The Block, a wine bar in downtown Pacific Grove, is hoping to open in early spring.

The construction permit is in process, all other necessary licenses are in place, and that makes Coby Shammas optimistic he will be able to open his Pacific Grove wine bar by March.

“Or April,” he says, hedging because he is aware of the whims of renovation.

Either way, it will be something new for downtown Pacific Grove—a venue with a selection of wine spanning different regions and price points, as well as beer, cheese and charcuterie.

The Block Wine Bar will fill the space at 665 Lighthouse Avenue in P.G., between The Bookworks and Pacific Thai Cuisine. The name is both a reference to a neighborhood and a term for a specific section of a vineyard.

Shammas was drawn to the location because a downtown wine bar could serve not only as a gathering place, but also as a spot for people to hang out before or after dinner at one of the nearby restaurants.

“I’ve been hearing how much the city needs something like this,” he adds. “I’m honored and humbled by the support.”

The hospitality veteran was born and raised in Pacific Grove. When The Block opens, he will be the third generation of his family to own a business in the community. Shammas’ father Joe has operated Pacific Grove Travel for over 45 years. His grandfather ran a liquor store.

For Shammas, the motivation for starting a wine bar was simple. “My wife made me do it,” he says with a laugh before changing course. “It’s been a dream of mine to own my own business in Pacific Grove. I have deep roots in the community.”

But he has seen dramatic change in recent years. Long a dry town, the first establishment allowed to sell more alcohol than food in P.G.—The Monarch Pub—opened in 2018. Hops and Fog Brewing Co. became the first brewery in the city in 2024. And now they will be joined by a wine bar.

“Never did I think all that would be a thing,” Shammas observes.

He hopes to begin construction on the space in January in order to make the spring opening.