Pacific Grove, a city of roughly 15,000 people, once had the nickname “America’s Last Hometown,” following its roots as a late 1800s Methodist retreat center. In the 20th century, it was dubbed "Butterfly Town, USA" for its monarch migrations.
But the quaint coastal community also holds the distinction of being California's last dry town, for upholding the state's Prohibition-era ban on booze longer than any other city.
Today, downtown Pacific Grove—or PG—is home to a buzzing nightlife scene.
When Pop and Hiss opened in 2024, it ushered in this new chapter for the once-sleepy town.
"For the first year—I think two or three times a day—I would hear, 'oh my God, in Pacific Grove?'" said Pete Regan, who has been part of Pop and Hiss since the beginning. "It seems to have broken the mold in some way."
Regan says working at a record store was always on his bucket list, but the combination of live music bar and record shop really drew him in. After he became a familiar face, owner Michaela Kuenster put him to work moving chairs.
"Then one day the DJ didn't show up—then I'm DJing. Then one day the barback didn't show up, so I'm doing that," said Regan. "I just love the place. I think it's important."
A former piano teacher on the Monterey Peninsula, Kuenster designed Pop and Hiss as a family-friendly music space nourishing a wide range of interests. She made that happen by securing a state permit that allows the overlap of alcohol sales and kids at music venues.
Pacific Grove's deputy city manager, Joyce Halabi, says the hotspot's success sparked a wave of interest in city administrative use permits. These grant businesses permission to keep music and spirits flowing.
"The first one that pops in my mind is Pop and Hiss. And then from there we saw Hops and Fog, PG Meetinghouse, which was a previous business, but expanded," said Halabi.
While these venues are not nightclubs, they ushered in new noise ordinance discussions. A year ago, the PG city council took an initial vote to raise noise levels for music downtown and Halabi says they haven’t set a date to revisit the topic.
While Pop and Hiss has faced noise complaints, the newest addition to PG's growing nightlife scene had a much smoother time securing a city permit. Scott Soifer owns the PG Meetinghouse, formerly Juice 'n Java, and celebrated the opening of the venue's full bar last month.
“Pacific Grove is not the town from 30 years ago," said Soifer, who grew up visiting Pacific Grove as a kid in the 1970s.
Soifer opened the Meetinghouse in 2023 and recently remodeled the space and expanded the business model at the request of regulars and with help from the general manager, Valerie Martin. "For us it was more—how do we learn how to do this...in Pacific Grove's new energy and new emerging context where all these night spots are happening?"
On Valentine’s Day, the Meetinghouse hosted their first themed event with cocktails flowing and heart shaped balloons and sparkly rose petals in every direction. Love Hurts, a tattoo arts show, featured more than a dozen local artists and attracted over 300 visitors.
“On a Sunday, we've got a jazz band made up of high school kids with their dad playing drums," said Soifer. "Tonight we're having a tattoo art show. Both of those communities are reflected in Pacific Grove and have been for many, many years, and we are just allowing a space for them.”
PG being a space that appeals to folks from different generations and backgrounds is something Sarah Twiggy says is more recent. Twiggy and her partner, Chago Garcia, own Wholehearted Tattoo in Monterey and helped organize the Love Hurts event.
“It's an old, sleepy town with retired people who have their million dollar homes," said Twiggy. "But now with a couple of these bars opening in the area—it's like fun—people, all the industry locals want to go to PG now.”
Even with the median home price in PG over $1.3 million and average age of residents around 50 years old, interest in visiting is growing. The Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce says the change is reflected in their social media following.
Since 2021, the Chamber has seen a 40% increase in their combined Instagram and Facebook followers and gained their biggest spike in followers after 2024. They credit an expanding nightlife scene as one contributor.
" With social media being so big, you lose that element of being able to go out and meet people physically," said Twiggy. " So anytime there's an opportunity to bring people physically together to enjoy some element of art or music or cocktails or whatever—we'll just take that opportunity."
The mixing of drinks and people is why Nora Mckenna frequently hangs out in PG these days. A PG High School graduate and founding member of the Cannery Row Jump swing dancing group, she dances at Pop and Hiss on a weekly basis.
“Before it was mostly Monterey or even like Seaside or Carmel, but not here,” said McKenna, who moved to PG as a teenager. She moved around the U.S. and lived abroad before moving back to PG at the turn of the millennium.
"It's cross generational," said McKenna, who's danced with teenagers and 90 year olds here. "Just very open and, like, even more might come from it. It's like only the start—or it feels like it's just blossoming.”
Both Pop and Hiss and the PG Meetinghouse are springing for late night food options to keep the party going. And, a new wine bar, The Block, will also take root in downtown PG this year.
