Crema announces closure and teases new chapter

UPDATED August 22, 2020 – On Monday afternoon, the phones of local foodies buzzed with news breaking on Instagram that beloved brunch spot Crema will be closing at the end of next month. 

In an honest and heartfelt video, owner Tamie Aceves shared her heartbreaking decision to close the popular Pacific Grove eatery after eight years—the latest in the growing list of establishments felled by the coronavirus crisis.

Crema cultivated a passionate following among locals and regularly landed on “best-of” lists for its brunch favorites like chicken and waffles, huevos rancheros, Bloody Marys and bottomless mimosas. Before the coronavirus pandemic, most weekends saw long lines of eager epicures lined up for brunch in the cozy cottage’s many rooms.

How could such a popular spot cave?

“It became fiscally untenable to stay,” says Aceves.

Like many local restaurants, Crema was forced to adapt to state and county restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. The eatery moved to outdoor dining and takeout, which dramatically reduced capacity. “We went from 110 seats to 36. We have the most amazing supporters, but it’s still just 36 seats,” explains Aceves. Reduced capacity naturally meant reduced revenue. Aceves sought rent relief until Crema could resume indoor dining, but negotiations with her landlord stalled.

Aceves describes a “perfect storm” of factors contributing to her decision to close Crema. “It’s a building that takes a lot of staff. The building’s layout—which makes so much of its charm—requires 25% more staff.” Coupled with high fixed costs for utilities and insurance, without rent relief, the future looked bleak. 

“No matter how I crunched the numbers, there was no way we could sustain it,” she explains, choking back tears. “I had to make a smart fiscal choice. It came from my brain, not from my heart. My heart said I’m never going to leave this space.”

So with a heavy heart, Aceves plans to shutter Crema at the end of September. “I’m a wreck—I cried all day yesterday,” she says.

But there’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

Earlier this spring, Aceves answered the City of Pacific Grove’s request for proposals for concessions at the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links. The city was looking for a new operator for the Point Pinos Grill. “Honestly, I wasn’t interested at first. I had Crema and my catering company,” Aceves recalls. “I thought, ‘I’m way too busy! I can’t do this right now.’ But then come April and May, all my catering was canceled. I thought, ‘Maybe I should go for it?’”

Citing her work at Crema and at the month-old Lucy’s on Lighthouse, plus her successful luxury catering company La Crème Hospitality, Aceves was excited by the opportunity to transform an overlooked location into a dining destination. “I have a vision that could create a cool scene here.”

She got to work on a proposal for a new restaurant at the golf course—The Grill at Point Pinos.

After reviewing past Yelp reviews and interviewing locals, Aceves saw two complaints rise to the top—a lack of value and lack of quick food. Her proposal aims to meet those needs first and foremost. She teases a fast casual concept with a selection of healthy grab-and-go items—like wraps and acai bowls—that makes use of the pick-up window for golfers on the go. Aceves also sees an opportunity to make a vibrant social scene here with evening happy hour featuring cocktails and small bites.

Aceves is quick to emphasize plans for The Grill at Point Pinos were well underway before the decision to close Crema. “It wasn’t that I was ever going to move Crema here. Crema is Crema—these were two completely different concepts. There will be another time for Crema, but that’s not what’s happening here.”

But with Crema’s closure, Aceves is making tweaks to the concept. Breakfast hadn’t been part of her original proposal because she didn’t want to compete with Crema. Now, she’s adding plans for full-service breakfast—rooted in Crema’s popular brunch cocktail list—and espresso. Could some of the popular brunch favorites return here? Aceves underscores it’s too soon to say yet, but doesn’t rule it out. “It’s another Covid pivot, really. If I have a really great product at Crema and I lose that location, why would I not move that product—or part of it—over here?”

While she laments the loss of Crema, Aceves is excited by the possibilities at The Grill at Point Pinos, which has a larger kitchen space that affords opportunities to grow the menu, “Space was such an issue for us with Crema’s kitchen. Here we can expand and give more options.”

For now, Aceves is still waiting for approval from the Pacific Grove City Council for the go-ahead on taking over concessions at the golf course. The city will begin looking at the proposal at its meeting Wednesday, September 2. Supporters are urged to attend the meeting via Zoom to voice support virtually or send a letter to citycouncil@cityofpacificgrove.org. 

In the meantime, Aceves promises Crema will go out with a bang. She’s back in the kitchen for the restaurant’s final weeks and hints at special promotions on social media for both loyal followers and new friends.

Crema is the latest—and possibly most high-profile—coronavirus closure in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. The pandemic has hit Pacific Grove eateries especially hard—Holly’s Lighthouse Cafe, Cream and Crumbles, and Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company all closed in downtown PG earlier this summer, as did Alberto’s Ristorante in Pacific Grove’s Forest Hill neighborhood.

Asked what can be done to save other small, independent restaurants from closing during this unprecedented pandemic, Aceves recalls Pacific Grove’s short-lived al fresco dining district. 

She recognizes it wasn’t a popular solution and the out-of-the-box idea made some uncomfortable, “You hear, ‘This is the way it’s always been,’ but we have to be brave and look outside the box because things are never going to be ‘the way it’s always been’ again.” Aceves encourages cities and businesses to be brave, be bold and stay flexible to secure a future for the independent restaurants that form the backbone of the economies of small cities across the county and country.

Crema • 481 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove • 831-324-0347, cremapg.com • Open 8am-2pm Thursday-Monday for outdoor dining and takeout.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said Point Pinos Grill had closed. Although the restaurant’s website says “Sorry, we have closed,” Alethea Cusimano—director of catering for Ardent Culinaire—contacted EMB to say her company is operating the restaurant and that they are open seven days a week. Cusimano reports they are running an improved and profitable business at Point Pinos Grill “without the food and service issues that plagued the previous operator, Aqua Terra Culinary.”