On Saturday afternoon, November 14, Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company at The Crossroads Carmel will have live music, drink specials, giveaways and sweet treats from 1 to 4 p.m. It's a thank-you party. In a message posted on The Crossroads' events page, owners Dean and Janet McAthie address readers of the Carmel Pine Cone: "Thank you for recognizing us as Carmel's most beloved coffee and coffeehouse. You are the heart of our business, and our team of 40+ dedicated coffee professionals is the soul."
That party opens the season, and it shows how the season is put together. Most of what's on the calendar at the shopping villages where Highway 1 meets Rio Road comes from the businesses themselves: a coffeehouse, a winery tasting room, a pet store, and shops dressing their own windows. And most of it happens on a Saturday.
The Calendar, Saturday by Saturday
Here is The Crossroads' published schedule for the rest of the year, as posted at the end of October.
Date | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
Saturday, Nov. 14, 1–4 p.m. | Thank-you celebration with live music, drink specials, giveaways and treats | Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company |
Saturday, Nov. 14, 4–6 p.m. | Chowder and sandwiches from S&M's Chowder Hut, for wine club members and guests only | Taste Morgan |
Monday, Nov. 16, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. | "Star of the Store" pet photo contest | Pet Food Express |
Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. | Free Paw Print Paint Party | Pet Food Express |
Saturday, Nov. 21, noon–2 p.m. | Golden Oldies Cat Rescue adoption event | Pet Food Express |
Saturday, Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday with festive decor, strolling carolers and in-store specials | Throughout the center |
Every Saturday, Nov. 28–Dec. 19, noon–4 p.m. | Strolling seasonal carolers | Along Crossroads Boulevard and in shops |
Throughout the season | Holiday window decorating contest for charity | Participating storefronts |
Every dated event on the table falls on a Saturday except the November 16 photo contest.
Each Saturday has its own focus. November 14 is about food and drink. While the coffee celebration is winding down, Taste Morgan closes its tasting room to everyone but Morgan Wine Club members and their guests. S&M's Clam Chowder Hut serves chowder and sandwiches alongside Morgan wines, with gluten-free and vegetarian options. If you aren't a member, it's still useful to know the tasting room will be closed to the public late that afternoon.
On November 21, the pets take over. Pet Food Express is hosting a free paint project you do together with your pet, with all supplies provided. Golden Oldies Cat Rescue overlaps it with an adoption event from noon to 2 p.m. The group takes in cats who are entering, or already in, their "golden years," places them in temporary foster care, and then finds them permanent homes. Five days earlier, on Monday, November 16, the same store runs its "Star of the Store" photo contest. Each store's winner gets a free pet wash, and every local winner goes into a grand prize drawing for a professional photo shoot.
Carolers fill the four Saturdays from November 28 through December 19. The center describes them walking along Crossroads Boulevard and stopping in at shops from noon to 4 p.m. They start on Small Business Saturday, which this year falls two days after Thanksgiving and comes with festive decor and specials at several stores.
The Windows Are the Tenants' Contribution, Too
The window contest runs underneath the whole season. It's the clearest case of the stores building the holidays themselves. Participating shops design their own displays, which stay up all season. A panel of judges, whose names aren't released, picks first, second and third place. The winning businesses get prizes that include a donation to the local charity of their choice.
So the windows you pass on the way to the carolers are entries, and some of what they win goes back into the community. Visit on more than one Saturday and you'll see more of them. They don't all go up on the same day, and the carolers give you four chances to walk the full length of the boulevard.
Sweet Reba's Is Part of the Walk Again
One of the storefronts along that walk had a hard first half of the year. Sweet Reba's bakery at 206 Crossroads Blvd. was damaged in a fire in February. Monterey County NOW later reported that the bakery would welcome guests again starting Tuesday, July 14, though the team still had recovery work ahead. The Salinas location stayed open the whole time. The bakery's own website lists the Carmel address among its locations. This will be its first holiday season back on the boulevard since the fire.
Across Rio Road, the Change Happened at the Tables
The Crossroads' season builds on tenants that have been there a while. The Barnyard Shopping Village, across Rio Road, spent the year taking in new ones, and the biggest changes were in its dining rooms.
Hatch Southwest Kitchen took over the former Robata Grill & Sake Bar space at 3658 The Barnyard. Monterey County NOW announced its grand opening celebration for Monday, February 9. Edible Monterey Bay named the team behind it as Stephen Wilson, Kristen Ridout and Wilson's brother Jamie, with chef Humberto Jimenez in the kitchen. The Barnyard's homepage describes the menu as New Mexico-inspired plates and house-made salsas.
Niran Indian Kitchen is the new name coming to the former Aabha Indian Cuisine. Monterey County NOW reported in October that Subash Subba Chongbang, who also owns Namaste India Bistro in Monterey, took over the Barnyard location at the start of the month and began renovating it for the rebrand.
Post No Bills, the beer house, said in March that its Barnyard location would close at the end of that month, KSBW reported. The Barnyard's dining roster no longer lists it.
The newer arrivals aren't all restaurants:
- Carmel Groomers opened at The Barnyard on January 5, according to the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.
- ModFruit is listed by the center as a shop for vintage and artisan-curated home goods and gifts.
- Pieces of Heaven Fine Chocolates, which sells handmade chocolates, sweet treats and ice cream, is listed as under new management.
The Barnyard's dated November listing is a weekday. A Patrick James trunk show is set for Friday, November 13, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. O'Callaghan's keeps its regular events every Friday and Saturday. Carmel Groomers on one side of Rio Road and the Pet Food Express events on the other make the two centers a practical pairing for anyone with a dog to look after this month.
Planning a Saturday Around Both Sides of Rio Road
The two centers are short walks apart, and the calendars line up well enough to plan a day around:
- November 14. Coffee and music at Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company from 1 to 4 p.m., then lunch or an early dinner across the road at Hatch. Wine club members can stay for chowder at Taste Morgan from 4 to 6 p.m.
- November 21. Bring the dog to the Paw Print Paint Party at Pet Food Express in the morning, or stop by the Golden Oldies Cat Rescue adoption hours from noon to 2 p.m.
- November 28. Small Business Saturday and the first afternoon of carolers. It's a good day to see the window displays early in the season.
- December 5, 12 and 19. Carolers on Crossroads Boulevard from noon to 4 p.m. each Saturday, with the window contest still running.
Calendars like these come together over months of work by the people who run the shops, and the people at Monterey Coast Realty follow them the same way neighbors do. If you'd like to talk about the part of Carmel around Rio Road, or anywhere else on the Peninsula, we're happy to hear from you. Contact Us.
