Changing Seasons

It became Fall yesterday around 5ish. The last day of Summer sure was cold here in Marina in the morning. My solid state Ford dashboard thermometer told me in was in the low 50's but I could sware it was in the mid 40's. It felt like being on top Haleakala at 10,000 some feet last summer for sunrise wearing shorts, flip flops, and a Hawaiian shirt. (I had sweats..really, I just left them at the hotel)

Anyway as business winds down, special events subside, and the proverbial dust settles this is a time for changes in the central coast food scene.

Elli's Great American Restaurant's Monterey location, in the Del Monte Shopping Center, will close for business at 9 p.m. Sunday.

Formerly the Velvet Creamery, Elli's specialized in American melting pot specialties for 22 years. With the end of the restaurant's long-term lease, proprietor Patrick Ottone plans to move to a new location, with a new concept, at the opposite end of the center.

Ottone said he plans to retain Elli's staff for the new restaurant, which is expected to open in 2008.

Ottone also owns and operates Elli's Great American Restaurant in Salinas and LALLApalooza Big American Dinner House & Martini Bar in Monterey. He will offer 2-for-1 coupons valid at Elli's Great American Restaurant in Salinas through the end of the year, and similar coupons valid at the new restaurant, when it opens.

Chef Dory Ford from the Monterey Aquarium has quietly taken over the Pelican Tavern at the Tin Cannery in Pacific Grove. The transition took place two weeks ago and there has been a shuffling in suppliers, no doubt to accomodate Dory's focus on sustainable and local products.

Jon Kasky and Nancy Rohan have closed the Oak Deli in Carmel Valley. Although the location still remains home base for their catering operation, Bird of Paradise Catering, and for the Paradise Wine Bar.

The lack of qualified staff for the the deli was sited as the major reason for the closure.

Hullaballoo in Salinas has changed hands, although Chef Todd Fisher remains on staff for the transition. Todd has been announced as the On Site caterer for the Steinbeck Center.

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