5 p.m.During an emergency meeting on Friday morning, the Napa Downtown Association board of directors voted unanimously to keep the doors open at the Visitor Center and continue operation for the next two years. The board meeting was attended by two dozen merchants.

The move came just days after the Napa Valley Conference and Visitors Bureau decided to close the tourism office at the Napa Town Center. The convention and visitors bureau, recently renamed the Napa Valley Destination Council, decided to focus its energy on other marketing efforts, releasing four staffers and more than 80 volunteers.

The move surprised downtown merchants who see 130,000 visitors a year come in for recommendations on dining, wine tasting and hotel options. The workers returned anyway and opened the center on the day the announcement was made.

Craig Smith, executive director of the Napa Downtown Association, said merchants at Friday’s meeting were unanimous about keeping the center open.

“This is very, very important to downtown Napa and those 130,000 people who are stopping here,” Smith said. “Everyone was of one mind set from the beginning — how do we keep the Visitor’s Center open? There was never any discussion about letting it close.”

Smith said the Downtown Merchants Association will also move into the space near Gillwoods Cafe in the Napa Town Center.

Ronnie Villegas, liaison for the community and volunteers of the Visitor Center, said he was relieved to see notice of the merchants’ decision. “I talked to Craig and said I would be proud to stay on, since I had been fired. I’m so thankful to live in a community that rallied around this and (saw) the importance of the Visitor Center in the Napa Town Center.

City officials and the Napa Downtown Association will meet on Monday about how the city may be able to help with funding.

“I’m proud. This has helped improve the mood and revitalizes the hopes of all the volunteers. And we didn’t lose one of our 86 volunteers from this,” Villegas said. “This helps secure the long-term future of the Visitors Center.”

Smith, who was attending a conference in Santa Rosa, cut short his trip to return to Napa when the Visitors Center was disbanded.

Despite the scare that ran through downtown Napa, Smith sees a silver lining. “We think this will ultimately be a great situation. The Visitor Center is still here. But now the Napa Valley Destination Council can focus all of its strategic global marketing concepts. While it was unfortunate how it all unfolded the way it did, this will result an improvement in services all the way around.”

Prior to Friday’s announcement, wineries, hotels and other businesses up and down the valley were delivering candy, cookies and baked goods for volunteers.