Restaurant rumors go on

0
378
New restaurant at 22716 Pacific Coast Highway

The saga over the eventual tenant in the empty restaurant space next to Nobu grabbed headlines again last week, as renowned chef Wolfgang Puck said he was back in talks with Malibu real estate guru and billionaire Larry Ellison with the hope of opening a seafood restaurant in Malibu.

In the March 25 issue of the magazine Haute Living, Puck said despite being on the outs for a while with Ellison, a possible deal is back on the table.

His envisioned restaurant would be “on the beach in Malibu,” Puck said.

“We would serve great seafood simply prepared, really simple, but of high quality. We just started to talk about it,” Puck said. “I was supposed to do the restaurant a year ago and then I backed out, but we’re talking again. We’re in the early stages.”

But in the aftermath of the interview, an architect who works for Ellison denied Puck would be opening a restaurant in the spot many assumed was up for grabs— the mystery-shrouded space next to Nobu restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway south of the Malibu Pier.

“He’s not going to come into that space,” said Severine Tatangelo, the architect who redesigned the interior space of the property, which is believed to be owned by Ellison.

Tatangelo said talks could have fallen through between the time Puck spoke with the magazine and the time the magazine published.

“I think the interview was a few weeks ago, when [Puck] had some discussions with the owner of the property,” Tatangelo told The Malibu Times. “But it was just discussions, as [Puck] stated, and I guess since no one really knows what’s going on they assumed what he had stated was a done deal.”

Tatangelo recently won approval from the Malibu Planning Commission to serve breakfast out of the space, despite not having a tenant. She said the ownership is expecting to open some type of Mediterraneanthemed restaurant in June or July.

A spokeswoman for Puck neither confirmed nor denied that Puck had fallen out of negotiations with Ellison since Haute Living conducted the interview.

When asked whether Puck was still negotiating with Ellison, the spokeswoman refused to comment.

“I have no information to share at this time,” Stephanie Davis said Monday.

Puck is no stranger to Malibu. In 2005, Puck and his business partner decided not to renew their lease for Granita Malibu, an undersea-themed restaurant thatbecame a staple of the Malibu Colony Shopping Plaza for nearly 15 years. The space has remained empty ever since.