AIRAN SCRUBY
Staff Writer
Local restaurant Granita closed Saturday after nearly 15 years in Malibu.
Owners Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff decided not to renew the lease at their Malibu Colony Shopping Plaza location, Puck’s assistant Maggie Boon said.
Granita is one of Puck and Lazaroff’s shared fine-dining restaurants.
Granita with its underwater-themed atmosphere, served American cuisine featuring a Mediterranean influence. The restaurant was a well-known favorite of many local celebrities and had been a social hub in Malibu since its opening in 1991.
A celebration dinner was held at Granita in honor of the restaurant’s many successful years Wednesday, Sept. 21. Dinner cost $65 dollars a plate, and included an appetizer, main course and dessert. The event was catered by chefs Jennifer Naylor and Lee Hefter, as well as by Puck himself.
Puck’s history in the restaurant business is decorated with a variety of successes and accolades. According to a biography on the Food Network’s Web site, he was born in Austria, and his formal training began with an apprenticeship at L’Oustau de Baumaniere.
After taking other positions as a chef in Europe, he made the move to America in 1973 to win his fame in the fine dining world at Ma Maison as chef and part-owner.
He left the realm of French cuisine to establish the famous Spago Hollywood. Though that location closed in 2001, other Spago restaurants have opened in Palo Alto, Beverly Hills, Chicago and Las Vegas.
Lazaroff is one of the foremost restaurant and architectural designers in the field, according to the NAWBO. Her style is known for its bold and innovative flair.
As president of Imaginings Interior Design, Inc., Lazaroff helped to design Spago Hollywood and has collaborated with her husband in many other instances.
The couple has established many restaurants with a unique flavor (both aesthetic and culinary) in addition to Granita. In 1989, they launched Postrio in San Francisco, which featured a fusion of Italian and Asian cuisine. The couple also owns Chinois, an Asian-inspired restaurant on Main Street in Santa Monica.
Though Granita is closing, Puck and Lazaroff, along with other business partners, will continue their work with their 12 other fine dining restaurants, as well as their 51 casual dining restaurants nationwide.
09-29-2005
