Iconic Malibu restaurant poised to reopen 14 months after Palisades fire

Duke’s Malibu, the landmark oceanfront restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway, will reopen Friday following a 14-month closure because of mudslide damage.

The popular coastal restaurant that’s celebrating 30 years in operation this year withstood the Palisades fire that tore through Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Topanga Canyon over a year ago, suffering only smoke damage. Plans to reopen were underway last February when mudslides from heavy rain sent four feet of mud into the restaurant, requiring extensive repairs, cleanup and a full renovation.

“The mud just nearly wiped us out,” general manager Jimmy Chavez said.

Duke’s planned to reopen last summer, but construction delays set the restaurant back even further, shifting the opening date to early 2026.

The restaurant had to tear down its walls to ensure no mold was growing, and was forced to replace its equipment, furniture, plumbing and flooring.

“The circumstances weren’t ideal, but we end up with a fully renovated restaurant at 30 years, 30 years old, which is unheard of,” Chavez said.

Chavez said the building’s proximity to the water led to unforeseen construction delays.

“The waves hit our building at high tide. And so as you’re going to repair something, you often need to repair three things,” he said.

The newly renovated restaurant will reopen Friday with a limited all-day lunch and dinner menu, including customer-favorite dishes such as crispy coconut shrimp and Korean sticky ribs, alongside other coastal dishes including poke tacos and a seared ahi tuna bowl. The signature Hula pie, featuring macadamia nut ice cream coated with an outer chocolate crust and drizzled with chocolate fudge, will return to the dessert menu.

Chavez said that Duke’s hours will also be scaled back while the restaurant gauges customer demand; Taco Tuesday and brunch service will be paused until it can operate at full capacity.

Thirty of the 126 employees that were laid off during the restaurant’s extended closure will return for Friday‘s reopening, including chef Calvin Holladay, members of the management team, and front and back of house staff. The restaurant also hired an additional 15 to 20 people, with plans to increase staffing depending on traffic.

Similarly emblematic restaurants along PCH were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades fire, including Gladstones, which closed for six months and reopened its outdoor dining deck last summer. Many are still in the process of rebuilding and even reopened restaurants have been slow to regain their footing, with new challenges such as decreased profits due to the months-long closure of PCH and ongoing construction. Lily Castro, owner of Lily’s restaurant in Malibu, said she saw business dip as much as 50% following the fires.

Owned by TS Restaurants, Duke’s opened in Kauai in 1989 as ‘Da Original’ Duke’s, named after surfing legend and five-time Olympic medalist Duke Kahanamoku. Duke’s opened a location in Malibu in 1996, honoring Kahanamoku’s efforts to popularize surfing in Southern California. Duke’s later opened two additional SoCal locations; one in Huntington Beach in 1998 and another in La Jolla in 2015.

The Malibu outpost has become an iconic tourist attraction and essential neighborhood stalwart, with a glass-walled dining room perched directly above the shore.

As the restaurant celebrates 30 years, Chavez said they plan on hosting an anniversary party this summer.

“I think overall, it’s been worth it, really special to kind of get to where we are now, feeling so great about the building,” Chavez said. “Obviously it’ll be a long time before Malibu feels like it used to … but yeah, it just feels really positive.”

Duke’s reopening night will mark the return of its weekly Aloha Fridays event, with live music and discounted drinks.

Duke’s Malibu and its Barefoot Bar will reopen this Friday. Regular hours of operation are Thursday to Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. 21150 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, (310) 317-0777, dukesmalibu.com