Tamie Aceves did not intend to be a prodigal restaurateur, but now she is back.

Although she never actually went away, Tamie Aceves has been on quite a journey over the past six years. But her odyssey through Pacific Grove is coming to an end.

Aceves recently opened Crema at Lovers Point. While the restaurant is still a work in progress – she is anticipating her liquor license any day and hopes to have a full kitchen in place by October – Crema’s promise is clear. The space is impressive, with wraparound outdoor seating (“we had one woman out there painting,” Aceves observes with a chuckle), a wall of windows overlooking Monterey Bay and a bar at the ready. And then there is Aceves and her team.

Until November 2025, Aceves operated the Grill at Point Pinos, named “Best Restaurant at a Golf Course” three years in a row in the Weekly’s Best Of readers’ polls. Before that, the original Crema on Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove was a brunch favorite for years. They served waffles, biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak – regulars of both places had their favorite dishes.

Crema succumbed to the pandemic in September 2020. She abandoned the city-owned Grill after negotiations to renew the lease fell apart. The city would not budge on the proposed rent of $15,000 a month.

“I said, ‘OK, god – what’s going on? I can’t lose a second restaurant,’” Aceves recalls. “I don’t think they understand how slim margins are,” she adds, referring to city officials. “I just couldn’t make [the Grill] profitable.”

Aceves has a catering company and considered opening a bakery. But her liquor license would expire if she didn’t find a new restaurant location. And as she was closing the Grill, Aceves’ luck changed. Learning that the owners of California Seltzer Company were moving out, she rushed to Lovers Point. “I called the Realtor and said, ‘I’m your girl,’” Aceves says.

The prodigal restaurateur is a fitting reference. Faced with leaving the Grill, she had first reached out to the owner of the former Crema space, a large and charming Victorian home. “I said I would be interested in buying or leasing,” she says. “Nobody got back to me.” It proved to be a fortunate silence.

For now, Crema’s menu is limited. Without an exhaust hood in the kitchen, soups, salads and sandwiches dominate the short list, along with a full slate of coffee drinks, teas and lemonade.

The launch has been something of a challenge. Aceves has a full kitchen at Forest Hill Shopping Center for her catering service, La Créme Monterey. The team tested which dishes fared best when prepared at the top of the hill then shuttled to Lovers Point. But the restaurant does have waffle irons, soup pots and panini presses on site – “all the stuff you can do without a hood,” she points out.

Aceves felt that it was important to open before summer in order to iron out the wrinkles and determine what works. When the kitchen is finished, she plans a full brunch menu.

“That’s going to be a game changer,” Aceves observes. “The old Tinnery, it was a really fun space.”

The Tinnery was a locals’ favorite and the longest tenant of the location, ending its 26-year run in 2006. Since it shut down, what should be a bustling spot took on somewhat of a curse. Latitudes, California Seltzer Company – nothing held on for long.

“It’s a big commitment, but I’ve turned around some rough spaces,” Aceves says.

She opened the original Crema in 2012, transforming a Victorian home into a brunch haven. Guests raved about the fried chicken, huevos rancheros and other dishes. But Covid crippled the place. Pandemic guidelines for restaurants cut Crema’s 110 seats to 36, but rent remained the same.

Closing had repercussions. When she bid for the Point Pinos Grill location, some questioned her ability to sustain the place financially. Although city staff favored Aceves over two other contenders, three City Council members tried to swing the decision against her.

So once again, Aceves finds herself priming a space for success. The liquor license is coming – “we’re checking the mail every day,” she says. The full kitchen is in the works. And the view is enviable. “I keep telling everybody this is going to be our forever home.”

Crema 631 Ocean View Blvd., Pacific Grove. (831) 375-1300, cremapg.com.