Carmel “Businesses of Recognition”In an ongoing effort to acknowledge resident-serving Carmel-by-the-Sea businesses and services, the Carmel Residents Association, from time to time, presents Certificates of Appreciation to those businesses and services. To be considered, a concern must hold a business license issued by the City of Carmel. This excludes a city agency or non-profit organization. We encourage our CRA members to support and patronize these long-time businesses and services in our village. Below recent year's recognition highlights is a full roster of awardees for Business Recognition Award 2025 - Congratulations Little Napoli & Pepe Family During our May 15th, 2025 Annual Meeting, our Vice President (and former Mayor) Ken White, honored Rich Pepe of Little Napoli for all of their support of our community, its leaders, its culture, its heritage and residents. Thank you for your engagement and giving back to our community. Congratulations Pepe! HERE is the YouTube of this honor, that begins with this portion of our full Meeting.
A tribute to Italian culture and cuisine Little Napoli “Bistro Italiano” possesses Old World charm mixed with centuries old traditions in Italian cuisine – the menu features Chef Pèpe signature family recipes reminiscent of Napoli and the Italian countryside, with a side of Pèpe’s gutsy New Jersey roots. Today, Sandra and Rich’s sons, Christian and Gian, work full-time in the family business. Opened in 1990, Little Napoli has been considered the iconic Italian restaurant on the Monterey Peninsula for thirty-five years. The commitment to quality and tradition comes across not only in the attention paid to ensure authentic southern Italian specialties, but also in the thoughtful wine list. The curated wine list focuses on notable and interesting Italian wines, plus a fine selection of local Monterey County wines. Little Napoli is located in the historic El Paseo Building in the heart of downtown Carmel. Built in 1923, the El Paseo Building is a pristine example of Spanish Mission style architecture which was inspired by the churches built by colonial Spanish missionaries in the 1800’s. 2024 - CRA Recognizes New Master's Gallery & Bill Hill - 50 years! During our June 6, 2024 Annual Meeting our CRA President Graeme Robertson recognized Bill Hill's New Masters Gallery for his unending friendship, curation and contributions to our community, its culture and no doubt the art for our residents and visitors alike for over 50 years in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Visit this CRA event page for the presentation video and more from June 6th.
2023 - CRA Recognizes a great Carmel business and our Carmel Public Library Business Recognition Award 2023 - Congratulations Café Carmel & Sarah Cook Originally established as a bakery by the Wishart family in 1952 and located in the heart of Carmel village on Ocean Avenue, Café Carmel keeps alive a tradition in an historic 1920’s building. During the pandemic of 2020, Sarah Cook purchased the longtime and well-loved bakery opening it as Café Carmel.
But why a bakery/café? Sarah grew up on the South Coast of England, learning to make pastries and other special recipes handed down through her family. Sarah imagined one day opening a little café in the village where she lived.
Then life happened and Sara grew up to become a doctor practicing family medicine. She envisioned this specialty would provide flexibility as she began her family. Twenty-six years and six children later, plus retiring from her medical practice, Sara’s baking dreams of a village café in the UK became her new reality with Café Carmel.
But why Carmel? In 2003, Cook accompanied her husband, banker Brendan Cook, when he took an 18-month assignment in Salinas. The couple enjoyed the area so much that when Brendan’s assignment ended and they returned to England, they came back to Carmel on frequent vacations. One day they stayed. They acquired a rundown property in Carmel Valley, restoring it with the help of friends. It was then that Sarah purchased Café Carmel to fulfill her dream.
While waiting for their visas to come through, the Cooks worked on physical updates to the café, developed a menu remaining mindful of the crowd favorites Sarah would continue to serve, adding to it her family recipes. While continuing updates to the café, she looked after the two children in college and the four who had come to Carmel. It was then an unexpected and added challenge appeared, along with the usual bumps in the road. The Pandemic descended! Sarah was forced to close her new business, open a temporary parklet in order to survive, and survive she did!
Café Carmel comes with a Carmel-by-the-Sea provenance. Sarah loves to hear from locals when they say they visited Wishart’s Bakery during their growing up years in Carmel. She assures the memories and traditions continue with Café Carmel – a family-owned and operated business in a warm and welcoming gathering place. Congratulations!
Lifetime Achievement Award for our Carmel Public Library Our Carmel Public Library plays an essential role in our community’s social infrastructure as a trusted resource and community hub. It serves over 100,000 people, Carmel residents, and way beyond our Village too, with growing collections, modern technology and services, and programs.
This year, and in years past, the Carmel Public Library received the National Library Journal Star status that recognizes our library’s high usage, and how much our community utilizes our library resources. And with the City’s support, plus the bequests and donations through the Carmel Public Library Foundation, our library achieves this level of excellence – all with enriching community benefits.
Opening in 1928, the Harrison Memorial Library is where we meet or read in a safe and friendly environment and enjoy a unique forum for social networking, book clubs, and learning groups. We find a great selection of online and physical book collections, business and consumer information, genealogy resources, language instruction, and more. Plus, the new Gathering Place is a free special meeting place in the library – open to book clubs, nonprofit meetings, student group learning, and more.
The Henry Meade Williams Local History Room inside the Park Branch houses archives from our Village history. This is an invaluable resource for:
* anyone writing on the people and history of our Village, and * long timers who want to reminisce, and * for new comers who want to learn about the Village they call home. The Park Branch Library is dedicated to children and families spending time together and reading and participating in children’s programs. This is a place where our next generation makes new friends. Their reading programs and online books and films help children develop necessary skills.
The community enrichment provided to us all is also not just buildings, their services, and programs – but it IS the people. The staff of our libraries over the years put up with vague requests for books or media, sometimes challenging residents, and visitors – all the while with a smile, and desire to serve – through wars, pandemics, local storms and much more.
Our amazing Carmel Public Library continues to serve as a community builder, center for learning, and champion of youth. It preserves important historic artifacts, oral and digital history relevant to the community, and serves as a catalyst for addressing social issues.
  With our sincere thanks and appreciation…
Presented in June 2022 - Lifetime Achievement Award - for Tony Salameh |
