District Blog

Christian Viollaz of Chez Christian Real Estate, located at 191 Lighthouse Avenue, Suite A3 in Monterey, is now offering free half-hour consultations to review your real estate options.

Home prices have now surpassed the last real estate bubble of 2005-06, and it's hard to tell how much time is left if we are in the middle of another bubble. Christian will review the good and the bad in the current market with you so you can make your own real estate decisions.

Please phone the office for an appointment, 831-393-0324.

Hula's Island Grill in Monterey is dog friendly...if your dog is friendly! Your well-behaved pup is welcome on our outdoor patio in the back. Just give us a call and make a reservation so we're sure to have a table ready for you, 831-655-4852.

Hula's Island Grill is open at 622 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey for outdoor dining, limited indoor dining, take-out, and curbside pick-up.

First Awakenings has opened at 300 David Avenue in Monterey! That's right, they've moved out of the American Tin Cannery and gone up the street to the corner of David and Lighthouse.

Since 1993, this family-owned, family-friendly restaurant has been wowing locals and visitors alike with their amazing breakfasts and lunches. It's old-fashioned American home cooking done right.

First Awakenings now offers outdoor dining, limited indoor dining, and take-out. Hours are Monday - Friday, 7am-2pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 7am-2:30pm. There is ample parking onsite and dogs are welcome on the outdoor patio.

Want to dine in? Join their waitlist through Yelp, which will allow you to see how long your wait will be during busy times - they'll text you when your table's ready. Meanwhile, you can enjoy New Monterey's Lighthouse District!

Musicians and poets are welcome to join Bon Ton L'Roy's Open Mic Night every Thursday at 7pm for a fun, low-key evening of originals and covers.

Bon Ton L'Roy's Lighthouse Smokehouse is located at 794 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey. Indoor seating is limited; outdoor seating is also available.

Alligator, the legendary Blues, Zydeco, and Cajun guitar and fiddle player, returns to Bon Ton L'Roy's Lighthouse Smokehouse for a belated Mardi Gras Party on Saturday, April 10 at 7pm. Come enjoy a night of live music and the great food and drink of New Orleans.

Limited indoor and outdoor seating available. Please call for reservations, 831-375-6958. Bon Ton L'Roy's is located at 794 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

Monterey's locally-owned Escape Room 831 has reopened at 599 Lighthouse Avenue and 765 Wave Street. We have some wonderfully fun, creative rooms available for you!

Rest assured that the owners of Escape Room 831 have been working diligently with City, County, and State officials to provide the safest possible environment. All necessary protocols for everyone’s safety are being followed. Not only are all rooms now private, we leave one hour between bookings to clean. Are you ready to sign up? Please visit our website.

Please know there are some conditions that must be met when playing with us. No exceptions.

1) You must wear a mask at all times inside our building.

2) You must maintain social distance from our Game Masters and you must wash your hands and/or sanitize upon arrival.

3) If you have been ill or felt sick anytime in the last 10 days – please cancel your reservation.

Questions? Feel free to call us at 831-241-6616.

Do you want to further your knowledge of SCUBA diving, but you're not sure which specialty class to start with? Take Bamboo Reef Dive Shop's NAUI Advanced Open Water Course and gain experience in six different specialties!
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Learn more about shore diving, night diving, navigation, search and recovery, deep diving, and boat diving. Getting your Advanced Open Water certification with Bamboo Reef will challenge you physically and mentally, better preparing you for an array of advanced dives. Learn more on our website.

Bamboo Reef Dive Shop is located at 614 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

Please note: to take this course you must be an Open Water Diver or higher and be at least 15 years old. Taking the Advanced Open Water certification course does not certify you for the specialties listed above. Additional training is required.

Monterey Bay Aquarium is very excited to open our doors to the public on May 15. We're looking for individuals who are passionate about inspiring conservation of the ocean to join our team!

We have seasonal and limited full-time opportunities in the following roles: guest experience representative, guest support services (custodial), and security officer.

The Aquarium will be hosting a virtual job fair via Zoom on Wednesday, April 14, 4:30pm-7:30pm. If you are interested in interviewing for any of our available roles, we invite you to sign up for a 10-minute interview time slot.

Please read complete instructions and sign up for a time slot on this page.

Hula’s Monterey is hiring! We are looking for lovely people to be part of our family, our clan, our tribe, our pod. We are joyful, outgoing, and friendly. If that sounds like you, come talk with us. We're looking for people with well-rounded hospitality experience and a knowledge of food, service, and cocktails. We celebrate diversity. Applicants must have open availability.

Hula's Island Grill is located at 622 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey. Our phone number is 831-655-4852.

The Monterey County Health Department has verified that Monterey County will move into California’s Covid-19 Orange Tier as of Wednesday, April 7. What that means is businesses, residents, and visitors, working in partnership with the City of Monterey, have demonstrated their commitment to safety and health protocols and all of us are benefiting from it. Thanks to all of you!

With Orange Tier status:

**Restaurants can increase indoor seating to 50% capacity

**Retail stores can increase indoor shopping to 100% capacity

**Gyms and fitness studios can welcome people indoors up to 25% capacity

**Family entertainment centers can open indoors up to 25% capacity

**Museums and the Aquarium can open for indoor visitors up to 50% capacity

**Bars not serving meals can open outdoors with modifications

**Wineries, breweries, and distilleries can open indoors up to 25% capacity

Everyone, please keep up the good work! Continue to wear your face mask and socially distance so that we can continue to move forward to fewer restrictions and increased activity.

In an official poll conducted by our website staff, New Monterey's Lighthouse District has been voted Best Darned Business District.

"We've got style, we've got fantastic food, and we've got an amazing sense of community," said a local employee who would only speak on condition of anonymity for fear of offending her mother in Old Monterey, her brother in Pacific Grove, and her cousin on Cannery Row. "Lighthouse is the little district that could. We're number one!"

Reached for comment, Buddy the basset hound said, "Woof!" Our translators tell us that means, "I want a sweet potato fry from Hula's."

Happy first day of April, everybody. Thanks for riding out this pandemic with us. It's not over yet, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep your masks on and keep the faith.

In celebration of Monterey's entry into the less restrictive Red Tier of Covid regulations, New Monterey's Lighthouse District has updated our online Dining Guide!

Wondering where you can eat indoors, outdoors, or get great take-out or curbside pick-up? Trying to figure out your favorite restaurant's current hours? It's all right here.

The Dining Guide's "Dine-in" category includes all establishments offering indoor or outdoor dining. Just click on a specific restaurant in any category to see the specific dining options available there, hours of operation, and food photos. (Yum!)