Marcello and Stephanie Fonio, co-owners of the Villa Inn on Lincoln Avenue just north of downtown San Rafael, have recently opened Italian trattoria Café Villa in what was a Basque restaurant in the late 1900s and a bar and continental breakfast venue for overnight guests in the early 2000s.

The kitchen is helmed by chef de cuisine David Sypnicki, whose resume includes Caffe Mingo in Portland, Oregon. “Chef David impressed all of us, including our Italian-born parents, with his ability to create fantastic Italian food on par with anything we’ve had in Italy,” says co-owner Stephanie Fonio about the chef and his seasonally shifting menu.