Today, Guzman heads Pueblo Viejo Imports, his software company accounting career behind him.

In April he opened his newest store at 1060 Park Ave., between Race Street and Lincoln Avenue. That store joins one that relocated from Almaden to downtown San Jose in February. The original store in Morgan Hill, which opened five years ago, is now a wholesale warehouse.

Guzman says when he couldn't readily find what he was looking for, he figured "there's other people here like myself looking for this product line."

Along with his parents, Miguel and Hilda Guzman, he spent a year researching and organizing a business plan.

Guzman says his father picked the name Pueblo Viejo, which translates to "old town."

Any piece of furniture for a home can be found in the Park Avenue store, including armoires, beds, coffee tables, dining tables and chairs, entertainment centers, sofas and sideboards. There are even bookcases and office furniture.

Guzman divides the furniture offerings into three categories.

The Rustico Collection is the largest, with more than 300 items. These are the traditional rustic pieces made from pine that are most often identified with Mexico. They have the appeal of being sturdy and inviting, rather than the off-putting formality of sleek, modern furniture or the fragility of antique styles.

Guzman says, "The rustic line is our strength. We have one of the biggest selections in the Bay Area. It's meant to look old and distressed and it has the Spanish Mission look we're going for."

The Old Mexico Collection not only looks old, some components used to make it really are. Century-old hacienda doors are used to make dining tables and ancient wormwood is combined with mesquite wood and oxidized metal to create one-of-a-kind pieces.

The Hand Carved Collection is more art pieces than furniture pieces, Guzman acknowledges. "These are for somebody who wants something very unique for a sun room or a dining room that is not going to be used very often."

Examples of these are visible in the front windows of Pueblo Viejo facing Park Avenue. There is a dining room set of brilliant suns on the chair backs and tabletop that feels cheery, bright and very folkloric. More moody is the set featuring portraits of Frieda Kahlo on chair backs.

Guzman buys directly from factories in Mexico and works closely with two manufacturers on custom orders.

"The majority of our customers are young couples with their first home. We have a lot of customers from the Willow Glen area as well as the Rose Garden," Guzman says.

The popularity of Spanish architecture and stucco homes in Silicon Valley also helps with sales, he adds.

In addition to furniture and accessories such as ceramics, glassware, vases, pots and wall décor, Pueblo Viejo carries a large selection of art.

Some items have an Aztec motif, while others are more Native American, including several sizes of metal cutouts of Kokopelli, the Hopi humpback flute player, for hanging on the wall.

There is also a selection of Day of the Dead ceramic figurines and Guzman promises he will import a huge shipment of Day of the Dead pieces in early September, in clay and papier-mâché and at a variety of price ranges.

Additionally, there are a number of reproductions of famous photographs featuring Mexican revolutionaries, including Emiliano Zapata and Francisco "Pancho" Villa.

"We have a nice selection of revolutionary figures," Guzman says. "Some are stamped on 100-year-old wormwood. We sell a lot of those to restaurants for décor and to customers who either appreciate something really unique or have some ties to the revolution, such as a great-grandparent."

Guzman says there were several factors in choosing the Park Avenue location for his second store.

"The price worked within our budget and the building is nice and large and it's convenient to our downtown store. The Park Avenue store is an extension of our downtown store and less than five minutes away. It gives us more options for sales in this area," he says.

Additionally, Guzman says he believes that Park Avenue is in the process of "being restructured to more of a retail environment" and he hopes to soon have more retail nearby.

Pueblo Viejo Imports, 1060 Park Ave., 408.280.7047. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. daily, except Tuesday, when the store is closed.