Amparo, Pattye, Lorenzo, and Willy Vigil/Puerto Alegre, Part 2 (S7E5)

In Part 2, we pick up where we left off in Part 1. The siblings use which school they were going to estimate the date of the family's move to Valencia Street to live above Puerto Alegre. Just one example: When Amparo was set to attend Mission High, they moved the school to Poly out near Kezar Stadium while Mission was retrofitted.

 

Then we turn to noteworthy things that have happened at Puerto Alegre in the 50-plus years that it's been open. Amparo shares how their dad, Ildefonso Vigil, brought pinball machines and a pool table into the restaurant. At one point, because Willy, Lorenzo, and one of their cousins got into fish, a 55-gallon tank went up in the front window. Their dad was also known to rescue dying plants he found around the neighborhood.

 

Amparo got married when she was 16 and had a kid the next year. By 19, she had divorced and moved back in with her family. She got a day job at an insurance company, which gave her access to a typewriter. With that, she was able to create the first typed menu for the restaurant. Prior to that, the menu had been written by hand.

 

The brothers being boys and all, they started to get into cars. They built cars and did some (probably illegal) racing. Other siblings would go watch, but at least one always stayed behind to help out at the restaurant.

 

Over the years, the menu evolved. The neighborhood was changing. The clientele in the restaurant needed to pivot. Their parents introduced fried chicken and milkshakes at one point, a carryover from the Mexico Lindo days.

 

Their mom, Maria Refugio Vigil, also made fresh flour tortillas. Willy and Lorenzo were big, big fans of those. They'd grab them as soon as they were ready, slap some refried beans on them, roll 'em up, and eat away.

 

At this point, Amparo tells the story of El Faro taqueria. Going back to the Mexico Lindo days, El Faro was just down the block. Kitty-corner to that was a place called Johnny's. The owner of El Faro would ask the siblings, "What'd ya get over there?" Johnny's eventually made poboy sandwiches, and the Vigils ate those up, literally. Those poboys inspired the owner of El Faro to create burritos. This story is, quite possibly, the burrito origin story.

 

Getting back to the topic of other immigrants from Ayutla in San Francisco, Amparo tells us about a club in the Mission where folks from that small town in Mexico would get together. The wife of the owner of La Rondalla (RIP) was from Ayutla. The owners of Don Ramon's and Taqueria La Cumbre were from there, as well.

 

Back to Puerto over the years, Amparo talks about how their dad always wanted a liquor license. He'd served beer and wine since they opened, but he wanted to expand. The owner of Vic's next-door (where Blondie's is today) was retiring and selling his license, and Ildefonso bought it. That changed everything.

 

Willy tells us about the learning curve to running a bar. This was around 1982 or so. Their liquor sales rep helped teach them how to set up a bar. Most importantly—he taught them how to make margaritas. Willy says he brought friends in to help "test" his new concoctions. It didn't take him long to get it down ... with ample feedback, of course.

 

One casualty of the liquor license, unfortunately, was the fishtank. Next was the pool table. A familiar site around The City today, but rarer back then, they started to experience folks lining up for a table or a seat at the bar.

 

We spend some time talking about a specific host from Puerto's past—Tirso, who has been beloved by me and my friends for decades now. We all talk about how much we love Debbie Horn (former server at Puerto, current co-owner of Royal Cuckoo Organ Lounge).

 

Amparo tells us about the art on the walls inside Puerto Alegre. It's not just for decoration. Rather, the restaurant serves as a community art gallery. What began as mostly neon beer company signs adorning the space turned into regular art shows and events that add to the magic that is Puerto Alegre.

 

Over the years, Amparo started collecting posters and art of various aspects of Mexican history. Figures like Zapata and Pancho Villa went up as framed posters. That turned into Carnaval-related art. A friend who was a regular patron of the place and a photographer himself helped with that. This was roughly 20 years ago.

 

When Carnaval season was over that first year, they wanted a new show. Another regular customer and artist, Bird Levy, suggested a show to honor Frida Kahlo on her birthday in July. That has become an annual show every July.

 

The Vigils connected with Mission artist Calixto Robles to do a show at Puerto Alegre. They've done shows with Calixto's wife, Alejandra, as well. They've done art shows on women during March (Women's History Month). There've been shows on resistance, climate, and Day of the Dead. And just as a true gallery would, they throw art-opening parties.

 

Willy shares what the restaurant has meant to him and his life. He met his wife there. She worked for a time at Puerto Alegre. They have three kids together. Lorenzo and Pattye follow their brother, talking about the role that the restaurant fulfills in their lives.

 

Pattye shares the story of how their dad, after Puerto was established, bought a second building in the Mission—Puerto Alegre II on 25th Street. Idelfonso moved over to run that place while Maria and all the siblings stayed at the Valencia Street location.

 

Amparo again stresses the importance of work, and how from a young age, their parents instilled strong work ethics in them all. Of all his siblings and cousins, Ildefonso was the only one to stay in the restaurant business all the way to the end.