Published September 2, 2026
BY RUBY IRANMANESH
This summer, Pacific Grove restaurant owner and chef Rudy Ponce has reached great success with his cafe Heatwaves—only open on Sundays—by gaining popularity through social media, attracting hundreds of locals and commuters eager to try flavorful iced matcha and latte combinations as well as Ponce’s famous fried chicken.
Rudolfo’s, located on Lighthouse Avenue, is Ponce’s restaurant which he transforms into Heatwaves every Sunday. Using this space, the chef creates a weekly rotation of appetizing drinks—such as “Banana Pie Matcha” with biscoff crumble and marshmallow cloud—that attracts a long line down the street.
With lines down the block of Lighthouse Avenue each Sunday, Heatwaves has attracted an audience of locals and commuters. Photo by RUBY IRANMANESH
“With Heatwaves, I really want people to have a great experience and try something new in our small community,” says Ponce. “And if I’m constantly being creative, I hope people gravitate towards it.”
Heatwaves’ extravagant drink menu is what draws customers the most. While it’s pretty easy to buy a standard iced latte from Starbucks, finding something as unique as a tiramisu-flavored latte with vanilla cold foam and a giant tiramisu slice on top is nearly impossible—that is, until Heatwaves opened.
Past menus have included drinks such as Coconut Mango Matcha, Strawberry Cheesecake Matcha and Salted Caramel Latte.
“At the beginning, we were just selling fried chicken, and I would make some matchas on the side for fun,” says Ponce. “I would only make like 20 drinks, that’s it. Then we completely went viral on social media and got a million views.”
Heatwaves, a Sunday-only cafe located in Pacific Grove, has gained major popularity for their aesthetic iced drink combinations, attracting hundreds of excited customers each week. Courtesy of HEATWAVES
Throughout this whole journey, social media has been the main reason for Heatwave’s recent success.
“I make all of the videos for our Instagram, and I have a bunch of inspiration and a great team who helps create the designs,” says Ponce. “If it wasn’t for social media, there’s no way any of this would have happened.”
Growing up in Monterey, Ponce began working at local restaurants with his dad—an executive chef—at 15 years old. He eventually attended the Culinary Institute of America and worked in Michelin star restaurants after. In 2020, Ponce began Heatwaves.
“During the Pandemic, a lot of people started doing pop-ups,” says Ponce. “I got into that. I would work six days a week in Napa, and then I would drive back home to do my own thing, one day a week, with the help of my dad and brothers.”
What started out of Ponce’s backyard with the help of his family members is now one of Monterey County’s most popular matcha spots.
“This past week, we made 440 matchas,” says Ponce. “It’s really amazing that people are so supportive and love what I’m creating or are here to try something different.”
With all of the success, Ponce is looking to potentially open up Heatwaves full-time separately from Rudolfos in a new local location.
