Old Monterey District Blog

Sovino Wine Bar and Merchant is here for your quarantine needs with our Warehouse Sale! Why buy grocery store wine when you can support a small business and drink great wine at crazy prices? We are now offering complimentary delivery in Monterey and surrounding cities as well as $5 shipping when you order 3 bottles within California. Go to our website and check out our latest price sheet.

Prices will last until our current stock is gone. Call 831-641-9463 or e-mail us to place your order and make your payment. Not all wine is available in our online store due to limited quantity.

The City of Monterey has coordinated with the National Guard and has requested the food distribution of MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) during the shelter-in-place order. Each individual will receive a three day supply of non-perishable meals every three days on a recurring basis for the duration of the shelter-in-place order. The food distribution site will be available at ​El Estero Park near the Skate Park.

Several non-profits are also providing meal assistance throughout the week and on weekends at the Monterey Skate Park at El Estero (Saturdays, 9am), Window on the Bay (Sundays, 8am) and the Recreation Trail parking lot across from the Naval Postgraduate School (Mon-Fri, 11:15 am and Sun, 11 am)​.

The Monterey Food Bank has opened additional food distributions that it will post on its Facebook page​, or you can phone them at 831-758-1523.

Shoreline Community Church (2500 Garden Road) is distributing food on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12pm-2:30pm. (ID required, once per household per month).

The City of Monterey also wants you to know that people may always call 2-1-1 for assistance with food or other services.

It’s been over 20 days since Youth Arts Collective (YAC) had to shutter our studios in Downtown Old Monterey, but we didn’t disappear. We moved YAC’s program to an online clubhouse to keep them engaged with their art, each other, and their mentors. Mentors are currently working on demos and other videos, and we’re hoping to do some of our next Artist Interviews and Alumni Profiles in video format.

In addition, we have two Zoom meetups a week where we come together and do art while we talk… like an afternoon at YAC studios. It’s a touchstone in these weird times offering inspiration and comfort so they stay productive and a little less lonely. We also call every one of them every other week to check in personally and let them know we are here for them.

You can follow YAC on our usual Instagram and Facebook accounts where we’ll periodically share some of our clubhouse activity with YAC friends and supporters.

Since the YACsters are now adjusting to many hours a day online with their schoolwork, we are starting a new set of weekly (rather than daily) art prompts. And as an outreach to our community, we invite the public to join in. Stay tuned on our website - it starts this week and it’s going to be fun! Join us! All ages - artists and non-artists - are welcome.

Because of the coronavirus and the shelter-in-place order, the Intimacy, Sexuality, and Gender Center of Monterey is now offering all its group therapy sessions via live video. Please know that we are following California state guidelines and all our video chats are HIPPA compliant and private. A schedule of group therapy classes is below.

ISGC continues to accept new patients. During these difficult times, please do not be afraid to reach out. Let us help you help yourself, and make the most of the time at home. Please phone Wanda Braveman, patient advocate, at 831-375-7553 for an intake appointment.

ISGC's On-Going Group Therapy Sessions on Video Chat:

Especially for Men: Male Sexual Abuse Survivors' Group
Mondays, 6pm-8pm

Women's Date / Intimate Partner Rape Survivor Group
Tuesdays, 6pm-8pm

Care for Caregivers Monthly Group
3rd Wednesday of every month, 7pm-9pm

During Monterey County's shelter-in-place order, children 18 and younger can access food through a Monterey County school site - no questions asked. Here is a map of all the food distribution sites in Monterey County.

In the Monterey Peninsula Unifed School District, beginning March 30, 2020, the district will offer grab and go meals at 16 school sites, 10am-12pm, for students 18 and younger. The children do not need to be present - a parent or guardian can pick up the meals to take home to their kids.

Each meal will include lunch for the day and breakfast for the next day. Families can pick up meals at any location. Families will be asked to drive up, roll down their window and grab the meal. Families who need to walk up will be asked to observe social distancing protocols and line up at least 6 feet apart from others. Staff will hand the bagged meal from the top of the bag and families will be asked to grab the bag from the bottom of the bag to receive the meal.

During Monterey County's shelter-in-place order, the City of Monterey is conducting Operation Outreach, supporting Monterey's most vulnerable population to reduce the feeling of isolation during the COVID-19 emergency closure of facilities.

Just phone 831-646-3933 - Monterey Recreation and Monterey Public Library staff will be available to chat with those feeling isolated. Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, and Saturday, 10am-6pm.

Want to support small, locally-owned businesses? Buy a gift card...or two! As you probably know, small businesses in Old Monterey are really suffering during this coronavirus shutdown. Even in the best of times, running a small business is a challenge. The profit margins are small and the hours are long. Now restaurants are open only for take-out and delivery and retail stores and salons are closed entirely.

We've got to shelter-in-place to slow the Covid-19 pandemic. But if you're one of the lucky people whose bank account hasn't been destroyed by the events following the coronavirus outbreak, please consider supporting Old Monterey's temporarily shuttered businesses with the purchase of gift certificates you can use when they're able to re-open their doors. Look for the "Gift Certificates" button in each business profile.

Browse Gift Card Options

Don't see your favorite business listed in our Gift Card Directory? Contact them and ask. They'll be glad to hear from you.

Trader Joe's in Downtown Old Monterey has established exclusive shopping hours every day, 8am-9am, for local residents most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus such as senior citizens and those with compromised immune systems.

Trader Joe's asks all customers to respect these special hours and reserve this shopping time for those most at risk in our community. The store is located at 570 Munras Avenue.

I Will Repair, located at 474 Tyler Street in Old Monterey, is OPEN during the Shelter in Place order. I have transitioned my business model to include service and support for those who are forced to work from home. This also allows me to continue helping my community with their tech problems.

My schedule is varied so I ask that you call ahead, 831-290-8180, before visiting the shop as I may be out doing pick-ups and drop-offs for those customers who prefer not to leave their homes. I am offering a 10% discount on your first repair or service with I Will Repair.

I also continue to perform my duties as a UPS Access Point to provide my community with a safe and secure location where their packages will be held for up to 8 days. I look forward to helping where I can in these troubled times.

Steve Willey
Owner, I Will Repair, Monterey

Union Yoga is now offering daily streaming classes on Zoom! When you look at the schedule on our website, you'll find a sweet surprise. No longer are we bound by our teachers' proximity to the studio - both Annie Petersen and Jenn DiMeiro will be rejoining the studio staff! We have missed them SO much.

All classes will be offered via Zoom. To take a class, you must register at least one hour in advance of the start time on our website. This allows us to send everyone the Zoom link that is unique to your class. View our current rates here.

To join a class, you'll need to download the Zoom app onto your device. (You do not need to sign up for an account to attend a class, you just need the app.) Your current class package or Union Yoga Membership will apply. You will need to purchase your class before you sign up.

Approximately 45 minutes before the start of class, you will receive an email from FitGrid which will include the Zoom link. Your teacher may also add extra instructions. Please confirm that your email address in your MindBody/Union Yoga account is correct and you're o.k. to receive communications or you will not receive the class link. (If you do not receive the link, check your junk mail folder.)

Log in a few minutes before class and the teacher will start the session, linking everyone to the class. Keep in mind that the teacher has invited you into his/her home to practice and to have fun as a group. Please dress appropriately for a group class or keep your camera off. Dogs and cats are welcome to join!

Additional classes will be added in the coming days. As always, the class schedule is posted on Instagram Story each evening. If you have kids, Marybeth is teaching a Kids yoga class every weekday morning - find her on Instagram at @maybemurray.

We will also continue offering occasional Instagram Live classes. Vimeo meditation, flow, yin and therapeutics, trauma and addiction recovery focused classes will be arriving soon and available for members to access on demand.

This is, of course, a time where we really are forced to be with the present moment. What will get us through this is a practice of wellness and an intention to stay clear, agile, and kind.