In December 1937, Deer Park Villa opened in Fairfax under the ownership of Joseph and Antoinette Ghiringhelli (pictured), who hoped to introduce the flavors of North Beach to Marin County. The couple first met at a restaurant in San Francisco but had their wedding dinner at the Villa, where the groom declared he would one day buy the "remote" restaurant for his bride. Ghiringhelli did just that, serving as chef and gardener who planted redwoods still towering over the Villa's four-acre site. Established as a lodge in 1902 and dinner house in 1922, Deer Park Villa is today the longest-running restaurant in Marin and, spanning four generations, the oldest family restaurant in the Bay Area.
