Summer 2023

C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 3 205 borrow them to work on projects themselves. In their first year of business, they suffered a huge setback, when an arsonist broke in and set multiple fires throughout the restaurant.The dam- age was extensive and extremely costly to repair, but the team powered through and got the restaurant back to business in less than 90 days. The restaurant began as a single room with 72 seats (now known as the Lounge) with the bar on a raised area that served as a stage in the building’s past lives.The fact that the bar fit so per- fectly was pure luck. Balestreri and Cutino bought it sight unseen, as it was broken apart and crated in a storage space. The owner hadn’t paid his rent, so the bar was sold to the highest bidder for the grand sum of $160. When unpacked and assembled back on Wave Street, everyone was amazed to find it fit perfectly in place. And it turned out that the bar was something special— a 19th century ship’s bar. Look closely and you’ll find a compass inlaid into the center of the bar- top.The restaurant’s original design called for the bar to be painted red. In fact, literally everything in the room was painted either gray or red in a very 1960s two-toned color scheme. Fairly soon after opening, it was clear that more space was needed, so the dining room was extended, adding 14 more seats by pushing the wall behind the fireplace out into what had been a covered outdoor area. An adjacent storage space became the stone-lined private dining room known as the Wine Cellar with seating for 12, and the Steinbeck Room was created out of what had been Balestreri’s office to the left of the bar, adding 18 more seats. Out of necessity, the early décor, though stylish, was done on a tight budget, but as business flourished, the young men had the means to make improvements and addi- tions in a grander style, as the next addition, the Captain’s Room, clearly reflects. Designed to evoke the feeling of lavish turn of the last century The original dining room, the Lounge had been a cannery workers’ canteen. Once used for heating, a maze of water pipes can still be seen amidst the fireplace flames. Added in 1981, the Conservatory is the restaurant’s largest dining room and is often reserved for weddings and celebrations. Adhering to its strict green and white color palette, the room features lush foliage and a white Botticelli inspired statue. Photo: Kelli Uldall Photo: Courtesy of The Sardine Factory