Malibu has seen a lot of changes in recent years. Old timers bemoan the loss of Mom and Pop places, that service the community only to see posh shops selling $800 T-shirts come and go.
It’s enough to make longtime locals cry and ask, “Is that all there is?”
But then when you are just about to give up, here comes Susie Weiss and her fresh pears. She dutifully opens the Malibu Liquor Store and Market every day at 8 a.m. sharp and works until long after dark.
Kids have bananas, apples, oranges and Greek yogurt as they jump on the school bus at Rambla Pacifico and PCH in the morning.
Their moms and dads might grab a lemon, lime or nice bottle of wine when they pick them up at dusk. It’s a good-old fashioned general store and has stayed that way since Pete McKellar bought the place after World War II and has stayed that way since Mike Deeb bought it a few years back.
Need Pediatric Electrolyte for your toddler? They’ve got it. Toilet paper, paper towels, ice cream, toothpaste? Check. Aspirin, sponges, soap? No problem. They’ve got it all from cereal to champagne. In keeping with Pete McKellar’s longtime tradition, Mike or Susie might even bring you the New York Times on Sunday.
Like the Robert Redford movie, it sometimes feels “All is Lost” in Malibu, but if you know where to look you can still find a few places that remind you why you moved here in the first place.
“It’s like everyone is family,” says Susie. “Everyone is your friend. It’s like ‘Cheers’ and everybody knows your name.” Mike and Susie have kept it a real country store. “From sour cream to Parmesan cheese to wine, I’ll get you whatever you like,” says Susie, or as Mike likes to say, “We take care of you.”
Right next door you’ll find Country Kitchen, which has been serving up burgers, breakfast burritos and spicy chili for decades. There’s even my favorite “Kim Special,” grilled cheese with avocado and tomato on sourdough.
I really came to appreciate the place when I shattered my shoulder in London and wasn’t able to drive.
I’ve been in the neighborhood for 20 years, but I feel like I am in San Francisco or Midtown.
I can walk to work at The Malibu Times, grab some lunch, hit the post office, grab some flip-flops or beach wear at Malibu Divers and have fish tacos for dinner with my husband at Duke’s.
When I need to pick up a gift, flowers or a card, I can just pop over to Cosentino’s, also local legend. Joie Cosentino grew up in the place and now her kids are, too. “It’s great to be a working mom, take my kids with me and I really hope they follow a path that is familiar to them,” Joie says.
I met Joie in the 1990s. A wedding and three adorable babies later, she’s still in business and the place hasn’t changed one bit. “I know all my customers,” she says. “I want them to feel comfortable. I want them to feel like they are coming home, like they are walking through a little piece of heaven. We are so old school we still have a Rolodex.”
At Cross Creek, Diesel Bookstore’s John Evans and Alison Reid also have a flock of book-reading fans.
Although it’s sadly up for sale, a lot of us are hoping for the best.
“It’s always been a place where locals browse and converse and catch up,” says John. “You can have all the tech you want, but there is something personal about a book. Paper by definition is a warm medium and a book is a personal experience.”
Like many locals, John Evans is hoping to see the shop stick around. “My wish from Santa would be to find the right buyer to make sure the bookstore keeps going.”
From Levon at European Shoe repair to Dr. Lisa, the Malibu Coast vet, to Vassil at V’s, there are still a few friendly faces and places that make it all worthwhile.
On the Westside of Malibu, people get the same warm and fuzzy feeling about Malibu Seafood and Lilly’s Café. Whether it’s Neptune’s Net or The Reel Inn, you could drop off the planet and return to find everything just as you remembered.
Malibu has seen a lot of changes, some for the better, others, not so much.
But if you know where to go you can still experience and appreciate the old Malibu we grew to know and love.