Duke’s restaurant in Malibu survives fire but is now a muddy mess
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Duke’s, the iconic seaside restaurant in Malibu, was one of the few buildings along the city’s storied stretch of Pacific Coast Highway that came through January’s Palisades fire still standing.
Its managers had almost finished cleaning the damage left by smoke and were preparing to reopen when Thursday’s heavy rain triggered mudslides on the scorched hillsides nearby.
Las Flores Canyon Road turned into a river of mud flowing across PCH and into Duke’s parking lot.
Now it will be months before the restaurant can reopen, manager Jimmy Chaves told the Malibu Times, adding to the economic woes of the restaurant’s 130 employees, six of whom lost their homes in the fire.
The mudslide also closed the portion of PCH in front of the restaurant, although one lane has since been opened to emergency and cleanup crews.
The restaurant, which has been a favorite watering hole for tourists and locals for decades, is named in honor of Hawaiian surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku.
Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, who inspired the 1959 film “Gidget,” about carefree surfers frolicking in an idyllic Southern California paradise, still works at Duke’s as an “Ambassador of Aloha,” according to the restaurant’s website.
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