Duke’s Malibu, still under construction more than a year after the fires. | Photo by Lisa Jennings
When wildfires erupted across Los Angeles last year, much of the Malibu coastline edging the Pacific Ocean was destroyed, a mess of charred debris.
It seemed a miracle that Duke’s Malibu—one of the few restaurants on the California coast directly on the beach, where waves literally roll up to the windows at high tide—was largely spared.
During the thick of it, Duke’s expansive parking lot became the staging area for firefighters and first responders. When it was finally over, Duke’s had some smoke damage and a few burn spots on the property, but General Manager Jimmy Chavez believed at the time the restaurant could reopen by Valentine’s Day.
But then, the first week in February, it began to rain.
Only it wasn’t the typical rain seen in Southern California in winter. It was an atmospheric river, a deluge that fell with such force onto the burn-scarred canyon beside the restaurant, it unleashed a torrent of mud, debris and water that dumped right into Duke’s on Feb. 13.
The entire restaurant had to be gutted, including replacing most of the kitchen equipment, electrical system and plumbing. The expensive koa paneling made from a signature Hawaiian hardwood, had to be stripped, refinished and restored.
Duke’s parking lot and entryway were inundated with mud and debris. | Photos by Jimmy Chavez.
Now, more than a year after the fires, Duke’s is still closed and under construction. The company estimates the closure is a roughly $10 million loss in revenue.
Reflecting on the past year amid the sound of hammering and buzz saws, Chavez is hesitant to give a specific date for reopening. He set a date several times over the course of 2025, only to see it pushed.
Now he says maybe by mid-February. Certainly by the restaurant’s 30th anniversary this summer.
“We’ve stopped and started so many times,” he said, but there are still so many unknowns, like the work still being done on the Pacific Coast Highway, known locally as the PCH, which is the only way in or out of the restaurant. “We’re trying to build what our business model will look like, and, with the PCH, not knowing what access would look like.”
Duke’s is certainly not alone as a restaurant struggling to deal with the aftermath of the LA fires and subsequent storm.
Even for a region used to fire, the weeks of inferno that began Jan. 7, 2025, were catastrophic. Over roughly a month, multiple fires across the county burned more than 55,000 acres, cutting through neighborhoods like the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena. An estimated 18,000 structures were destroyed and at least 31 people died. In those weeks, about 180,000 residents were evacuated.
The paradise tax
But Duke’s story represents a stunning example of resilience for the restaurant industry here.
Duke’s Malibu is owned by Hawaii-based TS Restaurants, a family-owned company, which operates 13 concepts in Hawaii and California, all in spectacular locations.
But the features that can make a location paradise, can also bring risk.
The group’s very first restaurant, Kimo’s, opened in 1977 on the island of Maui. In 2023, that restaurant was completely destroyed by a fire there. Happily, of about 700 employees on that island, everyone was safe, though almost 300 lost their homes and hometown, said CEO Jackie Reed.
(The company and guests raised $2.2 million to support those workers through the Legacy of Aloha Foundation, and the company plans to rebuild Kimo’s in the next few years.)
The group’s first Duke’s location opened in Kauai in 1989. Just weeks after opening, that restaurant was destroyed in a hurricane. It took about three years to rebuild. A second restaurant named Sharky’s, was also destroyed, and never reopened.
Is there a curse?
No, said Jackie Reed, who has been with TS Restaurants for 37 years. The restaurant industry has always been tough, and getting tougher. But the Thibaut and Saxten families who own the company (now in the second generation), have long-term vision.
“That allows us to manage through short-term difficulties that gets us to the next cycle, usually a cycle of great success. We just need to get through these tough times,” she said. “It seems like a lot of disasters, but we have almost 50 years of incredible memories and special moments,”
Duke’s Malibu, now one of six for the brand, opened in 1996. The concept is named for the surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku, who taught surfing in Malibu and appeared in a number of movies. The female surfer (Kathy Kohner Zuckerman) who inspired the novel, movie and TV show “Gidget” also worked at Duke’s Malibu and later served as “Ambassador of Aloha” there.
The casual menu is Hawaiian-inspired, with dishes like macadamia-nut hummus, poke tacos, banana leaf steamed fish and shrimp, and the surf-and-turf option of prime sirloin with coconut shrimp or a glazed lobster tail.
Most famously, Duke’s is known for its Hula Pie, a monstrous slice of macadamia nut ice cream and hot fudge in a chocolate-cookie crust.
And, of course, there’s the stunning view of the ocean overlooking a rocky beach. But, though Malibu is a celebrity-studded tourist destination, it’s also a hazardous place to live and work.
Chavez said the beach town has suffered more than 30 significant fires over the past 100 years, including one that occurred in late 2024, forcing a five-day closure of the restaurant.
Duke’s wasn’t damaged in that fire, either, but suffered the loss of food and business from the closure. Chavez said they had an insurance claim pending for that fire when the 2025 fires hit.
The worst yet
On Jan. 7, 2025, a Tuesday, Duke’s was closed. The famous Santa Ana winds were expected to hit 70- to 80-miles per hour that day. Chavez figured trees would fall and knock out power, so it seemed prudent to keep the restaurant closed.
Chavez was at home that day—he had 3-month-old twins to contend with. An assistant GM and chef were on site at the restaurant buttoning things up. Then, they started sending Chavez photos of a plume of smoke in the distance.
“I knew, with two or three days in front of us of Santa Ana winds [in the forecast], it was not going to be good,” said Chavez.
At Duke’s, a beloved regular at the restaurant was a retired fire captain who lived down the beach a bit. Chavez said that friend stationed himself in Duke’s parking lot that first night, reporting via FaceTime as the flames hit the ridge over Malibu.
“Basically, he was reassuring me, like, saying they got this. It’s right across the street, but it’s not going to jump the PCH,” said Chavez.
But the fire did jump the four-lane road, with embers carried by the high winds. It wasn’t long before much of the neighborhood was in flames. No Duke’s employees were hurt, but three lost their homes.
Chavez wasn’t allowed to come to Duke’s until four days later, with roads closed to the public and the area still smoldering. He remembers driving up the coast past a curve known as Big Rock. Typically, he would round the curve to a line of beach houses leading up to Duke’s. But that day he came around the bend and suddenly had a completely unobstructed view of the restaurant ahead. All of the houses were gone.
A false start
Despite the destruction around them, Chavez said they felt at the time they could reopen within a few weeks.
When the rain began to fall in February, officials warned that the burn-scarred areas would be vulnerable to mudslides. Duke’s had been flooded before, in 2011, so Chavez said they thought they were ready, following all the recommended flood mitigation efforts.
One of the drainage creeks that runs down the mountain flows right beside Duke’s and out into the ocean. On Feb. 13, so much rain fell in an hour that the creek jumped the road. The road turned into a river. And that river emptied right into Duke’s.
Mud inside the restaurant was several inches thick. | Photo by Jimmy Chavez.
The damage water and mud can do is vastly different than fire. But it can be just as costly.
“Anytime you get flooded, any wall that it hits, you’ve got to do a mandatory four-foot cut to open up the walls, make sure there’s no mold,” said Chavez. “Every wall was hit. So every wall was opened.”
It was clear the rebuild was going to take time.
After the flood, Chavez was forced to lay off 130 of the restaurant’s staff. The management team was furloughed.
Bringing Duke’s back after such a long stint will not be easy.
Chavez said his plan is to resurrect the restaurant in phases. There’s the 250-seat main dining room that can be configured various ways, a 100-seat Barefoot Bar, and the event space for about 200.
Midway through 2025, the Duke’s event space was finished, for example, though the kitchen was not. So the restaurant tried to recapture some of the weddings and events that had been booked, using rented kitchen trailers in the parking lot, and bringing back some staff.
“We were able to do a couple of really special community events, some really special celebrations of life for local people that have passed,” said Chavez.
As the seasonal summer business ramps up—if it ramps up, depending on the road repair work—Chavez will staff up more, hopefully reaching that 130 count again. So far, about a quarter of the staff is coming back.
“It’s been a little bit of a chess match trying to bring those people back in the right way,” he said.
But then there’s the challenge of marketing Malibu again.
Guests planning weddings are probably not envisioning the crashing ocean backdrop, but the burnt lots that pocket the city.
“We’re down about 40% for future bookings [for events],” said Chavez. “It’s people not knowing what Malibu looks like.”
A celebration ahead
When the restaurant is ready (Reed is confident about a February opening), Chavez wants to throw a big party to thank firefighters and other emergency teams that protected the property.
Despite the challenges, there are silver linings, said Chavez.
Duke’s will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with an entirely revamped building. Despite horror stories heard around town about insurance hassles in the post-fire period, Chavez said the process has been smooth for Duke’s.
And the Duke’s brand continues to grow.
TS Restaurants is planning to open Duke’s Kona this year, the first on Hawaii’s Big Island. And another location is coming to the west side of Oahu in 2028.
Fundamentally, Chavez said he is optimistic, at least about the things he can control.
“I feel amazing about this building that has all this history going to our 30th year, getting a refresh and a new breath of life,” he said.
“And I feel amazing about our crew that I have coming back. They’re the best of my best, and they’re all on board,” he said. “It shows the loyalty and the strength of our connection and our family feel that we have here, internally.”
All they have to do is get guests in the door, he said.
“It’s the whole ‘Field of Dreams,’ if you build it, they will come,” he said. “If people get into our building—and we can get them into our building—I know we will take amazing care of them. Better than we ever have.”
Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts.