A new mural at the back of Austino's in Monterey pays homage to Cannery Row figures.

There’s a new mural in Monterey at the back of Austino's Patisserie at 851 Cannery Row, facing the Rec Trail.

Commissioned by the building owner Chris Shake, who comes from a long line of Monterey Peninsula restaurateurs, it depicts John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts and restaurateur Kalisa Moore, and features the Western Flyer—the legendary sardine boat that took Steinbeck and Ricketts to the Sea of Cortez. The mural was painted by San Jose artist Renae McCollum.

Chris Shake and his family own several local restaurants, starting with the Old Fisherman’s Grotto on the Old Fisherman’s Wharf. But restaurant business is not all he has on his mind; Shake has been passionate about the history of Monterey for a long time and that led him toward arts. In the 1980s, he purchased a collection of historic 19th century photos from another Wharf business owner; the collection, after years of being locked in a storage, is now available for viewing at the Monterey History and Art at Stanton Center (until Jan. 25, 2026).

And now, Shake is bringing a mural to the community, and it’s not his first one either. Earlier this year, he produced one on the side of the Sabu Shake, Sr. Good Samaritan Center at 800 Scott St. in Sand City, painted by South Carolina muralist Nick Burns. 

“I do enjoy murals,” Shake says. “I find them fascinating. It's really nice to see the murals and relate to the story behind them.”

Shake says he decided to install a mural at the back of Austino's when he was developing the building for apartments. He went through the approval process with the City of Monterey and the Coastal Commission. They asked if he would be open to putting a mural on the back wall of the building and Shake thought it was a wonderful idea.

“And so I got a hold of this artist and explained to her the subjects that I wanted in the mural,” he says. 

Growing up in Monterey, Shake was always into history, where Steinbeck and Ricketts played an important role, the first as an author of Cannery Row, the other as a marine biologist who had his lab on Cannery Row. But he also—as he explained to McCollum—wanted Kalisa Moore in the mural.

“She is probably one of the most famous people on Cannery Row,” he says. “They have a statue of her on Cannery Row and gave her the name of the Queen of Cannery Row. People like Steinbeck would come to her restaurant and enjoy it.”

With a developed appetite for murals, will Shake bring more murals to Monterey?

“I would really love to bring more murals to Monterey,” he says. “I think they tell great stories about important things in our wonderful community.”