Now like any good newsman, when I heard my favorite local watering hole was going to close—in fact, the first report was that it was closing this Friday—the alarm bells went off. I tell you this so you will understand that I make no pretense that this is detached and objective journalism. The thought of Guido’s closing definitely puts me into combat mode.
The truth is, I see this as more than one restaurant, in one shopping mall in one end of Malibu. This really goes to the heart and soul of this town and what we are going to be in 10 years, because the fundamental question we have to decide is: Are we going to be a town or are we just a shopping destination with some adjacent homes around it?
I’ve talked to all of the principals involved with Guido’s, present and past, and it’s all a little bit like the movie Rashomon with one story as seen from several totally different perspectives. But when you take out all the personal stuff, what it boils down to is a successful business, that’s been there more than 20 years, with a loyal and steady following, is going to be folding in the near future.
The principals involved, restaurant owners and center owners, all believe that it’s personal differences and they couldn’t just make a deal, but I think there is something much larger involved. As I see it, over the years we have not had any significant building and as places want to expand there is a bidding war going on for space. Malibu itself is now an international brand, so all of the large international brands see this as a place they need to be, or at least a name they need to put on their brochure next to Manhattan, Boca Raton and Beverly Hills. Additionally, property taxes go up as centers change hands, and then there is always the regional water quality control board and their very expensive demands for us to cure a regional water problem, which makes this a very expensive place for any business to operate. I know that most of us bitch about the prices in the restaurants and the stores, but we all generally accept them, the way we accept the summertime traffic, as the price of living in paradise.
The question is: Have we reached a tipping point?
Generally speaking, I believe in a free and open market. It’s not that it’s perfect, it’s just generally better than the government can do. An ordinance can sometimes fix a problem but it also can make a problem worse. There are several ordinances making their way through the Malibu political system, some of which local businesses strongly oppose. I must confess I blew them off in the past as not very practical and just tinkering with the laws of supply and demand, but I’m ready to take another look.
For all of you free marketers the question I pose is this: How is it that a long-established business like Guido’s can’t make it long term in Malibu?
Or why is whenever you walk past the old Granita Restaurant site, there it sits empty and unused after what, 10 years? Or the old copy store near the Ralph’s Market, with a rent the copy store could no longer afford, and now just an empty space.
There apparently is a new economics afoot, and maybe the only way to change things is through strong directed government regulation (there, I can’t believe I said that).
In the interim, any of you upset with the possibility of Guido’s closing should call your council people or send us a letter or email to the editor.
I can always be reached at agyork@malibutimes.com