Nearly five months after the devastating wildfires that burned much of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu — as across town Altadena faced a similar fate — the famed Pacific Coast Highway is finally reopened to visitors.
It’s a welcome announcement this holiday weekend, following months in which Malibu’s beachside businesses that were lucky enough to remain standing were blocked from the majority of their customers. And many have been struggling for most of the year as a result.
“If you leave Malibu and you’re anywhere else, the world has moved on. There’s no awareness that, oh, the city is still in this 911 catastrophic situation,” says Malibu Farm owner Helene Henderson, acknowledging the Malibu Pier hotspot’s business has been down at least 50 percent — and more on the weekdays — since the January fires.
Because even though Malibu Canyon and Kanan Dume Road have remained open for access to the area from the 101 freeway, Henderson says “the phone is ringing all day long with people like, ‘We don’t understand how to get to Malibu,’” since PCH, the most direct route from L.A., has been closed to those without a business or residential pass. And even if visitors could figure it out, “If somebody says, ‘Do you want to meet me in Malibu for Tuesday lunch?’ but it’s an hour and a half going over the freeways, you’re not going to do that, right?” she acknowledges. Henderson also notes that at least 50 percent of Malibu Farm’s dinner reservations regularly don’t show up, as cars have been stopped at the PCH closure and didn’t know how to get around.
“Normally, we build a summer cushion to cover us through the winter. This year, there’s not going to be a summer cushion to carry us through the winter, so we’re trying to budget,” she continues of the current outlook. “What we’re thinking here is, how do we make it to spring 2026?”
Paradise Cove, the iconic feet-in-the-sand spot further down the road, has had similar issues, down 50 to 60 percent of normal business. “The news cycle is so fast these days — we reopened like the second week of February and then by the end of February, people are calling and saying, ‘Why is PCH closed?’” assistant GM Tim Morris says, admitting, “It just really bums you out that everyone just goes back [to normal] so fast and it’s so quick to forget all the tragedy and the hardship.”
In order to drum up business, the restaurant has engaged in a “guerilla marketing” campaign on social media, making videos with other local restaurants encouraging people to come visit. But still, up until Friday, Malibu has been “an island,” Morris says, cut off from tourism and residents of Los Angeles.
Zane Koss, owner of Malibu Country Mart favorite Taverna Tony, hasn’t experienced quite the same customer drop off, but confirms that during the week, “it’s just a ghost town.” He has started heavily advertising specifically to areas that are used to taking the canyon roads instead of PCH, targeting those in Westlake, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Agoura. “We found that that’s helped, we’ve had a lot of people come in and say, ‘Oh, we saw your ad,’” Koss says.
He also expresses how grateful he is to the Malibu community as locals continue to support the community’s businesses, but admits, “Everyone’s like ‘Where are all our Angelenos, did they forget about us?’ It’s kind of wild, because we’re such a big part of the city and I think a lot of Malibu people feel like, ‘Where is everybody? How come they’re not coming out here and supporting us?’ We’re all just kind of stunned.”
There may be hope on the horizon, as Governor Newsom announced that up to two lanes of PCH (in each direction) would reopen on Friday, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Repairs will continue even as the road opens and a slower speed limit will be in effect. There are mixed feelings on the reopening, as Morris acknowledges, “Traffic is going to be an absolute nightmare going back and forth.” Henderson also questions if people will rush back to the beach as questions of sand and water safety remain following the fires.
But, Morris continues, “I’m very excited for just that shift in mentality, where if PCH is open, people are going to realize that Malibu is open; with PCH being closed, in their mind, it’s synonymous with Malibu being closed.”
Kelly Furano, managing director at Aviator Nation Dreamland — which triples as a retail store, restaurant and live music venue, located across from Malibu Pier — says she and founder Paige Mycoskie are ready for the incoming flood, but want visitors to keep in mind “that so many people have lost everything.”
“We want also things to go back to the way that they were. We miss Malibu and we miss offering it up to people,” she says. “But people also need to be prepared for what they’re going to see. It’s hard, it’s shocking when you drive it for the first time,” with so many beachfront homes completely flattened.
Aviator Nation Dreamland is charging ahead with it summer plans, with a Maren Morris album release party set for May 9 and a summer concert series scheduled for the first Sunday of every month, in partnership with Malibu Pier. Still, Furano says, “we’re just sort of wounded, the community, and we don’t look the same; our business does, but everything around us looks different.” She adds, “Come and play — that’s what we do, that’s what we want to give people. And be patient with the fact that this community is healing.”
