By Kevn Wilkerson, PubClub.com Editor & Publisher
As someone who lived in Los Angeles for some 20 years, I am watching with jaw-dropping alarm at the devastation from the winter LA fires. Pacific Coach Highway – which everyone there just calls PCH – in Malibu is just ashes right up to the ocean.
Along with all the affected homes, the fire has also destroyed some legendary Malibu bars and restaurants. Moonshadows, a legendary haunt right over the beach that often had celebrities drinking at the bar, has burned literally to the ground. All that remains are a couple foundation pilings.
The Reel Inn – a funky seafood restaurant that had an aquarium inside that was a particular favorite of mine – has been destroyed. The owners have started a GoFundMe account to raise money because they want to rebuld the iconic local landmark. The Rosenthal Winery tasting room is another victim of the fires. Neptune’s Net, another dive-ish seafood restaurant on the LA-Ventura County border is okay but closed temporarly due to a power outage.
Gladstones, long a favorite place for tourists because it’s right on the beach and wraps up leftovers in tin foil creations like swans, is closed but has survived as of this writing. The Malibu Beach Inn Hotel, which has a really cool bar with live music, is safe but is closed due to the evacuations. As far as I can tell, now from a safe distance away in San Diego, is that the Malibu Pier is still standing and with it the restaurant at the base of it.
LA Sports Affected By The Fires
The historic Riveria Country Club, home to the PGA Tour’s Genesis Open, host of several U.S. Opens and the designated golf course for the upcoming LA 2028 Olympics, is in Pacific Paladades. Right now the course is fine but the PGA Tour is keeping a close eye on things and is making plans to relocate the tournament if necessary.
The NFL Playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings has been moved to Phoenix. SoFi Stadium is in Inglewood, which is about 17 miles south of Pacific Palasades and the fires and does not have the brush of the canyons that is so prevalent in the fire areas.
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