Montrio Bistro, located at 414 Calle Principal in Downtown Old Monterey, has launched a 60-day fundraiser in support of the Food Bank for Monterey County. With the “Pick It Up, Pay It Forward” campaign, taking place now through September 30, 2020, 10% of all proceeds from take-out orders will be donated to the food bank. (Please note: this is for take-out orders only, and does not apply to delivery orders.)

With the difficulties of the pandemic, food banks are struggling to keep up with growing demand. So come and pick up your favorite meal today to help us support this cause! Our dishes make your taste buds feel great and nothing feels better than helping others in need.

Ken and Mona Donkersloot, owners of Montrio Bistro, Tarpy's Roadhouse, and Rio Grill restaurants, hope to meet a goal of $20,000 across all three restaurants. If that goal is met, they will personally donate an additional $5,000. Visit Montrio's website to view our take-out menu and place your pick-up / take-out order at 831-648-8880.

Pearl Hour, your friendly neighborhood cocktail bar, is now not only delivering bottles and cocktail kits to your door, Wednesday - Sunday during the pandemic, we are now also open Saturday and Sunday 2pm-8pm, as a retail bottle shop!

Here at 214 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, we have amaro and prosecco, rare whiskeys, Pearl Hour favorites, citrus, house made syrups and bitters, a limited batch of huckleberry shrub and, last but not least, the good ice! Katie will be here to answer questions and put selections together for you. Pay by cash or Venmo. Masks are required to enter, and you must be age 21 or older - let's prove we can have nice things, everybody.

Alta Bakery and Cafe is happy to announce our July drink of the month, a kaffir lime leaf and coconut latte. It's initially intriguing and absolutely delicious! Come and try it this month - we're located at 502 Munras Avenue in Downtown Old Monterey.

Did you know that Slowfiber carries carefully curated sewing kits, perfect for mending your favorite clothing, your children's plush toys, and more? We think there's nothing more discouraging than mending something using a low quality, plastic "kit" produced in some factory overseas. We create and sell menders' kits that invite you to fix your beautiful, treasured things, and tools that are there when you need them to get you out of a tough spot.

Slowfiber offers both small and large mend kits. The Small Kit contains 12 needles (calyx style), Merchant & Mills Baby Bow scissors, a seam ripper, 1 spool A&E Gutermann brand 100% recycled thread (from pop bottles), 5 safety pins, and 3 buttons. The Large Kit contains 25 Merchant & Mills needles, a number of glass-head pins, a 60-inch Merchant & Mills tape measure (mm on the flip), Merchant & Mills Baby Bow scissors, Merchant & Mills seam ripper, tailor's chalk, 20 safety pins, 4 seam clips, 3 spools A&E Gutermann brand 100% recycled thread (from pop bottles), and your choice of locally made up-cycled cloth bag or recycled paperboard box for storage.

You can purchase your Slowfiber mend kit online or at our shop, located at 517 B Hartnell Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

Shear Addiction is excited to announce we're participating in an online Instagram auction, Change Happens Together, August 21-25, to support Kinship Center. Mark your calendars! Funds from the auction will go directly to Kinship Center to help provide adoption and foster care services to children and youth on California's Central Coast. Read the auction guidelines here.

Shear Addiction Barbershop and Hair Studio, located at 160 Webster Street in Downtown Old Monterey, is a classic, upscale barbershop and salon studio offering a variety of services to cater to everyone, both men and women. Our doors are temporarily closed because of the coronavirus.

Humble brag: we are the first shop to carry Faith’s art! So happy I found her because her art really does speak to my soul. Still swoonin over this commissioned collection we received during shelter in place. I get so attached to every piece of artwork in our shop and when they find their forever homes a piece of my heart goes with it ✨

Wow! They’re actually doing it at StationX Salon! They're taking appointments for haircuts in their side alleyway on Thursdays and Saturdays. Call the salon at 408.378.3289 to make an appointment.

The perfect purses. Comes in three sizes. Flat chain so it is comfortable on your shoulder. Makes the perfect going out bag (if we are ever allowed out again) ? also the perfect gift.

Welcome to Lighthouse District in the News, an occasional post featuring recent news articles on Monterey's Lighthouse District. Please click the link below to read the article.

Tutto Buono Eataliano Opens in New Monterey
by Raul Nava
Edible Monterey Bay, 07/28/20

Have you been hanging on to your old bike helmet for too long? The Lighthouse District's newest retail store, Epicenter Cycling, located at 230 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, is here to help you find a new helmet that protects your noggin and best meets your needs.

It’s important to replace your bike helmet every 3-5 years (depending on use) or if it’s been in a crash, whether you see cracks in it or not. This is because some of the materials used to make it degrade over time. UV light degrades the outer shell, making it brittle, and a weak shell may compromise the structural integrity of the foam.

Keep in mind, too, that helmets are constantly being improved, so a current new model will keep you much safer than that three-year-old, rarely-worn one in your closet. Epicenter invites you to check out the new Bontrager WaveCel technology at our shop, which is 48x more effective than standard EPS foam at preventing concussions from common cycling accidents. You can read all about it in Epicenter's newly updated Guide to Bike Helmets.

Pacific Bowls and Rolls is happy to now feature local halibut on our menu! You can have it on your bowls or in your roll. Come try it as-is or marinated in cilantro and lime. (It's delicious!) You can order online, call in your order to 831-601-584, or stop by and enjoy it at one of our outdoor tables at 475 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

At Pacific Bowls and Rolls, we hold ourselves responsible for contributing to the health of our community and our planet. We are proud partners with the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch Program, and our meats are all ethically and sustainably raised by Niman Ranch and Mary's Free Range Chicken. Our produce is organic, seasonal, and local whenever possible.

Haute Beauty Guide's retail shop, located at 71 Pearl Street in Downtown Old Monterey, now carries bars of soap made by Nash and Jones. These all-natural soap bars are creamy, luxurious, and designed to be gentle enough for any skin type. We're not sure whether the mint bar or the honey bar is our favorite, but they all smell dreamy! Come see what you think.

These beautiful soaps are also available on the Haute Beauty Guide website for shipping or local delivery. Haute Beauty Guide is a small, locally-owned business run by Doran, a licensed esthetician and mother of a lively toddler.

"Be kind." Now there's a phrase that's useful to remember at all times, particularly the one we're living in right now. Grace Lifestyle Boutique has just restocked their supply of these stylish "be kind" t-shirts, graced with drawings of hands that spell out the words in American Sign Language. Grace now has sizes S, M, and L available for $35 each. And when you buy one, you're supporting a small, locally-owned business.

Grace Lifestyle Boutique is located at 459 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

Looking for a funny little gift for a friend or a way to make yourself smile every morning? Casual Island has received a fresh supply of humorous refrigerator magnets! Just put on your face mask and stop by our shop at 261 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey. (Need a new cloth face mask? We have lots of those for sale, too!) We love to make you smile, even if we only get to see the edges of your eyes crinkle up when you do it.

Congratulations to Code Ninjas' junior varsity e-sports team for winning the XP Youth League National Finals last weekend! That's right, folks, the Monterey Whales JV Team upset the first seed in the first round of the playoffs and made an amazing underdog comeback, winning in the final round of their national Overwatch e-sports league on Saturday, July 25.

Code Ninjas Monterey is holding their next free Overwatch e-sports league tryouts for the Monterey Bay Whales fall season team on August 15 and 22, 2pm-5pm. It's a great opportunity for children ages 8-14 with a passion for fun, friendly, and cooperative gaming. No prior experience is necessary. The season lasts 8 weeks, followed by a 2-week playoff. HP-Omen Gaming Laptops are provided. Teams will be coached by Julian Torres and Bogdan Grots.

Code Ninjas is located at 469 Pacific Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

It’s often chaotic, messy, and frustrating at the beginning of a project because we don’t know exactly how to make fresh ideas into reality. But every time we do a project, we learn something new, experience the unexpected, and feel good at the end. That’s why it’s worth working on it!

If you are hesitant to start making your ideas come true, please contact Mai Ryuno at Play Full Ground about her Creativity Based Learning Program, which provides guidance and support on your creative journey and teaches creative problem solving. Let Mai help you find a change of perspective and discover your potential along the way.