La Villa Theatre as seen on krgv channel 5 “Con Mi Gente” with Rick Diaz
La Villa Theatre-ALAMO – It started out as an idea for twin brothers who wanted to bring back the old, and at the same time create something new.
“So, that’s how it started. The love of having your own place like this,” Ruben Cepeda said.
“We have a lot of, I guess, creativity, being that we work with color in our business. We own a sign company,” Raul Cepeda said.
The brothers own the Sign Depot. And now, they own an event center called La Villa. It’s along the expressway service road in Alamo,
“We never sat down and made a plan, we’re going to build this. No, it just began to develop and take a life of its own,” Ruben Cepeda said.
With their imaginations running wild, the brothers turned walls in poor condition into works of art.
They have a sound proof wall on one side, and the other is a colorful brick wall. “My brother and I painstakingly painted each one of those blocks by hand,” Ruben Cepeda said. “The idea is to create an artistic wall, where people could sign. Did you notice the signatures on it?”
It’s a place that can take people back in time. “We’re missing the way it used to be, in the day. And that’s what we want to do. Create a nostalgia feel to the place,” Raul Cepeda said.
Our Event Center
Even the restrooms are decorated with that old-time feeling. They have a theater room that also has that nostalgic touch.
“I’ll bring down the screen and the kids can be seeing a movie, while the adults are entertaining themselves on the dance floor,” Ruben Cepeda said.
Inside the room there are barber shop poles, vintage movie posters, a big move theater sign and a bake shop with a picture of someone familiar. “For those that might know, this is Buddy. He’s from the Cake Boss, the program that comes out on TV,” Raul Cepeda said. “In fact, he already knows about this. One of his relatives lives in the Valley. He’s going to be coming down and he’s going to sign that for us.”
And by the reaction of his brother, that was supposed to be a secret.
One display is special to Raul Cepeda and his wife. “My wife’s wedding dress, my wife, Gloria. Thirty six years ago she wore that on our wedding night,” he said.
There is something in almost every corner that will grab anyone’s interest.
Ruben and Raul Cepeda, two brothers, they had an idea and turned a rundown building into something unique. “We gave it our slogan, La Villa,” Ruben Cepeda said. “It is what it was.”
