I’ve been so excited to have the chance to tell the story of the historic San Juan Capistrano community because, at Acme, storytelling is our secret sauce. Until now, we’ve placed a lot of focus on Orange County communities like Irvine, Laguna Beach, Newport, but SJC has a unique place in OC and California history that makes it special—and perfect for us. This move outside our traditional area is a first for us and an exciting way for us to expand our reach.

Our new restaurant, La Vacquera, is in the beautiful River Street Market community destination in the Los Rios district (the oldest neighborhood in California)—a gathering place for relaxing, dining and shopping. It’s been great to work with Dan Almquist, head of The Almquist Group, the project’s developer. Dan has a deep passion for SJC, which made him an ideal partner for us. The Almquist Group shares our values in living in and embracing its community, and as we’ve worked together, we’ve really become one family.

I didn’t know this until I became involved in this project, but San Juan Capistrano was historically the heart of California’s cowboy country. So the ranchero lifestyle was the natural inspiration for our restaurant. La Vaquera (which means “the cowgirl”) is the imaginary matriarch who runs the ranch. She invites visitors and farmworkers into her house to enjoy simple but delicious food that’s deeply rooted in the ranchero tradition: local ingredients, grown, harvested and cooked over an enormous hardwood grill. One fun fact is that we actually built the restaurant around the grill. It came first!
I’m excited about this venture and look forward to working on projects like this one that help lift the community. It’s so rewarding to see the positive results of years of development work. That’s why I love what I do.