a Mexican restaurant in Bakersfield, shortly after moving there from Mexico. He worked hard, paid attention to everything about the business, and was promoted repeatedly over the next ten years. His boss wanted to open a restaurant in Napa, and invited Castaneda to be his partner. At the time, Castaneda had no savings but saw this as an opportunity to make a better life for his wife and family. He borrowed from relatives and made the plunge. Don Perico opened in Napa in January of ’94. As the years passed, Castaneda paid off the loans and bought out his partner, becoming sole owner.

Although the second closing was planned, there was a lot of work to do, including finding a new location. The chosen spot, shuttered for several years, had been stripped down to two-by-fours and a dirt floor. It meant basically starting from scratch, but Marco was more relaxed with this move. He began to make plans and realized he’d have time for a small vacation as well. For the first time in forty years, he spent Christmas with family in Mexico. Now though, it’s time to get back to work.