Some things have changed in 30 years, and we can thank the late 1980s.

Kevin Phillips keeps busy as managing partner of four popular restaurants, Abalonetti Bar & Grill, Big Fish Grill and the Whaling Station in Monterey, as well as Beach House on Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. But in 1988 he was in his second year as food and beverage director at Carmel Valley Ranch. It was a four-star hotel and might, by today’s standards, be considered stuffy. Men were required to wear jackets at dinner. Phillips donned a tuxedo to greet guests. But things were beginning to change.

“We had whole closet full of blue blazers,” Phillips observes. “We were one of the priciest hotels, but people were just opposed to wearing jackets. I finally convinced the manager to end the jacket requirement.”

The Weekly printed its first edition 30 years ago in a time of transition. Before 1988 there were no Walmart Super Centers. Sales of whole milk had always outpaced skim and 2-percent until that year. In Seattle, a plan was being laid out that would turn a coffee roasting company into – you know. And just as Americans were taking a more casual approach to fine dining, they were more accepting of new flavors and novel fusions. Ichi-Riki in Seaside and Ocean Sushi Deli in Pacific Grove are reminders of this era. It would be hard to imagine sushi spots gaining success before the 1980s. Now these two restaurants are institutions.

“I got into sushi in the ’80s – in Baltimore,” recalls Kim Stemler, executive director of the Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association. “I felt really cool. I don’t know that the white wine spritzers made me cool.”

Yeah, 1988 was awash in coolers, fuzzy navels, Long Island iced teas and flavored schnapps. It was pretty bad. It was getting better, though.

Americans began to shake some of the stodgy culinary guidelines. Techniques honed from classical French training remained, but were put to use on new and exotic ingredients. And the influence of that transition resonates.

“We still have most of my favorites on the Rio Grill menu today,” says Tony Tollner, who oversees operations at Montrio Bistro and Tarpy’s Roadhouse in addition to Rio Grill. “The Chinese chicken salad, prawns and penne and smoked chicken have all been on the menu for over 30 years.”

The legacy of the ’80s – and earlier decades – can be traced through dining rooms in Monterey County. At least 54 restaurants in the area have been around for 30 years or more. Nepenthe is going on 70. The Sardine Factory just turned 50, still at the same location and under the same ownership. That kind of longevity says something about Monterey County, then and now. People were welcoming of new dining experiences. But they resisted – and continue to resist – the trendy whims that keep restaurants in urban areas on a merry-go-round.

Much has changed since 1988, certainly. But there are more than 50 places in Monterey County that can still speak of a time when the food scene was changing. And they helped create what we experience today.

For a more complete list of 30-plus-year-old restaurants in Monterey County, visit mcweekly.com/food_wine