Spring 2026

THE FOOD LAB KEEPS TRUCKING IN MOSS LANDING If there’s anything Todd Williamson and Martha Heath know, it’s how to evolve. Both food-industry veterans, Williamson cooked throughout Big Sur and the peninsula, with Cindy Pawlcyn at Rio Grill and for a decade at Post Ranch Inn.The pair took a break from food and tried other work, but the itch returned. Four years ago, they bought a food truck. Williamson knocked around the peninsula with it, but no venue really stuck. Then came Moss Landing and Power Plant Coffee, co-owned by artist Sally Russell, a Williamson friend. Recall that 2025 was a brutal year for Moss Landing, with theVistra fire on a macro level and a business-damaging Power Plant Coffee fire on the micro. Russell and her business partner, Chuck Drake, wanted the rehabbed space to be more. More arrived in the form of a permanent Food Lab, where diners can eat outside on the patio or inside the café. On a recent Saturday, Williamson collapsed into a chair after a rush, where customers dove into four-pepper grilled cheese and tomato soup, rock cod tacos, and what some call the best smashburger around. “I just want to park here and do good food,” Williamson said. “I love this community.” For more information on Food Lab, visit www.instagram.com/rinconandco. ATELIER DOMAINE MESSIER BRINGS HEAVENLY WINES TO WINFIELD GALLERY Atelier Domaine Messier, a new wine bar tucked inside Carmel’s Winfield Gallery, quietly opened its doors in December, bringing wine, 154 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 6 Todd Williamson and Martha Heath, two veterans of the restaurant industry, are the proprietors of Food Lab, a food truck that has found a perfect permanent spot in Moss Landing, sharing space with Power Plant Coffee. Photo: Kelli Uldall food for thought Food Lab Invigorates wi th Heart in Moss Landing; New Pours at Winf ield Gal lery; Sweet Reba’ s Debuts in Sal inas B Y MAR Y DUAN