Hacienda is blending the old and the new to create a place for community gathering.

“What suburbia cries for are the means for people to gather easily, inexpensively, regularly, and pleasurably – a ‘place on the corner,’” wrote sociologist Ray Oldenburg, the originator of the term and concept of “third places,” so-called in order to distinguish them from the home (a “first place”) and office (“second place”). Oldenburg argued that third places (coffee shops, corner grocery stores, post offices, etc.) are a vital way to unify a neighborhood, spark political debate and create inter-generational relationships – and that their disappearance from modern life is harmful to local democracy. “Life without community has produced, for many, a lifestyle consisting mainly of a home-to-work-and-back-again shuttle,” he wrote. “Social well-being and psychological health depend upon community.”

Where do you go to find community?

The property where Hacienda sits in Carmel Valley is an evocative place. Depending on how and when your relationship with it began, you might recall it as a spot for picking out a pumpkin from the Wolter Family, stopping by for a piece of sweet licorice on the way home or as a dusty feed store, shelves filled with fly spray and halters, and the small ornery donkey out back who always seemed poised to bite off any errant fingers.

The Hacienda of today is none of these past Haciendas. But the past is not forgotten – about a year after re-opening, it is becoming a place for people to gather, connect and learn – a “third place” for the modern era.

After Nile Estep bought the property in 2021, he and his team started to transform the space. The once-dusty feed store building is now white-washed and clean and sells some animal husbandry items plus local artisan goods; the old hay barn is instead a covered community gathering space with picnic tables. There’s an old flatbed truck that can serve as a small stage and a kids’ area with games to keep the little ones occupied. Much of this is new and, on first visit, perhaps a little disorienting.

But look deeper, and there are careful callbacks to the past on property, too. Together with high school classmate Jon Wescott, Estep revitalized the 40 acres of organic farmland where produce for Wolter’s Hacienda Market was grown starting in the 1940s. There Wescott has been growing kale, chard and lettuce, carrots and peppers and lemon cucumbers (produce is available for purchase both at Hacienda and the Thursday farmers market in Carmel) and pumpkins.

These pumpkins will become important during the month of October when the new Hacienda will play host to a slate of events reminiscent of Haciendas past. These include a pumpkin patch, a hay maze (open on weekends), a seasonal movie night on Saturday, Oct. 15 and a Halloween fall festival (including a costume contest) on Saturday, Oct. 29.

This Hacienda is interested in “revitalizing the historic, nostalgic events of the past,” Estep says. To choose these events Estep relies on community memory – on the customers who walk in and say “I remember when Hacienda had this.”

The new offerings in the space also seem to be an organic creation, often drawing on the talents or affinities of Estep’s social network. Thursday trivia night, for example, grew out of an interest in spotlighting local artists and musicians; the backyard bocce pits are an ode to Estep’s partner’s Italian heritage. There’s also bingo, line dancing and hands-on learning experiences like pottery or blacksmithing. “People are really interested in workshops right now,” Estep reflects.

It’s “exciting” to work on creating a place that people want to hang out, one that celebrates the past while meeting the needs of the present, Estep adds. “We’re not going to stop evolution… but what we can do is celebrate the traditions of how we got to this place.”

And yes, they do still sell licorice.

HACIENDA is located at 7180 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. Open Tuesday-Sunday. See event calendar at haciendacv.store.