Many of Malibu’s small businesses—not only those with storefronts and offices, but people working out of their own homes—were affected by the Woolsey Fire. And the effects were numerous; even if the physical space didn’t burn down, some businesses were left without power for an extended time period—a particular disaster for restaurants with refrigerated foods. Others were filled with smoke and ash that had to be professionally cleaned and then certified before customers could be allowed back in. Businesses throughout Malibu, even those not in the burn areas, were affected by the evacuation orders, which meant there were no customers, or far fewer customers than normal.
Ray Gowhari, owner of Spruzzo Restaurant & Bar, which has served Malibu for 24 years, said his business is down 15 percent since the fire, compared to the same period last year.
“We lost over 400 homes right in this area, which translates to about 1,000 customers,” he said in an interview. “Hopefully, we’ll get back on our feet when people start rebuilding. We’re missing a lot of the regulars who used to order from us all the time, who aren’t in town anymore. And this month, the rain and mudslides don’t help.”
The fire also affected Malibu Dental Group, located near Zuma Beach. Assistant Jennifer Niebergall said the dental practice was closed from Nov. 9 until Dec. 6 due to a prolonged power outage, and then closed one additional day due to mudslides. She said the practice was “not back up and fully functioning” until mid-December.
“We had smoke damage that had to be cleaned up and then certified in order to be able to bring patients back in,” she said. “The fire affected us pretty badly. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of dental emergencies during that time, but Dr. Niebergall was on call. We’ve been slowly collecting a list of patients who lost homes, and there are a lot. Some haven’t returned to Malibu and are still living outside the city.”
Another western Malibu business, Dume Plaza Pharmacy, which has served the community for over 40 years, was forced to remove all of its merchandise and over-the-counter drugs from store shelves pending smoke and ash damage clean-up, which didn’t start until Jan. 14. For more than two months, the pharmacy has been focusing just on filling prescriptions for its customers, but losing on sales of everything else.
Zuma Jay’s surf shop, located on the east side of town and owned by current Malibu Mayor Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner, is also suffering losses from the fire.
“Oh, definitely, yes,” Wagner said in a phone interview, when asked if the fire affected his business. “Fewer people are coming to town, and local restaurants I’ve talked to have told me the same thing,” he said. “Parking lots aren’t full that typically are full. It’s definitely slower than it was last winter at this time. For me, business is down 15 to 20 percent. And it’ll be a slow January because of the rain.”
The owner of The Malibu Farm Pier Café and the Malibu Farm Restaurant, Helene Henderson, wrote in an email to TMT describing that, “The Woolsey fires were not only devastating to Malibu residents but also to the small business community in Malibu and all the people they employ … We lost over $500,000 in revenue.
“During the evacuation and power outage, we had a walk-in [refrigerator/freezer] filled with food that was going to spoil,” she wrote. In order to use up that food, chef Dane Skophammer and her son Casper, who hadn’t evacuated, went to the restaurant, cooked a meal in the dark, and brought it to the Point Dume School to feed other locals who hadn’t evacuated.
“Even after these meals, we still had about $50,000 in spoiled produce that had to be discarded,” Henderson wrote. “We began clean-up Nov. 14 by ferrying our staff around the roadblock at Corral and PCH and reopened the restaurants on Dec. 16.”
On reopening day, Henderson reported they had “80 employees eager to work and about 20 guests. We could’ve opened with less staff, but felt obligated to take care of our valuable employees who all had bills and mouths to feed, and have worked so hard to make us a success. As anyone that operates a business in Malibu knows, finding good staff willing to drive for hours and struggle to find parking near the Pier in the summer months is a challenge.”
Henderson wants everyone to know that her restaurants are open 365 days per year and wrote that, “We hope our locals will support us through this challenging period.”