Mis Antojos means “my cravings”
How the small ice cream counter Francisco and Araceli Velazquez opened in Pueblo Plaza in October 2011 became the deli it is today, 15 years later.
Francisco, Araceli and their children arrived in Napa in 2004. Francisco worked as a farmworker and liked being outdoors. He used to joke with his coworkers that they got paid for the exercise other people buy at a gym.
He wasn’t looking to start a business. A friend mentioned that a space was open in Pueblo Plaza, the former Napa Valley Creamery at 2967 Jefferson Street, and Francisco asked what it would cost, mostly out of curiosity.
In October 2011 Mis Antojos opened there as a small ice cream parlor, hoping to catch the shoppers headed to Latino Market next door.
At 1 a.m. on June 15, 2012, a fire destroyed six businesses in the plaza, Latino Market among them. Mis Antojos was in a separate building and wasn’t damaged, but with the market gone, fewer people came by. Francisco has said the whole center suffered and that the first year and a half was a struggle.
At one point he thought about going back to his old job. Araceli convinced him to put that energy into the shop instead.
Francisco didn’t think a dessert-only shop would last, so they added snacks and treats from different regions of Mexico. By 2014 the menu had fruit salads with chile and chamoy, fresas con crema and Dorilocos, which the Register said few places in the valley carried.
Then came tortas. Customers asked for them in time for lunch, so the shop started opening earlier. One early torta began as a lunch Araceli made Francisco from whatever she had on hand: chicken, ham and egg. A customer saw him eating it, asked for one, told them it was the best torta he’d ever had, and it went on the menu.
“Tortas have been the tip of the spear for us.”
By the time the Register visited in 2014, regulars were so used to seeing Francisco, Araceli and their kids at the counter that when someone else was working, they’d ask whether the family was all right, or whether they had sold the deli.
Francisco’s plan then was to keep inventing new treats and to keep listening to what customers suggested.
Today’s menu includes chilaquiles in green, red or mole sauce, crepes, crushes and fresh juices. Fresas con crema, the large mangonada and the Tosti Traditional top the online order page’s most-liked list.