Women are making history year-round on California's central coast, making Women's HERstory Month another wonderful opportunity to celebrate the trailblazing, history making and inspiring women chasing dreams and making moves in Monterey County. Explore all of the ways you can eat, shop and experience local businesses powered by women.
Women-Owned Restaurants
Hula's Island Grill
Lynette Griffin, Co-Owner (Monterey)
A throwback to the popular tiki restaurants and bars of the ‘50s & 60s, this original location opened in Monterey in 1998.
Le Souffle
Lisa Foreman, Co-Owner (Carmel-by-the-Sea)
Enjoy the true art of the French soufflé in a romantic and inviting atmosphere–A little piece of Paris in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Lucy's on Lighthouse
Tamie Aceves and Joleen Green, Co-Owners (Pacific Grove)
An eclectic restaurant with classic comfort food like hot dogs, tater tots and ice cream in an environment inspired by surfing, skating and roller derby.
Stokes Adobe
Sarah Orr, Co-Owner (Monterey)
The daughter-father duo, Sarah and Peter Orr bring seasonal California cuisine with a focus on craft cocktails and "first-class casual."
Villa Azteca
Susana Alvarez, Owner and Chef (Salinas)
Traditional Mexican food with a twist comes to life at this family-owned and operated restaurant. Warm hospitality and locally sourced ingredients make dining at Villa feel like home.
Wild Fish Restaurant
Liz Jacobs, Co-Owner (Pacific Grove)
As the seasons change, the menu evolves, underscored by a close partnership with local fishermen and farmers.
Experiences
Carmel Food Tours
Staci Giovino, Owner (Carmel-by-the-Sea)
A three-hour, 1.2 mile guided tour of food tastings from seven unique eateries coupled with insightful presentations of Carmel's cultural, historical and architectural highlights.
Gael Gallagher's Tours & Carmel Walks
Gael Gallagher, Founder (Monterey County)
Gael Gallagher has been sharing her passion and knowledge of the Monterey Bay area since 1984. She’s been a docent since 1989 at the Point Lobos State Reserve and a guide/mentor/narrator at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Gael has also served as a docent at the National Steinbeck Center.
LaDySomm
Roxanne Langer, Owner and Sommelier (Carmel-by-the-Sea)
LadySomm offers wine programs from a level-two Sommelier. A two-time graduate of the University of the Pacific wrote her Master’s Thesis on Wine. She attended the University of California at Davis Community Education Program in Viticulture and Enology and has studied in the UK, obtaining a Higher Certificate from the prestigious Wine & Spirit Trust of the United Kingdom.
Monterey Bay Food Tours
Casey Aguilar, Owner (Monterey)
Lover of great food, wine and culture, Casey found a home in Monterey and sought to share the experience of the culinary scene with those traveling to Monterey from far and wide.
Monterey Touring Vehicles Classic car tours
Heather Gardner, Co-Owner (Monterey)
Heather’s vision of offering the chance to drive a classic car down the coast came to fruition after seeing how much her own out-of-town guests enjoyed taking their ’69 Mercury Cougar to Big Sur or their ’78 VW Superbeetle to lunch in Carmel. Thus, the collecting of vintage cars began.
Thai is Fun
Goi Yujaroen, Owner (Seaside)
Based out of Seaside, Goi has extensive experience teaching the Thai language and culture. Besides her current role of leading Thai cuisine cooking classes, she is also an Assistant Professor of the Thai language at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.
Sweet Treats, Teas & Coffee
Captain + Stoker
Kelsea Richmond. Co-Owner (Monterey)
Tyler Ellis and Kelsea Richmond went from working at the original version of Captain + Stoker to purchasing the coffee shop to save it from closure. After their revamp, Tyler and Kelsea felt a sense of community forming around the shop and thought it crucial to continue that community in Monterey. Now, they are ready to open a second shop in Pacific Grove and a roasting facility in Sand City.
Revival Ice Cream
Adriana Shuman, Owner (Monterey)
Revival Ice Cream offers seasonal, small-batch organic ice cream with inventive flavors like the popular Bee's Knees. Adriana was committed to serving honest, organic treats anyone could feel great about eating, meanwhile supporting sustainable living.
Sweet Elena's Bakery
Elena Salsedo, Owner (Sand City)
Elena established Sweet Elena's in 1992 after working at Ventana Big Sur as a pastry chef for 14 years. Mentored by Pastry Art greats and a family background of food and wine dating back to her life in North Africa and France, food was always an essential aspect of life. Sweet Elena's is an artisan bakery, where everything is made from scratch, reminiscent of home country cooking, using fresh and local ingredients.
Sweet Reba's
Reba Wilson, Owner and Head Baker (Carmel)
A small-batch bakery serving up cookies, cakes and classic baked treats. Sweet Reba’s strives to offer customers the highest quality baked goods, using only the freshest ingredients.
Wineries & Breweries
Brew-N-Krew Ale House
Marlene Garcia, Co-Owner (Salinas)
Brew-N-Krew is a standout latinx-owned craft beer house with a vibrant interior, complete with disco balls and of course, great unique beer.
Scratch Wines & Wrath Wines
Sabrine Rodems, Owner of Scratch Wines (Carmel Valley) and Winemaker at Wrath Wines (Carmel-by-the-Sea)
Sabrine graduated with a Master’s of Science in Viticulture in and Enology from UC Davis in 2004. She has spent her career working at various wineries and in 2011 began her small label, Scratch.
Shopping
Carpe Diem Fine Books
Mary Hill, Co-Owner (Monterey)
James Bryant & Mary Hill of Carpe Diem Fine Books have been booksellers since 1995 and are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America. Located in a charming 1930s Carmel-stone building in historic downtown Monterey, Carpe Diem Fine Books offers a selection of out-of-print and out-of-the-ordinary books in all fields - with a special emphasis on the history and literature of California and the West. More than a bookshop, they also feature art and collectibles of the Monterey area.
Health & Wellness
Boxing Strong
Masha Cavazos, Owner (Monterey)
Masha Cavazos founded this business in July 2018 and it focuses on providing boxing and fitness training for all levels and populations: youth, adults, active Agers and kids with ASD. This is an authentic boxing training with a non-contact training module. Boxing Strong offered classes in various public/private schools as well as Castroville and previously in Carmel.
Monterey Bay Meditation Studio
Marianne Rowe & Katie Dutcher, Founding Teachers (Pacific Grove)
Katie and Marianne met through mutual friends and began the idea for the meditation studio a few months later. The meditation studio opened in January 2016 in Pacific Grove and has been going strong ever since.
If you know of any other women-owned businesses in Monterey County that should be on the list, please share their details with us via Info@SeeMonterey.com.
