Duke’s is the iconic seaside restaurant in Malibu, one of the few buildings in the city along the Pacific Coast Expressway.
Its managers have almost finished cleaning the damage caused by the smoke and are ready to reopen when heavy rains on Thursday trigger mudslides on nearby scorched hillsides.
Las Flores Canyon Road turned into a muddy river that flowed through the PCH and into the parking lot in Duke.
Manager Jimmy Chaves told Malibu Times that restaurants could reopen and now can reopen, adding to the financial hardship of the restaurant’s 130 employees, six of whom were lost in the fire Home.
The mudslide also closed a portion of the restaurant’s front PCH, although a lane has since been opened to emergencies and clearing personnel.
The restaurant has been a favorite puddle for tourists and locals for decades, named in honor of Hawaiian surfing legend Kahanamoku.
According to the restaurant’s website, Kathy Kohner Zuckerman inspired the 1959 film Gidget, his carefree frolicking in an idyllic Southern California paradise Surfers are still serving as “Aloha Ambassador” at Duke’s.
