Taverna Tony sees a slow day of business on the afternoon of Aug. 12. The general manager of the restaurant said the numbers are down from previous years, but this summer has been doable. Photos by Melissa Houston
Business is slow for some local restaurants and cafés despite the reopening of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), but servers, managers and owners said quality business will rise from the ashes.
With a stretch of PCH off limits to the general public from Jan. 7 until May 23 due to the lasting impact of the Palisades Fire, local restaurants and cafés suffered a loss of customers. Business managers and owners from Caffe Luxxe Malibu, The Country Kitchen, Taverna Tony and Zinqué Malibu have seen more traffic return after the heavily traveled highway reopened to the public, but they said their numbers are far down from previous summers.
“It [business] continues to grow, but we’re definitely not where we were pre-wildfire,” said Gary Chau, co-owner of Caffe Luxxe.
Despite the situation local businesses are facing due to the Palisades Fire, Zinqué Malibu server Krisztina Agramonte said she uses the area’s natural beauty as a reminder to remain hopeful.
“I think in every loss there is potential for regrowth,” Agramonte said. “Look at Malibu Canyon. How beautiful is the regrowth? Everything has the potential to come back or even come back better.”
The owners and managers of local restaurants said they had to get creative when finding ways to keep guests coming to their business. Despite the financial loss each of these businesses have taken, their owners and managers are fortunate their locations survived the flames and look forward to what the future holds.
The Data Tells a Story
Zinqué Malibu was packed to the brim every night of the week before the Franklin and Palisades fires, Agramonte said.
“Before the fires — really imagine this with your eyes — the restaurant [Zinqué Malibu] is full with people,” Agramonte said. “People have to wait for the tables for 45 minutes minimum.”
This all changed after the Palisades Fire, which led to a decline in business, Agramonte said. Even after PCH reopened in May, the downward trend hasn’t changed.
“Sometimes our reservations are zero,” Agramonte said. “People [servers] got sent home because we don’t have enough guests.”
Customers dine at a quiet Zinqué Malibu on Aug. 12. The restaurant saw a decrease in business since the Palisades Fires.
This lack of customers caused other servers from Zinqué Malibu to seek work elsewhere, Agramonte said. She is the only server still working at Zinqué Malibu who was there before the Palisades Fire.
“There’s only one server on the weekend, which is me,” Agramonte said.
Despite PCH reopening, Agramonte said she still sees a noticeable difference in the tips she receives. Before the Palisades Fire, Agramonte would bring in around $800 from tips on any given weekend. Now she makes around $100.
Zinqué Malibu is not the only restaurant that is not back to pre-fire numbers. Joel Ruiz, the manager of The Country Kitchen, said his business — located on PCH near Duke’s Malibu — is down nearly 30% from where it was last year.
Ruiz said the Palisades Fire displaced many of his local and loyal customers.
“Local people lost their houses, and even people that didn’t have any damage in their houses are not living there,” Ruiz said.
Tatum Lyon, general manager of Taverna Tony, said she shared a similar experience.
“The standpoint from a well established, successful restaurant [Taverna Tony] is that we definitely are way down,” Lyon said.
Owners and Managers Observe Changes
Restaurant and café owners and managers said they have speculations of why business continues to be lower than last year.
Lyon said she has observed fewer tourists at Taverna Tony this summer in comparison to the last due to uncertainties concerning the state of Malibu after the Palisades Fire.
“Less people are vacationing here,” Lyon said. “Those people who had money and would come rent out one of the beach houses all summer — they probably aren’t.”
Taverna Tony experiences a quiet afternoon Aug. 12, which the general manager said has been more common since the Palisades Fire. The restaurant, located at Malibu Country Mart, typically has busy weekends and evenings.
Since the stretch of PCH reopened in late May, the speed limit remains at 25 mph, according to KEYT.com. Lyon said the speed limit could be a reason for people not wanting to travel north from Los Angeles to Malibu.
“It’s still difficult for some people to make the quick trip here because of the speed limit through PCH,” Lyon said.
These factors have led to slower business than previous summers, Lyon said. This caused restaurants like Taverna Tony to try new tactics, such as advertising, to work their way back up to pre-fire numbers.
Restaurant and Café Owners Combat Low Numbers
Natural disasters are something southern California businesses unfortunately have to deal with, Chau said. Each time there is a fire or a mudslide, Chau said Caffe Luxxe Malibu takes a financial hit.
“It [business] never comes back to where it once was,” Chau said. “Then you slowly start climbing back to what you think is going to become normal, and then another natural disaster.”
To combat this, Chau said he relies on the strength of the local community.
“You just need to remain flexible and positive about the city and the community and just be together as a neighborhood and a community to help us all see it through,” Chau said.
A “Now Open Support Local Coffee” banner hangs in front of Caffe Luxxe on Aug. 12. The restaurant, located along PCH, was closed for about 50 days due to the Palisades Fire.
To support his staff and to keep the community together, Chau said he moved employees from the Malibu and Palisades Caffe Luxxe locations to the other franchise cafés throughout southern California.
Chau said regular customers who had to relocate from Malibu and the Palisades were overjoyed when they saw their favorite Caffe Luxxe staff members in an unexpected location.
“Imagine the sparkle and the happiness, and in some cases, the tears in customers’ eyes when they reconnected with someone who they knew and saw every day,” Chau said.
To bring in more business to Taverna Tony, Lyon said she started advertising the restaurant outside of Malibu, which is something that has never been done before. An increase in advertising and the reopening of PCH gave Taverna Tony’s business a boost as the summer season began.
While fire clean up is still a work in progress along PCH, Ruiz said The Country Kitchen was happy to serve a new set of customers: construction workers.
“The construction people came to the restaurant,” Ruiz said. “They kept us busy.”
Ruiz said he is grateful his restaurant survived the Palisades Fire and is also grateful to the construction workers and Pepperdine students for keeping the business alive after being closed for about 50 days post-fire.
Staff and Management Remain Positive
While business from Caffe Luxxe Malibu, The Country Kitchen, Taverna Tony and Zinqué Malibu is still impacted by the long-term effects of the Palisades Fire, each owner, manager and server from their respective restaurant said they remain optimistic.
Chau said he is happy when Caffe Luxxe can create a moment of normalcy for those who lost their homes and belongings from the Palisades Fire.
“I ran into one of our customers, and she said, ‘Besides the challenge of just trying to find something affordably priced while they [we] figure things out with insurance companies, we wanted to make sure that we were somewhere near a Caffe Luxxe,’” Chau said. “It gave them a sense of comfort and a reminder of home.”
Ruiz said he constantly reminds himself how fortunate he is that his restaurant still stands, because others nearby did not have the same experience with the Palisades Fire.
“Restaurants like the Reel Inn and Moonshadows are gone,” Ruiz said. “Thank God we are still there.”
Customers dine at The Country Kitchen Aug. 12, with business still down since before the Palisades Fire according to the manager. The restaurant survived being closed for 50 days thanks to the help of construction workers supporting the restaurant.
Lyon said this summer has been doable thanks to a loyal crowd that enjoys the unique environment of Taverna Tony.
“We play Greek music and Armenian, so we get people who still want to make the journey and come because of the lively atmosphere of it,” Lyon said.
Agramonte said no matter what numbers show up from counting tips or how many shifts she can get at Zinqué Malibu, she will not leave.
“I stay in Malibu because I love Malibu,” Agramonte said. “I can’t, I just physically can’t leave.”
Agramonte said she will be in Malibu to see the city and its local restaurants rise from the Palisades Fire aftermath.
“Some things die just to be born again,” Agramonte said.
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Contact Emma Martinez via email: emma.martinez@pepperdine.edu or by Instagram: @emmamartinezreports
