Cannery Row restaurant closes; owner blames city

Don’t let the open sign fool you. The owner of Cannery Row’s Giant Artichoke is calling it quits, saying he can no longer work with the city of Monterey.

The owner, Juan Salazar, told KION that he was “tired of being pushed around by the city” after two recent violent crimes in the area.

In November, a 23-year-old was shot and killed at the Cannery Row Parking Garage, and in December police were called out to Blue Fin Cafe and Billiards on reports of a double stabbing.Both crimes happened near the Giant Artichoke.

Salazar also said he got blamed for fights that happened in the area, and the city tried to cut how late he could stay open because of it. We asked the city about the change in hours and were told nothing was brought to the planning commission.

Sgt. Ethan Andrews with the Monterey Police Department said the Giant Artichoke had its issues but was not targeted.

“There were some incidents that happened in and around that establishment,” said Andrews.

“That was one of the establishments we tried to work with to make sure they had a proper security plan and that they were following their security plan.”

After the two violent crimes, police said they increased their patrols in the area and started working with a number of different bars and restaurants on their security plans.

“We address issues as they come up,” said Andrews.

“So if a particular business is having problems, then we address it with that business, but there wasn’t a particular focus on any one business.”

The Giant Artichoke’s landlord, the Cannery Row Company, did not respond to our request for comment. The original location of the restaurant is in Castroville. It is still open.