Old Monterey District Blog

Did you know that Slowfiber in Downtown Old Monterey creates their own patch kits? Your jeans are worth saving and these small, beautifully-curated collections of cloth and embellishments are meant to linger in your mending box so you have a repair kit for your pants as they slowly wear thin from years of love.

The content of each patch kit is always changing, but the themes are consistent: Romantic, Spring, Fall, Americana, and Boro. Patch kits may contain cotton, wool, velvet, linen, and/or denim as well as embroidery floss, ribbon, and/or rick-rack. Cultivate your personal style!

Slowfiber's patch kits are now available for purchase on our website and in our shop at 517B Hartnell Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

Montrio Bistro, located at 414 Calle Principal, is pleased to announce that Rory Filbin has been promoted to the position of General Manager. He is a longtime, dedicated employee of the Downtown Dining restaurant family; he spent 6 years working with Tarpy’s and 10 years with Rio Grill. Rory’s ongoing commitment and passion for the restaurants and wine programs have earned him this exciting position.

This change, along with Debbie Edwards’s promotion to Vice President of all three Downtown Dining restaurants, is part of an ongoing strategy by owners Ken and Mona Donkersloot. They are striving to create the best possible guest experience at the restaurants by building teams who are multi-talented, motivated, and passionate in their work. Congratulations to Rory and Debbie!

As Rory and Debbie step into their new roles, longtime General Manager at Montrio Bistro, Kathy Solley, is moving on from the restaurant. Kathy has been with Montrio for 20 years and has been integral to its success and function as a pillar of the local restaurant community. Montrio Bistro wishes Kathy all the best as she pivots to her next opportunity and thank her for her years of commitment to the restaurant.

We are living in different times, and with that comes a different set of standards and responsibilities. At Principal Beauty, offering professional eyelash extensions, lash refills, and lash extension removal, owner Mariam Shatilova takes the safety and health of her clients seriously.

At Principal Beautiy's new location at 479 Pacific Street, Suite 2, Mariam is doing everything she can to protect her clients. She is going above and beyond California state protocols, serving only one client at a time and only accepting 2-3 clients per day, so there's plenty of time for sanitizing, cleaning, and refreshing the air in the room between clients. In addition, she provides FDA-approved hand sanitizer, masks, and gloves for every client and takes your temperature at check-in.

Life is not quite back to normal, but you can get your lashes back. To set up your appointment please visit the Principal Beauty website or text 831-200-3237.

Slowfiber, located at 517B Hartnell Street in Downtown Old Monterey, now carries heavyweight organic cotton thread made by Fiberactive Organics. This long-stapled cotton comes in 300 meter spools and is great for topstitching, sashiko, and buttons.

Slowfiber offers sewing tools, notions, cloth, and yarn plus classes, mendbars, masks, and mask maker supplies.

The City of Monterey invites residents and local businesses to join us for Monterey Mornings with the Manager on Thursday, July 2 at 9am, broadcast live on YouTube. Join City Manager Hans Uslar for an update on Covid-19 in Monterey as well as a discussion of programs, projects, and policies affecting the City of Monterey.

You can submit your questions via e-mail or ask live on YouTube. Can't make it at 9am on Thursday? The presentation will be available on demand on the City's YouTube channel following the event.

Parker-Lusseau Pastries & Cafe, located at 539 Hartnell Street in Downtown Old Monterey, is offering Brioches Vendéennes on Fridays! They sell small loaves, large rounds, and half rounds. This special bread, rich in eggs and sugar, has all natural ingredients, no additives, and still tastes fresh a week later thanks to the triple fermentation. It's well worth the wait!

Osio Theater is offering new independent films to rent and screen at home! View the list of currently available and upcoming films here. A portion of the proceeds from your rental benefits Osio. For general technical support on how to view your rental on your smart TV or device, please visit Osio's Streaming Support Page.

VIRTUAL SCREENINGS BEGINNING JUNE 26, 2020

SHIRLEY
Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begins to toy mercilessly with the naIve young couple at their door. Watch the trailer.

THE LAST TREE
Femi is a British teenage boy of Nigerian descent who, after a happy childhood in rural Lincolnshire with his white foster mother, moves to inner London to live with his Nigerian mum. Struggling with the unfamiliar culture and values of his new environment, Femi has to figure out which path to adulthood he wants to take, and what it means to be a young black man in London. Watch the trailer.

QUARANTINE CAT FILM FESTIVAL
Amateur filmmakers from around the world filmed their beloved cats during Covid-19 stay-at-home orders. This compilation reel brings together the cutest, funniest, bravest and most loving of these videos, exclusively filmed during the pandemic. 50% of your rental fee directly supports Osio Theater. Watch the trailer.

CRSHD
This inventive, female-driven sex comedy follows college freshman Izzy and her two best friends, Anuka and Fiona, as they embark on a journey to get Izzy to a "crush party" so she can lose her virginity before the end of the semester. The acclaimed feature film debut of writer/director Emily Cohn, CRSHD tells a hilarious, unique story about navigating the messy ups and downs of life and love in the age of social media. Watch the trailer.

ON A MAGICAL NIGHT
In this playful new film we meet Maria, a woman dissatisfied with her marriage who, after a heated argument with her husband of 20 years, spends the night in a hotel room across the street from their home. There, she has a bird's eye view of her apartment, her husband, and her marriage. In this comic romp, she confronts her past lovers and relationships on...Read More

What are your rights as a tenant or property owner under Monterey County’s Eviction Moratorium? ECHO Housing is offering free weekly webinars that will walk you through local and state protections, resources for tenants and property owners, and more.

Live webinars are scheduled on Thursday, June 25 and Thursday, July 2, at 5:30pm. Advance registration required. Please sign up online here for June 25 and here for July 2.

ECHO Housing is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. ECHO's goal is to promote equal access in housing and provide support services which aid in the prevention of homelessness and promote permanent housing conditions. Learn more about ECHO's events and services on their website.

Let's spread some sunshine! Why not drop off a cute little bag of cookies from Paris Bakery to your neighbor or loved one this weekend? They're not only pretty, they're delicious!

A family-owned business founded in 1985, Paris Bakery is located at 271 Bonifacio Place in Downtown Old Monterey.

Haute Beauty Guide is the home of skin care services, lash extensions, and a great little retail store full of skin care items, home decor, and fun stuff for kids! And it just so happens that owner, Doran, has a ton of new baby, toddler, and kids' gear coming in every day.

Take, for example, these kid-sized teepees, which are made in Redding, California. Doran's daughter thinks it's the best place to read books to her stuffed animals. The first batch sold out but more will arrive next week.

You can purchase this and many other wonderful things at Haute Beauty Guide's retail shop, located at 71 Pearl Street in Downtown Old Monterey, or buy it on Haute Beauty Guide's online store.

Recently, Monterey County Health Department has lifted more business restrictions. We are happy to report that fitness studios, skin care spas, nail salons, wax bars, tattoo parlors, and massage therapy studios are now permitted to open for business. Likewise, hotels are now able to welcome visitors for tourism.

As reopening a business with many new safety protocols during a pandemic can be challenging, we encourage you to contact your beauty or personal service provider to see when they're reopening and make your appointment.

Welcome back to Downtown Old Monterey! When visiting, please remember to maintain physical distancing and wear a face mask. (Be a hero!)

Om Studios, located at 631 Cass Street in Downtown Old Monterey, is happy to announce that we've reopened! We’ve made lots of modifications to ensure the safest possible environment for our Om students and staff. Here are some of the steps we're taking:

Due to strict social distancing guidelines, our yoga class capacity will be 10 students and Pilates class capacity will be 5 students. Our barre studio is a smaller space, so we are still working on adding barre classes back in slowly. All classes will require online preregistration in order to attend.

We are instituting temperature checks for all staff and students. We are not admitting any student or employee with a temperature over 100.0*F. If you have experienced any Covid-19-like symptoms, we ask that you please stay home and return when you are well.

We are temporarily suspending community rental mats and props - please bring your own props and mat. We are continuing to sanitize floors and surfaces before and after each class with hospital grade disinfectant and we’re keeping the studio squeaky clean.

We will be leaving the front doors open for Pilates classes and the sky light windows open in the yoga room for fresh air flow, so wear layers!

Teachers will not be offering hands-on assists at this time and will be staying at least 6 feet away from students while teaching.

Masks must be worn during check in and in public spaces, but you can take off your mask when you get to your mat.

Any cancellations made less than 4 hours before class time will result in a $25 late cancellation fee or you will lose a class from your class card.

Are you not quite ready to come back to public classes? No problem! We are now offering 4 private sessions a month (one a week) for $75 a session. Your private class can include up to three students so you can share pricing with a family member or close friend. Please e-mail us to schedule a recurring appointment for your private session.

Principal Beauty has reopened and moved our studio to 479 Pacific Street, Suite 2. At Principal Beauty, owner Mariam Shatilova and her team offer lash extensions, lash refills, lash extension removal, lash care, facials, professional makeup application, and makeup lessons. The safety of clients is their top priority. To make an appointment, please phone 831-200-3237, or visit the website.

The City of Monterey and the American Red Cross have five monthly blood drives scheduled at El Estero Park Center at 777 Pearl Street in Monterey:

Wednesday, July 1
Wednesday, August 26
Wednesday, September 23
Wednesday, October 28
Tuesday, November 17

To donate blood on any of these dates, please schedule your appointment online here or call 1-800 RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Because of Covid-19, no walk-in appointments will be accepted - you must schedule your appointment in advance.

Code Ninjas Monterey is holding free Overwatch e-sports league tryouts for the Monterey Bay Whales fall season team on August 15 and 22, 2pm-5pm. It's an amazing opportunity for children ages 8-14 with a passion for fun, friendly, and cooperative gaming. No prior experience is necessary.

Overwatch is an online multiplayer e-sports game played on the PC. The league is approved for ages 8-14. Twelve players will receive an invite after our tryouts. Players will receive team jerseys and team swag. League pricing will be explained during tryouts.

The season will run 8 weeks, including a 2-week playoff. Games will be played each Saturday or Sunday, August - October, 2020. HP-Omen Gaming Laptops are provided, and are the preferred sponsor of the Overwatch Professional League. Parent involvement is highly encouraged. Teams will be coached by Center Director Julian Torres, and Sensei Bogdan Grots.

If you have questions please email us or phone us at 831-200-3924. You can sign up for a free tryout online. Code Ninjas is located at 469 Pacific Street in Downtown Old Monterey.