When bartender Dylan Koch makes Pono Pacific Kitchen’s Water Lily cocktail, he gently shakes together gin, Cointreau, and Crème de Violette. Koch pours the cocktail into a Nick and Nora glass, the kind that “looks like it would be at a luncheon in the 1950s,” he described.
Visit for happy hour
Find Pono Pacific Kitchen at 228 W. Grand Ave. in Grover Beach. Follow the fun on Instagram @ponopacifickitchen. The restaurant opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and happy hour runs until 6 p.m.
“It’s going to be this beautiful blue color, just with a little touch of orange floating in there,” Koch said. “It looks like a sunset over the sea.”
As it’s shaken, the cocktail changes color, transforming from the deep purple of the Crème de Violette to a vibrant blue. But that’s not the only special part.
The Water Lily is made with Pono gin, distilled right behind the Grover Beach restaurant.
After two years of obtaining permits and preparing the production facility, Pono’s gin and vodka officially appeared at the bar in October. The first cocktail list is up now, and it’s set to change seasonally. Before the distillery, Pono only had a beer and wine license.
“Grover Beach was yet to have a real cool spot where you could go and get a serious craft cocktail and some food to go along with it,” Koch said.
Though he’s only been with Pono for around two months, the bartender has assumed a hands-on role when it comes to distilling spirits, along with co-owner and chef Preston Tripp.
“It’s really fun, really gratifying, and just an extra little thing to create,” Koch said.
They buy high-proof alcohol to start with, shortening Pono’s distillation time. Once they receive a shipment, the three-day process begins.
For the gin, Koch and Tripp add botanicals like juniper and let the concoction steep. After 24 hours, they can fire up the still, heating the alcohol. Then they let it cool and dilute it with water to their desired strength, Koch explained. Vodka is made similarly but without the botanicals. They make a batch of each about every two weeks.
“You kind of feel like a scientist,” Koch said. “I feel like it’s the most casual kind of mad science work.”
Co-owner Ashlee Alewine agreed that the process looks like a science experiment, with lots of hoses and thermometers. From her perspective, the distillery is helping Pono fill a culinary gap along its stretch of Grand Avenue in Grover Beach by allowing customers access to fine dining and craft cocktails in one location.
“It’s really neat and cool to have that small-batch production facility right in the back of a restaurant,” Alewine said.
For three and a half years, Pono has served high-end dishes with an emphasis on fresh seafood and locally sourced ingredients. A lot of the food is inspired by cuisines from Hawaii, Asia, Mexico, and California.
“We’re in Grover Beach, but we try to transport you to something a little bit more,” Alewine said.
Just like in the kitchen, the bar uses local ingredients, which Koch believes makes guests happy.
“This reflects that same kind of community aspect of the dining that we get from the kitchen, but in a glass as well,” Koch said. “Any of the syrups that we’re making, [we’re] trying to keep that farm-to-table, as well as locally grown hibiscus, and otherwise, straight down to just trying to use as much liquor as we can that comes from the 805.”
Built in the center of the restaurant, the bar is a focal piece of the establishment. The turquoise, gold, and white accents offer a modern feeling while remaining true to the oceanside aesthetic of the restaurant.
“It’s basically the first thing that your eye’s drawn to,” Alewine said.
For now, the liquor is only available in cocktails at Pono, but Alewine said she hopes to sell it by the bottle in the future. The Pono team is also working on remodeling the patio and is considering expanding to build a banquet room in the back.
“It was pretty gratifying to be able to have just one next step in the phase of continuing to grow the restaurant and grow within the community,” Alewine said, “especially in that corridor right there on West Grand.” ∆
Reach Sun Staff Writer Madison White, from New Times’ sister paper, at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 20-30, 2025.