Restaurant owner Scott Richter recently opened Scott’s Malibu Market to the Malibu community.
Richter, originally from New York, moved to Los Angeles for his job with Shake Shack, but he often travelled to Malibu on his days off from work. Richter ate at Malibu Kitchen, the restaurant that used to occupy the space where Scott’s Malibu Market now resides. When Richter heard about Malibu Kitchen closing, Richter said he decided to jump on the opportunity to open a restaurant in the newly vacant space.
“I always had a vision for opening a place like this and then when I learned about the opportunity, I felt that it was a match,” Richter said.
Scott’s Malibu Market is the cherry on top of a long career of working in the restaurant industry, Richter said. He hopes that his restaurant will support the locals and Pepperdine community.
Richter’s Career
Richter was exposed to the food industry at an early age. He grew up working in family-owned bakeries and delis, Richter said.
“I’ve always loved food,” Richter said. “I started my own business you know when I had a Monday through Friday job.”
Richter worked in Las Vegas for two years at a high-volume restaurant, Richter said. Richter’s position while in Vegas was manager of PBR Rockbar and Grill, located directly on Las Vegas Blvd, according to Richter’s LinkedIn page.
Richter’s position in Vegas led him to Shake Shack and eventually relocated him to the Los Angeles area, Richter said.
“I opened up their [Shake Shack] first ten restaurants and one in London,” Richter said.
However, Richter decided to venture off on his own.
“In 2019 I just decided to go my own way and I opened a cafe in Downtown LA for four years and had success.”
Once Richter learned about the opportunity awaiting him in Malibu, he couldn’t pass it up.
“My vision worked here and so it was kind of just the opportunity fell in my lap,” Richter said. “I just took one step at a time to just getting the doors open.”
Richter started the process of opening Scott’s Malibu Market a couple of years ago when the last owner closed up shop, Richter said.
Community Impact
Richter wants the Malibu community to know that the restaurant is there for the local community, Richter said.
“We’re here for the locals, we’re here for Malibu, we’re here for obviously the surrounding towns like Calabasas and Palisades,” Richter said. “We are a local business.”
This warm welcome extends to Pepperdine as well.
“We’d love to get to know the Pepperdine community more,” Richter said.
And community members, like Lauren Rose, are discovering Scott’s Malibu Market.
Rose had been at the beach all day when she stumbled upon Scott’s Malibu Kitchen.
“I wanted to try it out,” Rose answered when asked why she stopped at Scott’s Malibu Market.
Richter hopes to keep answering the community’s needs as they pop up, Richter said.
The restaurant is looking to extend their hours to offer dinner and they want to provide hot foods during the winter time, Richter said.
“If you want something or you need something for you, we’ll make it happen you know to the best of our ability,” Richter said.
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Contact Mackenzie Krause via email: mackenzie.krause@pepperdine.edu
