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Photo of pasta plates receiving garnish
January 14, 2025
All Stories, Community, Experiences, Featured, Food

Secret Season Supper: A Celebration of Community and Culinary in Morro Bay and Paso Robles

While the Central Coast sees a surge of visitors each summer, there’s a “secret season” that offers an even more exclusive experience.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town, four photos of events
December 5, 2024
Community, Featured, Winter 2024 - Issue 46

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Can't-miss holiday stops around San Luis Obispo County.

Aja Goare - Portrait Winter 2024 Food for Thought
November 17, 2024
All Stories, Community, Featured, Winter 2024 - Issue 46

Food for Thought: Winter 2024

If you’re reading this right now, you are experiencing a first alongside us. This is Edible San Luis Obispo’s first ever digital issue! As we get older, we don’t experience q...

Photo of woman walking through nature
November 17, 2024
Community, Featured, Winter 2024 - Issue 46

Perspective: Rooted in Resilience

In this Perspective piece, Maria De Lourdes Orozco Ramirez, 26, retraces her childhood in Mexico and explores her journey to working directly with underserved and socially disadvan...

A premade old fashioned sits next to a key on the table
November 16, 2024
Community, Experiences, Featured, Winter 2024 - Issue 46

The Warmth of Le Petit Soleil

French styled bed and breakfast offers European flavor and flair.

Cabinets of Curiosity
November 16, 2024
Community, Winter 2024 - Issue 46

Cabinets of Curiosity

Seed libraries across SLO County invite garden exploration and fun.

Aja, Jasmine and James with their German relatives.
November 16, 2024
Community, Featured

Family Ties: Finding Comfort Abroad

In this first-person piece written by Edible San Luis Obispo Managing Editor Aja Goare, she shares how her visit to Germany and the food she ate there helped preserve the memory of...

November 16, 2024
Community, Eat, Food, Winter 2024 - Issue 46

Fill the Fridge

The holidays are a joyous – albeit stressful – time of year. Prepping the fridge with intention saves hours of stress, extra shopping trips and unnecessary food waste. And fill...

Comfort in Music
November 16, 2024
Community, Featured, Winter 2024 - Issue 46

Comfort in Music

Achieving the right mood for a solo night of drinking hot cocoa, baking cookies with family or imbibing with friends starts with music. And just like food, there are seasons for mu...

Photo of wine festival event
September 21, 2024
Community, Drink, Featured

Discover the Micro-Winery Scene of the Central Coast at the Garagiste Festival

Dubbed “tasting nirvana,” “strange and wondrous,” and “one not to miss” by the LA Times, the Garagiste Festival is the only event focusing on under-the-radar micro-wine...

Food for Thought, photo of Aja Goare
September 6, 2024
Community, Fall 2024 - Issue 45, Featured

Food for Thought: Fall 2024

With each stage of life, I’ve discovered a new relationship with the night. The stillness and quiet brought on by the sun’s absence can have a meditative effect, offering a tim...

Illustration of cloud seeding with the title, Head in the Clouds
September 4, 2024
Community, Fall 2024 - Issue 45, Featured

In times of drought, San Luis Obispo County can utilize cloud seeding to generate extra rainfall

This article by Edible writer Melissa Newman delves into the unique science behind cloud seeding, which helps San Luis Obispo County increase water production in times of drought.

Photos of three people holding ice cream
September 1, 2024
Community, Fall 2024 - Issue 45, Featured

Harmony’s tiny town charm is utterly delicious

In this article, Edible writer Jonathan LaFerrara explores the small town of Harmony and how its roots in the dairy industry have inspired a lasting economy of small businesses.

Photo of Pati Coelho, CRIÚ Event & Winery Staffing.
August 31, 2024
Community, Fall 2024 - Issue 45, Featured

San Luis Obispo area event staffing service CRIÚ creates memorable gatherings

This article by Edible writer Kasey Main gets a behind the scenes look at CRIÚ Event & Winery Staffing, which makes magical moments for diners at San Luis Obispo County area event...

Photo of attendees at brew fest
June 7, 2024
Community, Drink, Featured

That’s a Wrap on the 2024 Firestone Walker Brewing Invitational Beer Fest

Here is how it all went down; supplemental parties included.

Photo of people at a table from a top down view
June 3, 2024
Community, Summer 2024 - Issue 44

Storybook weddings come to life thanks to consonance of San Luis Obispo County food, drink and design vendors

For this styled photo essay, a team of food, drink and design vendors come together to produce a beautiful wedding scene at Greengate Ranch & Vineyard in San Luis Obispo County.

Food for Thought - Summer 2024
June 1, 2024
Community, Featured, Summer 2024 - Issue 44

Summer Food for Thought: Letter from the Editor

Anyone who has ever worked back of house at a restaurant during a dinner rush knows how hectic the shift can be — an open flame on the grill, plates whipping down the line, “CO...

Kids petting goats
May 15, 2024
Community

4th Annual San Luis Obispo County Open Farm Days Shines Light on Family Farms, Local Agriculture

This year also marks FARMstead ED’s 10th year of connecting folks to our locally grown and made. Kicking-off the 3-day weekend, is a Friday Night Farmer’s Marketplace at Paso R...

Man rings bell with crowd in background
May 15, 2024
Community, Drink

Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest Returns to Paso Robles

Firestone Walker’s Invitational Beer Fest returns on June 1, and the brewery is launching a series of events including Pub Crawls on May 28-30 with a chance for participants to w...

April 29, 2024
Community, Featured

Nate’s On Marsh’s to Host Kentucky Derby Day Watch Party

While Nate’s on Marsh is 2,242 miles away from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, the San Luis Obispo neighborhood restaurant will host its third annual Kentucky Derby Day ...

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    Recent Posts
    Monarh Grove Winery Rose
    June 19, 2026

    Monarch Grove Winery Opens New Grover Beach Tasting Room

    Illustration by Jenna Hartzell
    June 15, 2026

    Perspective: Executive Taste

    Ben Arrona’s Benny’s Pizza Palace and Social Club serves the only Detroit-style pizza in San Luis Obispo County.
    June 10, 2026

    Benny’s Pizza Palace Serves Authenticity in San Luis Obispo

    🇵🇹 Portugal style wines are on the menu at Monarch 🇵🇹 Portugal style wines are on the menu at Monarch Grove Winery (@monarchgrovewinery) in Grover Beach (@visitgroverbeach where the owners recently opened a new tasting room. 🦋🍷

- - -

“On the Move” is featured in the 2026 Summer Issue of 
@edibleslo

Story By Emily Basanese
Photography by Sarah Kathleen

Monarch Grove Winery’s tasting room has been a fixture of the Grover Beach Amtrak station, greeting riders as they disembarked from the train. Like the butterfly, the tasting room recently migrated away, just around the corner to a larger space. Owners Ercilia Martins and Julie Garcia are excited for this new stage of their business.

After that initial trip, Julie was hooked. She began taking winemaking classes and scouting locations for the right space to open a tasting room at home in Grover Beach. They wanted to apply that same Old World approach characteristic of Portuguese winemaking to their wine. That’s when they landed on Monarch Grove Winery.

Ercilia and Julie purchased Monarch Grove Winery on the first day of 2024, but their passion for wine started long before their acquisition. Ercilia is originally from Portugal and grew up in the countryside, where her family made their own table wine. She brought Julie home for visits in 2019 and 2022. That’s when Julie first began learning about winemaking from Ercilia’s father, Joe Martins. 

“I fell in love with the culture and wine, and how food went with wine,” Julie says. “It’s an art.”

Transformation has been a running theme in both Julie and Ercilia’s lives, so a winery branded with the Monarch butterfly, a creature that undergoes dramatic physical change itself, was a serendipitous fit. 

“The Monarch is a symbol of transformation and this whole experience has been a big transformation in our lives,” says Julie.

Grover Beach was also spot-on. When Ercilia first visited the small beach town, she instantly felt at home; it reminded her so much of Portugal. Grover Beach may not have the renown of San Luis Obispo or Pismo Beach, but that was part of the appeal. 

“There definitely has always been a pull to this community,” says Ercilia. In 2018, the two purchased their first home in Grover Beach and
    Some frames from Edible SLO Summer 2026 release pa Some frames from Edible SLO Summer 2026 release party. Thank you again to everyone at @theandersonpaso for your hospitality!

🎥: @stephenheraldo
    We laughed, we toasted, we celebrated - and we’re We laughed, we toasted, we celebrated - and we’re still smiling about it! 
 
What a beautiful evening of merrymaking to celebrate the release of our Summer issue. We’re grateful to all who helped bring the magazine to fruition: our editors, writers, photographers, illustrators, designers, story subjects, advertisers, partners, EVERYONE who graciously shared their resources, talent and stories with us. The only thing that could top that was enjoying a pretty rad party together.  
 
Huge thanks to @theandersonpaso for hosting the party in such a beautiful space, and for the delicious food, drinks and hospitality that made it so memorable. Now let’s show up for them - their restaurant is OPEN! ✨👏
 
Thank you, Edible community, for making these events some of the highlights of our lives. We’re grateful to celebrate alongside you. Consider our cups (and hearts) full ❤️
 
📸: by @simpledaysocial
    “Have It Your Way” introduces you to @chinagourmet “Have It Your Way” introduces you to @chinagourmetpr  owned by Jack Ming Chen. At China Gourmet, the menu is just a suggestion. 

Words by @ajabgoare 
Photography by @fusillofoto 

“I don’t see my favorite on the menu but I want it.” @chinagourmetpr owner Jack Ming Chen is happy to oblige. 

Team members at China Gourmet as well as on photographs of some of their popular dishes. 

Team members at China Gourmet as well as on photographs of some of their popular dishes. 

At China Gourmet, it’s all about having the dining experience that’s all about what you want.

🤤

This article was featured in our Summer 2026 issue. 

Subscribe to Edible SLO and receive your quarterly printed magazine delivered to your door.
    🤔 “Perspective: Executive Taste” - In this Perspec 🤔 “Perspective: Executive Taste” - In this Perspective piece, Loretta McFarland shares how learning to cook in her home kitchen as a child led to a career with unexpected opportunities to serve some iconic people, including a music legend and an American president. 

Words by Loretta McFarland
Illustration by Jenna Hartzell

➡️ This piece is featured in the Summer 2026 issue of Edible San Luis Obispo.
    “I’ve always been an activist at heart. I wanted t “I’ve always been an activist at heart. I wanted to change the world, and I thought that I could do that for law enforcement through helping kids. Now I’m learning how to be an activist.”

Before opening a pizza restaurant, the owner of (@bennyspizzaslo) in San Luis Obispo was focused on other aspirations. But as writer Christian Camacho explains, Ben Arona is making a difference with each slice.

Read full article on edibleslo.com

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