Oldtown’s La Cantina Brewing Marks Grand Opening Friday

January 18, 2022 – There are a lot of things—with a lot of sizzle—suddenly happening at 165 Main St. and wider Oldtown Salinas in general.

At 165 Main, La Cantina Brewing Company is ready to let the good times and bold flavor flow—and bring a new element to Oldtown Salinas’ burgeoning craft beerscape along the way.

Amid all the moving parts, the most compelling thing about La Cantina are the artisan beers with West Coast principles and a deeply Mexican soul—think tamarind-infused pilsners, horchata stouts and a collaboration with Mr. Clamato called Ay! Chavela.

LCBC founder, brewer and president Horacio Davila happens to do them so well La Cantina sold out of their entire stock during its soft opening weekend, and decided to schedule week two’s return this Friday so it had time to brew enough reinforcements. (They’ll mark their official grand opening Jan. 21 with live music from the Isaiah Pickett Band starting at 9pm.)

“They cleaned us out in one weekend,” says co-owner/operator Jorge Segura. “I know our beer has some demand, but…”

La Cantina’s arrival means a key Main Street spot, the former Monterey Coast Brewing Company, has found a new existence, and one that’s adding to the literal—and figurative—revival of the historic downtown. 

It sits a jaunt down the block from two massive developments under construction: 1) chic residential units and Alvarado Street Brewing on Main in the former RaboBank, and 2) a yet-unannounced multi-use project in the similarly huge Dick Bruhn building.

Those represent chunks of the literal side of Oldtown’s ongoing reconstruction. The retooling of the La Cantina property is more cosmetic than structural. (Some other recent neighboring additions to note: Mangia Eat and Drink on Main, youthful Daruma Sushi and hard-to-believe James Dean Burgers and More.)

That’s a good thing. Instead of knocking down walls and assembling expensive brewing equipment, the team at La Cantina can focus on deepening staff development and deciding which flavors to tap at its opening.

“We’re trying to develop a fun culture with our staff, creating a place to be, and that involves training them on who we are and what our beer represents,” says co-owner-operator Adrian Lopez. “That will bring the kind of local clientele, community and brew enthusiasts we want.”

With dozens of flavor formulas in the bank, Davila’s eager to continue throwing new flavor profiles at his audience.

“There are so many I haven’t released,” he says, citing 51 recipes total.

On the atmospheric design front, La Cantina wanted to keep the overall feel of the previous space, but updates in place evolve the aesthetics and flow in most every direction. 

All the high-top tables and stools are new or refurbished. The long bar has been redone too. The partition dividing the floor has gone bye-bye, as have the pew-style booths on the west side of the space, and questionable carpeting (the latter replaced by vinyl and resurfaced wood). A projection screen descends on the wall in the back for moments like last weekend’s San Francisco 49ers playoff win.

New signage appears etched in the mirror above the long and shiny bar, and on the tall brick wall above colorful renderings of LCB’s beer labels. Glowing upright coolers present bright labels on tallboys like Lock Down Quarantine #2 Double Hazy (one of four pandemic beers in a series) and a SAS green apple sour. 

The working side of the brewery awaits duty until the boiler is replaced and some other smaller fixes take hold. Up to that point La Cantina will contract with Buena Vista Brewing in Santa Cruz, which has earned a fervent following with its own take on character and heritage-rich beers. 

Beyond collaborating on the regular, BVB rented Davila the brewing equipment and space to hone his craft over the last year. Those first waves of La Cantina went almost entirely wholesale to places like Fourth Street Tap House in Gonzales, 18th Barrel in San Juan Bautista and Taste of Pinnacles in Soledad.

“Buena Vista’s guys are the ones who made it possible to make the step from home brewer to professional brewer,” Davila says.

During soft opening all 13 taps flowed and all ran dry, but Davila feels confident he’ll have them reloaded by Friday, including flagship brews like a pineapple-infused pilsner named Piolita and a best-selling Vampiro inspired by the legendary Mexican cocktail. 

“I would describe La Cantina as a Mexican brewery trying to express the flavors of my childhood—guayaba, tamarind, horchata, sour green Jolly Ranchers—and my heritage and my culture,” he says. “I know we like to say ‘Latino,’ but I say Mexican-owned, Mexican-driven, Mexican-ambition, Mexican everything.” 

Segura and his wife Jennifer, who also have Vines and Pints in Gilroy in development, provide more industry experience beyond beer. Jennifer, a Salinas Valley wine country native, is designing the wine list after spending her career in the industry and studying agriculture at UC Davis. 

When I stopped by the day before Friday’s debut a group of new staffers was gathered for a training session. They listened intently as she led part of what will amount to two weeks of training with a wine tasting and a pep talk.

“We want you to thrive here,” she said. “If you can thrive here, La Cantina can too.”

To pair with the wines, beers and other drink specials (weekend mimosas!), a limited menu overseen by Jennifer will keep things simple to start: tacos (asada, al pastor, shrimp and Baja-style fish), wings (Buffalo, barbecue, mango-habanero and chile verde), and “original” loaded La Cantina fries with pico de gallo, aioli, cheese and optional meats. 

For the Cantina team, the strong roster of nearby beer-inspired businesses—Farmers Union Pour House, Beerded Bean and XL Public House, with Brew-N-Krew Ale House and ASB on Main to come—furnishes part of the inspiration to go beyond beer. 

“Being here, surrounded with a ton of really good breweries and talent, we have to find ways to stand out,” Lopez says. “We’re concentrating a lot on how we make the place fun and inviting.” 

Davila’s favorite part of the process has been…the process.

“The fun part of this brewery is the journey, taking something as a hobby, not a job, and getting more serious in a fun way,” he says. “This industry is very fun.”

Jorge Segura focuses on fun when he’s asked what he’s most excited about. 

“The people, the vibe, how downtown is thriving,” he says. “Salinas on a Friday night is something. There are so many places to bar-hop.”

When it comes to what he’s most proud of, Davila says it’s “the acceptance.”

“For all the craft beer connoisseurs out there to accept something unique, something very different, is nice,” he says. “We do follow the base lines of craft beers, but up from that it’s festivities and translating the flavors of my hometown of Guadalajara in Jalisco. It’s all very rewarding.” 

La Cantina Brewing Company’s grand opening is Friday, Jan. 21. From there, introductory hours are 11am-9pm Tuesday-Thursday, 11am-11pm Friday-Saturday, and 11am-6pm Sunday. More at La Cantina’s Instagram page.