A Grover Beach Favorite Steps Behind the Still: Pono Pacific Kitchen Debuts Craft Distillery & Full Bar Program
Story by Renee Ror
The Central Coast has no shortage of culinary ambition, and the latest evolution at Pono Pacific Kitchen in Grover Beach marks a particularly notable moment: the beloved Pacific Rim-inspired restaurant has debuted an in-house craft distillery and a full bar program, stepping into the state’s long, sometimes rebellious, tradition of independent spirit-making.
For co-owners Ashlee Alewine and Executive Chef Preston Tripp, the expansion is a natural extension of the restaurant’s philosophy. Known for weaving together coastal California ingredients with the “island way of life” the couple embraced while living on Oahu, Pono has built a reputation for food rooted in locality and seasonality, with that ethos now finding its way into the glass.
“This is a huge next step for us,” says the co-owners. “Guests know us for our commitment to local sourcing and thoughtful food. Expanding into craft spirits and a full bar lets us round out the entire dining experience.”
Small-Batch Spirits, Big Sense of Place
The new distillery is producing house-made vodka and gin; botanical forward expressions designed to complement Preston’s menu of bright crudos, hapa-style plates and seafood pulled from nearby waters. The team plans to expand their offerings over time and build a portfolio of spirits that speak to the region and the restaurant’s Pacific sensibility.
Guests can now expect a bar program anchored by the small-batch vodka and gin, with cocktails designed around their profiles. The menu also features a lineup of premium whiskeys, mezcals, tequilas, rums and liqueurs, each selected to balance the restaurant’s coastal flavors.
A New Chapter in California Distilling
Pono’s foray into distilling joins a larger movement within California, where craft spirits have surged over the past two decades. Though the area’s wine legacy often steals the spotlight, California was home to clandestine stills as early as the Gold Rush era, when miners produced rough-and-ready whiskey and fruit-brandies in makeshift operations.
San Luis Obispo County’s distilling history is a bit more understated. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, farmers across the Central Coast distilled surplus orchard fruit into brandy; an agricultural tradition that quietly persisted despite Prohibition’s crackdown. In more recent years SLO County has become an unexpected craft-spirit enclave, with distillers tapping into the region’s orchard heritage, grain production and wine-industry expertise. Paso Robles in particular has become a hub for brandy, whiskey and unique grain-to-glass operations, while coastal towns have embraced more boutique, culinary-driven distilling. Pono Pacific Kitchen’s new distillery fits well into this lineage: ingredient-driven, place-focused and rooted in community collaboration.
Continuing the Central Coast Culinary Story
Now Pono Pacific Kitchen extends beyond the kitchen and into a broader lifestyle of hospitality. Featured in the Summer 2025 print issue of Edible San Luis Obispo magazine, the focus of the restaurant was on the farm- and ocean-fresh ingredients and its kitchen rooted in local producers. And the highlight was specific to Pono’s tight sourcing network: details like daily-fished sea urchins from Santa Barbara (part of the rare 5% not exported to Japan), local bread from the next-door Grover Beach Sourdough, and farmer relationships at the area farmer’s markets (with Chavez Farms and Hayashi Farms among suppliers), and direct at local farms, including Halcyon Farms.
By bringing distilling in-house, Pono is expanding on the definition of what the restaurant can be: a space where craftsmanship crosses categories. The full bar is now open during regular dinner hours.
