About Us
TYLER EAVES
Chef Tyler Eaves leads the kitchen at Cella with a focus on letting ingredients simply shine and with purpose. Raised spending time in the kitchen with his family in Maryland, he learned early on that cooking is less about performance and more about care.
He trained at the Culinary Institute of America and went on to cook in some of the country’s most driven kitchens, including Pineapple & Pearls, Sierra Mar, and Chez Noir. Those experiences sharpened a style that values restraint, collaboration, and a strong sense of place.
At Cella, his work begins with the growers. The menu follows what’s coming in, resulting in dishes that feel grounded, clear, and quietly confident.
LILY GONZALES
Manager, Lily Gonzales shapes the experience at Cella with a steady, intentional hand. Her approach to hospitality is rooted in making people feel at ease, welcomed, and genuinely looked after without it ever feeling overdone.
She grew up surrounded by graceful and gracious women who knew how to host instinctively, teaching her how to make every gathering special. Since arriving on the Central Coast, she has found a natural alignment with Monterey’s culinary community and remains inspired to shape its future.
Lily focuses on how a space feels as much as how it functions, guiding the flow of service, the energy of the room, and the small details that guests may not notice outright, but remember.
JOSHUA PERRY
Joshua Perry runs the bar at Cella with a simple idea in mind: make drinks people want to come back for. A San Francisco native with nearly three decades behind the bar, he’s spent his career refining a style that’s equal parts technical and approachable.
Since joining Cella early on, he’s built a cocktail program that shifts with the seasons and stays rooted in what’s fresh and available. He avoids shortcuts, preferring to build flavors from the ground up, with menus that change often enough to keep regulars curious.
Joshua pays attention, remembers preferences, and knows when to introduce something new. For him, a great bar experience is straightforward: a good drink, at the right moment, made with care.
