Monaco real estate mogul Patrice Pastor buys The Village in Big Sur for $4 million.

Where there was once a simple burger joint, the Maiden Publick House, there is now an elegant, upscale restaurant. Solstice soft-opened in June 2024, the flagship business of the property previously called “The Village Shops” and retitled simply “The Village” by developer Patrick Orosco. The restaurant is flanked on one side by a cafe called The Bodega and an event venue on the other. There are also yoga studios offering regular classes.

Orosco’s company purchased the property, on Highway 1 just south of River Inn, for $1.65 million in 2017 from Jali and Cynthia Morgenrath, according to Monterey County property transaction records. He spent the next seven years overseeing its construction, design and concept development.

Eight years later, he sold the property to Esperanza Carmel, a real estate company owned by Monaco billionaire Patrice Pastor, for $4 million, as first reported by the Carmel Pine Cone and confirmed in county property records.

The current businesses will remain as long-term tenants with a lease of at least 10 years, with no changes planned. “I was pleased when I was made aware of this opportunity as I already knew the property well as I had dined there recently,” Pastor said in a statement. “I was impressed by the property and the operation so was of course delighted our company had the opportunity to purchase the property.”

Orosco did not respond to requests for an interview by the Weekly’s deadline, but in a statement provided by Esperanza says he looks forward to partnering with Pastor: “His appreciation of history and craft is what sparked our curiosity, but it was his sincere support for our vision and team that led to our decision to sell.”

Ondine Gorton owned a store in The Village Shops called Local Color for over 17 years selling locally made goods until Orosco acquired the property in 2017. She views that as the big transition moment not just for her and neighboring business owners—massage therapists, a boot refurbishing shop, the aforementioned pub—but also for the community more broadly.

“Big Sur changed that day when he kicked us all out,” she says. “It was for both the community and tourism. Big Sur does not need another overpriced restaurant and general store.

“The Village was affordable for locals to have a bite to eat, or buy a gift. It really changed Big Sur.”

Editor’s note: This is a longer version of a story that appeared in print in the May 29-June 4 edition of the Weekly.