With Valentine’s Day looming, we’re always on the lookout for a romantic angle for the food page and I think we found one that beats them all.

How’s this: A married couple who have worked in restaurants together for much of their 25-year marriage, and still think it’s fun. And what’s more, he graduated from Napa High and she graduated from Vintage.

It’s kind of like Romeo and Juliet, with a happy ending.

When Donna and Mike VanDuyn opened Locos last April, it was just the next stage of a long and busy career in the restaurant business. Many Napans know them as the couple who operated the popular Rio Poco on Main Street; actually the couple met a little over 26 years ago, when Mike was working as a chef and Donna as a waitress at the Holiday Inn in town.

They’ve kept that pattern in their years of working together, with Mike cooking and Donna running the front of the house. “I’m the grunt,” Mike said. “She’s the smart one.”

Donna has a slightly different way of describing it: “He’s the talent; I’m just good at talking. And I love his cooking.”

What they do have in common is a great sense of fun, which is immediately apparent to anyone walking into Locos, located on Napa Creek in downtown Napa. It can be tricky for first-time visitors to find, but the search is worth it. One route into it is off Main Street behind the Opera House. The other path is from the parking lot near the Cinedome and Cole’s Chop House. Just cross the bridge to find it tucked into its own special corner.

Mike explained he got into cooking somewhat by accident; he’d taken a job as a dishwasher to support his “hot rod.” The head chef seemed to think he had aptitude and got him cooking.

Mike and Donna dated for a year and then married, moving to Colorado and Idaho while he finished culinary school. Mike also cooked at a country club in Georgia and, back in Napa, at Auberge du Soleil and Silverado Grill, before he and Donna decided to go out on their own and open Rio Poco.

After years of running Rio Poco while raising their two sons Mike said, they began to burn out. They closed the restaurant and took a hiatus from the culinary world.

“It was great,” Mike said of his time away from the stoves. He was able to pursue his interests in metal art and tile work and also play with his band, Distracted.

When a restaurant on the Napa Creek — which was formerly Belle Arti and Celadon — became available, Donna decided she was ready to get back into the restaurant world. “I said, ‘What’s wrong with working an eight-hour day and having weekends off?’” Mike said.

Donna added, “And I said, ‘What wrong with working 12-hour days and weekends and having fun?’”

Another incentive to opening Locos, Mike said, was “we need a local hangout in Napa. Rio Poco was like Cheers. You came in and you knew someone. We needed a fun place.”

Mike said among his plans for the future he’d like to relaunch a chili contest in downtown Napa.

“This is my passion,” said Donna. “And I’d always wanted a patio.”

Why Tex-Mex?

“We didn’t want to do the same thing as Rio Poco. We love Mexican food, but we wanted something Napa didn’t have. Most people think that nachos and burritos, chili and fajitas are Mexican, but they really originated in Texas.”

To bring in a Western feel, they renovated the creekside restaurant with the help of Marie Ferrini, who owns the Main Street framing shop.

“I had ideas,” Donna said, “But I didn’t know how to put them together. She did.”

Mike created a menu he describes as “high-quality, easy food, fun food” with creative twists, like crab enchiladas and swordfish tacos in addition to quesadillas, burritos, salads and soups. One dish he created was an instant hit with customers: a slow-cooked brisket taco.

Donna’s wine list leans to local vintners. “They’re our friends,” she said.

It didn’t take long for their old Rio Poco fans to find them.

“Half of a restaurant is the food — you need to have food that’s honest and good and doesn’t kill you with the price,” Mike said. “The other half is the atmosphere.”

“We’re lucky,” Donna concluded. “We’ve been blessed with some of the best employees that I want to credit for our success.”

Mike said in the future he’d like to relaunch a chili contest in downtown Napa, and a poker run for Harley riders, among which he counts himself. “We’re having a good time,” he said, “as long as we have time for it.”

He shared some of the most popular recipes with the Register, including the brisket tacos, his own version of tortilla soup and a southwestern salad with a chile lime vinaigrette.

Locos is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to  9 p.m. For reservations, call 251-8058.