Malibu and Pacific Palisades Restaurants Face Uncertain Future Amid 2025 LA Wild…

As firefighters continue to work toward containing the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, Eater reached out to restaurant operators across the area to understand how they are contending with the scope of the tragedy, which, for some, has made the future for their restaurants uncertain. Almost every commercial business in Malibu and Pacific Palisades has been temporarily closed due to a lack of utilities or access to the area. Much of Southern California is on a continued red flag alert as high winds have been forecasted again for the week of January 14 and January 15.

In addition, restaurants going as far west as Topanga Canyon have had to temporarily shutter operations as evacuation zones have expanded. The Los Angeles Times reported on January 14 that restaurant workers impacted by the wildfires can apply for financial assistance through Restaurants Care, an aid program from the California Restaurant Foundation. Here are real-time updates from various restaurant owners in the region and what their plans for rebuilding might look like in the future.

Broad Street Oyster Co.

Malibu

Chris Tompkins, founder of seafood restaurant Broad Street Oyster Co., says that the authorities have told him it could be anywhere from two to four weeks, to up to 10 weeks, before the original Malibu location gets gas service back. At the moment, Tompkins says the restaurant does not have internet but is one of the few restaurants to still have electricity. Still, without gas service, the restaurant does not have hot water, which it needs for service. Tompkins says most of the entire area around Broad Street Oyster Co. is experiencing similar issues, which could lead to the loss of business for months. The lobster roll specialist has numerous other locations around town that have not been impacted by the fires and remain operational, including Grand Central Market in Downtown, in Santa Barbara, and at the Huntington Beach Pier. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Caffe Luxxe

Pacific Palisades

Mark Wain, the co-founder and CEO of Caffe Luxxe, found out his Palisades cafe had burned down when he saw the building aflame on a local newscast. Around 11 a.m. on January 8, he heard that Gelson’s and Ralphs, which stand on either side of the cafe, were affected, but that the building was safe. That afternoon, at 3:58 p.m., flames could be seen through the windows of the cafe as the news broadcast panned by the building.

Wain’s first concern was for the safety of the Caffe Luxxe team. Along with co-founder Gary Chau, he temporarily closed half of the cafes in Los Angeles that were in evacuation areas, bordering on evacuation areas, or impacted by bad air quality including those in Brentwood Country Mart, Santa Monica, Malibu, and Manhattan Beach. On January 13, some of the temporarily closed locations reopened as the fire containment percentages rose.

Wain plans to rebuild in the Palisades, where Caffe Luxxe has operated a location since 2018, but is still assessing that impulse day by day — sometimes hour by hour. He hasn’t had a chance to survey the damage yet but hopes to make it to the Palisades during the week of January 13. Currently, he’s hearing of two- to three-hour-long waits to get into the area and wants to allow residents who have lost their homes to take priority in returning. While the situation is still in flux, Wain plans on temporarily moving employees at the Palisades cafe to other locations. The company is currently in the long line of impacted businesses filing insurance claims but promises that affected employees will continue to get paid. “We want to do right by our employees,” Wain says. “We want to do right by our customers. We want to do right by our community.”

For now, Wain encourages people to show up to Caffe Luxxe’s other locations, whether looking for a place of respite or just stopping by for a coffee. The roastery in Gardena also remains unaffected, and beans are available to purchase online for shipping. “We’re more than just a coffee shop,” Wain says, “The company is more about our people, the connections that we make with our customers, and the deep connections that we have in our communities.”

At the Brentwood cafe, which has remained open, Wain has already seen regulars come in and let staff know how they are doing, including some who lost their homes. “The best way to help us is to stop in and say hi to let us know how you are,” he says. “A lot of our people know our customers really well. We’re concerned and worried about them; we want to make sure they’re okay.”

For Wain, the path forward for Caffe Luxxe starts today. “We’re bent, but not broken,” Wain says. “We will rebuild.” — Rebecca Roland, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Photo by Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images

Gladstones

Malibu

Jim Harris, the chef and co-owner of Gladstones in Malibu, hasn’t been able to access the restaurant to survey the damage. Although he knows the main building is still standing, Harris says that the Palisades Fire destroyed a storage container, as well as other containers on the west side of the building. The ice room, which was attached to the main building, also burned down and the connecting wall is gone. The extent of smoke damage and loss of product is yet to be understood.

Harris doesn’t have a timeline for reopening yet. There is currently no power or utilities available, and the local water has been contaminated with debris and ash from the fire. But he already has a team of contractors ready to start working as soon local authorities deem it safe. — Rebecca Roland, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Endless Color

Topanga Canyon

Endless Color, a pizzeria in Topanga Canyon, is right in the middle of an evacuation zone. A week into the fires, it remains closed as Topanga Canyon remains at risk of the Palisades Fire. Currently, the canyon is closed to traffic and high winds have continued to impact the region. A representative for the restaurant says it hopes to reopen during the week of January 20 after resetting the kitchen and disposing of produce that has gone bad due to loss of power. “We are especially concerned for our staff who rely on their jobs and have lost income during this horrific and devastating time for our city,” a representative says. — Rebecca Roland, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Porta Via

Pacific Palisades

Porta Via, an Italian restaurant that opened in Beverly Hills 30 years ago and has locations in Pacific Palisades, Calabasas, and Palm Desert, has temporarily closed its location at Palisades Village, which seemed to have survived the fire, since the Palisades Fire broke out on January 7. Founder Peter Garland, who spoke with Eater on the phone, shared that he hasn’t been able to access the property. “In all likelihood the business is finished for the foreseeable future,” he says. “We’ve been there for seven years, and we liked being there. It’s a bummer.” Garland lamented the widespread damage leading to the loss of homes and lives within the last week.

Garland says 55 employee jobs were impacted and that while he has two other LA-area restaurants, they aren’t able to absorb all of those positions. With regards to communication with real estate magnate Rick Caruso, whose company owns the Palisades Village development, Garland was told they would get a chance to access the damage once it’s safe to go into the area. The Los Angeles Times reported that Caruso had hired private firefighters to preserve the Palisades Village development; the developer said the firefighters had unsuccessfully attempted to save nearby homes as well.

Given the time it’ll take to rebuild Pacific Palisades, Garland doesn’t think the restaurant will reopen there. “The Palisades is one of the greatest places to live, and I’m sure it’ll bounce back. For a restaurateur, we don’t have a lot of time. We don’t have all the answers,” he says. “We’ll try to keep an open mind and see what tomorrow brings.” — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Lucky’s

Malibu

Montecito steakhouse Lucky’s opened in Malibu in 2020 inside the expansive Malibu Country Mart; it’s been closed since the Palisades Fire broke out in the Malibu/Pacific Palisades region last week. Director of operations Larry Nobles wrote to Eater that the restaurant has been unable to operate due to a break in the main gas line south of the Malibu Country Mart, the development where Lucky’s is located. “We can’t operate, and the utilities told us it could be seven to 10 days from last Friday for the gas to come back on. We’re just holding tight and playing it day by day,” Nobles told Eater on a follow-up phone call. He says that power had been intermittent, but that the lights were currently on in the building. Even so, without gas, the restaurant can’t operate normally.

The Lucky’s team in Malibu has been looking for other ways to feed the community and the numerous first responders in the area. “We’re renting flattops and grills to try and make burgers and sandwiches. We just want to be a place where people can gather and just see their neighbors,” Nobles says. The restaurant isn’t looking to make any money from the cooking; instead it’ll accept donations to continue to provide relief. “We specialize in feeding people; we’re trying to get some normalcy. It’s so awful and devastating; so many people have lost everything,” he says.

Nobles says that with the wildfires and mudslides he’s experienced in Montecito, he knows coming back from these disasters will take time. “We know it’s going to be a long struggle. We want to keep our employees working; our goal is to just keep moving, and don’t stop moving.” — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest