Junior Michelle Myers (bottom) poses with her dad, Tom Myers (top), at a beach in Malibu during her childhood. Tom Myers has been a resident of Malibu for 40 years, raising his daughter there before she went to Pepperdine. Photo courtesy of Michelle Myers
Malibu is commonly associated with oceanfront mansions, celebrity residents and fancy cars riding along Pacific Coast Highway. But beyond the facade that hovers over Malibu lies a small beach town, populated with a community of surfers, skaters, teachers and families who call it home year round.
One such local is Georgie Topovik, who has lived in Malibu since 2001 and worked in the hospitality industry for nearly two decades. Topovik has worked at Malibu’s beloved Greek restaurant, Taverna Tony, since 2015.
Topovik’s relationship with Malibu runs deep. When he first moved here, Malibu looked nothing like it does now, he said.
“When I came here 20 years ago, there were horses on the beach,” Topovik said. “You’d be walking your dog and they’d tell you not to spook the horses.”
Commercialization Changes the City
Malibu has an extensive history engraved in its foundation.
“Long before Malibu came Humaliwo, a Chumash village,” said Michelle Myers, a lifelong resident of Point Dume and Pepperdine junior. “Point Dume was sacred before it became real estate gold.”
The construction of the former Roosevelt Highway in 1929 marked a pivotal moment for Malibu’s history of development, connecting the town with neighboring coastal communities.
Reduced travel time led to the gradual development of businesses and shops. Today, the smaller, homegrown places that characterized Malibu are mostly gone, replaced by high-end stores and restaurant chains, Topovik said.
“Many of the places that I went to when I was younger are gone,” said Tom Myers, Michelle Myers’ father who has been a Malibu resident for 40 years.
The newer commercial spots — restaurant chains, luxury brands and exercise studios — are morphing Malibu into more of a commercial attraction, curated for visitors.
“I keep hearing about new spots coming to town,” Tom Myers said. “But in the early days, one had to travel through Zuma or Malibu Canyon to get anything beyond basic groceries.”
These newer developments replaced local staples of Malibu, washing away the small-town taste.
“We don’t even have small businesses here in Malibu anymore,” Topovik said. “There used to be all kinds of smaller places, like pet stores and bookstores.”
Malibu keeps expanding its commercial horizons, making it more appealing for newer residents or tourists, yet locals said they wish these changes would slow down.
“For most of Malibu’s modern history, there has been a constant conflict between progress and preservation,” Tom Myers said.
Watching the transformation of a town she grew up idolizing has been difficult, Michelle Myers said. She often reflects on “what once was.”
“Papa Jack’s Skate Park was where Whole Foods is,” Michelle Myers said. “Planet Blue is now Brandy Melville and Coffee Bean used to be where Alfred is now.”
Myers’ childhood memories are a bittersweet reminder of what Malibu used to be.
“I saw ‘The Wizard of Oz’ for the first time in the movie theater that is now Fred Segal,” Michelle Myers said.
A Hardworking Community
Malibu is a small town that faces trials and tribulations. Fires, floods and road closures often slice through locals’ lives. They have become used to the uncertainty of these disasters and grow closer as a community because of it.
“Malibu is prone to natural disasters, but that has never dimmed its light,” Topovik said. “We have a hardworking community, so when anything hits Malibu, we pick back up.”
Tom Myers said he understands this firsthand.
“The majority of Malibu’s residents don’t live in a luxury bubble,” Tom Myers said. “In reality, the commercial spots are relatively new, and most of us who have lived here for a long time know that the real Malibu comes with struggles sometimes.”
Struggles make Malibu’s local community stronger and are a reminder of how fragile the town can be, Topovik said, having lived through eight fires since 2001.
To locals, Malibu in its truest form is not about wealth or fame but a community that sticks together.
“Developers see ash and they smell profit,” Michelle Myers said. “They don’t care about the Malibu families or the Malibu communities.”
A United Front
As prices soar, exclusivity and luxury replace local spots. Although Malibu holds its soul, its essence is fading and locals lament the quiet beach town it once was.
“We all used to know each other,” Tom Myers said. “It feels as if the Malibu I grew up and raised my kid in is disappearing.”
His daughter shares this sentiment.
There are few places that remain untouched by commercialization that are still private to locals, Michelle Myers said.
“There is a side to the community that not everyone sees,” Michelle Myers said. “Like how locals enjoy a good surf at Little Dume and a skate at Bluffs across from Pepperdine.”
She holds on to the memories she has made with her community throughout the years.
“On summer nights at Trancas, live music plays and the same families that have known each other for decades dance together,” Michelle Myers said. “Everyone is barefoot and smiling.”
As she watches her college friends create memories in the town she grew up in, Michelle Myers recalls memories from her childhood, growing up near the ocean with her friends.
“We learned to spot a rip before it spotted us and to duck under a breaking wave and come up calm,” Michelle Myers said. “By late summer, tan lines were a Zuma badge of honor.”
Michelle Myers said she hopes to remind people that Malibu doesn’t begin and end with expensive beach houses and luxury stores but with the community and its members.
“I chose to stay in Malibu for college because I love it here,” Michelle Myers said. “It is such a special thing to call it home.”
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Contact Karla Suzuki via email: karla.suzuki@pepperdine.edu
