A giant replica of a 1926 match book from the original Las Flores Inn seafood restaurant was recently donated to Duke’s Malibu by Lee and Kimberly West. For the past several years, Lee has been doing research on the Malibu restaurant location.
The history of the location of Duke’s dates back to 1915, when it was a seafood restaurant called the Las Flores Inn on the then-Roosevelt Highway in Pacific Palisades. In 1944, the inn was bought by Chris Polos, who renamed it the Sea Lion Restaurant for the near by boisterous sea lions that once barked greetings to customers. The restaurant then endured a fire and several renovations before becoming Duke’s Malibu in 1996.
During Lee’s research, he discovered an old matchbook from Malibu’s Las Flores Inn. He thought it was an important piece of local history, so he designed a three-foot replica of the original matchbook and commissioned local artist Tom Hofer to create it.
“I’m a frustrated artist in my spare time, and I just wanted to share the history and art with the friends of Duke’s Malibu,” Lee said.
The West family has been frequent patrons of Duke’s for more than 20 years.
“We are so appreciative for the gift of the replica matchbook from the original Las Flores Inn,” Duke’s Malibu manager Josh Morgan. “Duke’s is honored to be a part of such a historic and celebrated location and thankful for wonderful friends like the West family.”