Hacienda in Carmel Valley suspends events upon an administrative citation from the County.

A few hours before it was set to host every-other-Saturday line dancing on Saturday, April 18, Hacienda in Carmel Valley posted a cancellation notice on Instagram and called off the night’s gathering, announcing the County of Monterey was shutting the venue down for noncompliance.

Owner Nile Estep thanked the community for “five unforgettable years of gathering, celebrating and building something truly special together,” in what sounded like a farewell. 

It’s not necessarily a goodbye, Estep says, noting he is in conversations with County of Monterey officials about compliance concerns including the use of storage and shipping containers on the property and historic uses of the property. 

Hacienda received an April 13 administrative citation based on a November 2025 inspection, when Monterey County Housing and Community Development took a note of multiple alleged violations, such as operating a coffee bar and market (Radici Market) without a permit, holding gatherings of people for paid experiences, use of shipping containers and unpermitted construction on the property, among other items.

“We're talking with the county representatives and a variety of things are kind of ongoing,” Estep says. “We’re hopeful that we can get this all cleared up. It’s about what we are allowed to do on the property.”

Director of County of Monterey Housing and Community Development Craig Spencer says the agency’s discussions with Hacienda regarding activities on the property go back to 2022 when Hacienda applied for and was denied a permit to operate as an event space.

Until Estep reopened Hacienda as a venue and gathering place for recurring events like line dancing and trivia in 2021, it was Hacienda Hay & Feed, located on the historic Wolter property on Carmel Valley Road. 

Originally established in the 1940s, Wolter's Hacienda Market was a local staple, selling goods, fruits and vegetables that were grown on the property. The space was also celebrated for its annual pumpkin harvest and display. Until Estep took over in 2021, it had functioned primarily as an animal feed store. 

Estep has maintained some of the original offerings. You can buy young chicks or hang out with the animals, for example goats, rabbits and a tortoise. In addition to line dancing, there is another monthly dance party called Throwback Thursday. Clay, blacksmith and sand sculpture classes are available, as well as a sound bath experience.

“Some seasonal activities over decades which have been grandfathered into the property’s use,” HCD notes. “The County is on record as acknowledging those historic uses.” 

An email from Estep to Spencer in 2022 shows Estep's enthusiasm to get the concept approved more broadly, but HCD says the applicant never completed the process. 

"I have invested my entire life savings on this project and without access to revenue streams from historic uses like the farmers market I am unsure how long we can hold on to this community-based business model and would hate to see it turned into storage, as that was in the pipeline prior to us stepping in," Estep wrote. 

HCD reports that in response to a complaint, code enforcement officials visited the property, where they documented numerous violations. 

According to the administrative citation, fines begin accruing with $100 on May 14 and go up to $1,000 per day on May 17.