Sea Change

For more than a century, Carmel-by-the-Sea has coasted on its old-world charms—but a new generation is bringing the California town a welcome jolt of energy.

- Anh-Minh Le,SORAYA MATOS

Sunset at Carmel Beach.

PRIOR TO BECOMING a city in 1916, Carmel-by-the-Sea had established itself as a bohemian enclave, its location on California’s Central Coast attracting and inspiring artists, writers, and actors. About a century ago, a commercial district began to take shape, centered around Ocean Avenue. Today, with the Pacific as a backdrop, the town’s leisurely pace and enchanting architecture, which can evoke an English village, still make for a tempting year-round escape.

In recent years, a new wave of creatives has settled on the Monterey Peninsula and taken an entrepreneurial leap, joining stalwarts like the Hog’s Breath Inn restaurant, founded by Clint Eastwood in 1970, and Fourtané Jewelers, which dates back to 1950 and has been run by the Bonifas family for almost 30 years. This increasing excitement around the shopping and dining scenes has led to the emergence of a portmanteau neighborhood, à la New York’s SoHo: NOcean, short for North of Ocean.

“It started as something tongue-in-cheek,” restaurateur Anthony Carnazzo told me. “Now I’ve heard real estate agents talk about it.” He and his wife, Alissa, both Monterey County natives, launched the restaurant Stationæry (entrées $22–$74) a block and a half north of Ocean Avenue in 2018—a year after they moved back from Los Angeles. Their off-menu cinnamon rolls, prepared in limited quantities that sell out every day, are legendary.

The Carnazzos are debuting two businesses nearby this summer: Mama’s Boy, a classic Italian deli, and Mammone, a restaurant that will focus on coastal Italian dishes. They aren’t the only ones leaning in to NOcean. In 2024, across the courtyard from Stationæry, former Pottery Barn buyer Nora Cavallaro opened