Founder, Managing Partner Acme Hospitality
Sherry Villanueva is an entrepreneur, active community volunteer, and longtime resident of Santa Barbara. She is the founder and Managing Partner of Acme Hospitality which owns and operates eight successful restaurants in Santa Barbara including The Lark, Lucky Penny, Pearl Social, Helena Avenue Bakery, Santa Barbara Wine Collective, Loquita, Tyger Tyger, and La Paloma Café. In 2019, Sherry launched Acme Lodging, a hotel development and management company with two historic boutique properties in California Gold Country. Both national and California Historic Landmarks, The National Exchange Hotel in Nevada City and the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley recently completed multi-year, extensive renovations under Acme’s management. Her latest hotel project, Azure Sky, is a 14-room boutique hotel that opened in Palm Springs in 2022.
Sherry’s previous career spanned 25 years in marketing, most recently as partner and co-founder of Twist Worldwide, a boutique trend research agency under contract with Target Corporation for 12 years. Sherry’s commitment to the local Santa Barbara community is reflected in the numerous volunteer positions and board roles she has held that including Direct Relief, Storyteller Children’s Center, Santa Barbara FoodBank, Santa Barbara Middle School, and Santa Barbara High School Education Foundation. Sherry lives between Los Olivos and downtown Santa Barbara with Jim, her husband of 33 years. They are the proud parents of two adult daughters, Annie and Katy.
Sherry has received numerous awards and recognition for her contributions to the Santa Barbara business community including:
“2021 Executive of the Year” from the South Coast Business & Technology Awards
“2020 Honoree and Keynote Speaker for Top Women in Business” by the Pacific Coast Business Times
“2019 (Acme Hospitality) Large Business of the Year” from the Santa Barbara Regional Chamber of Commerce
“2018 (The Lark) Small Business of the Year” from the Santa Barbara Regional Chamber of Commerce
“2017 Woman of the Year” for the 19th Senate District/Santa Barbara County
“2016 Innovator of the Year” by the National Association of Women Business Owners
“2016 Hospitality & Tourism Winner” for the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Foundation
“2015 Women Making Waves” from Morton Capital Management