Casa Escobar sold
New tenants will soon occupy the space that has housed Casa Escobar for the past five years. The Cross Creek restaurant’s last day of business was Dec. 31.
Restaurant co-owner Jessica Escobar, daughter of owner Kathy Escobar, confirmed that escrow for the sale has closed. She did not say who the new tenant is, but said it could be Kitson, a six-year-old clothing store located on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles.
“We didn’t want to leave,” Jessica Escobar said. “[Casa Escobar] had great figures, but it was an offer we couldn’t turn down.”
Though it is leaving Cross Creek, Escobar said the restaurant’s relocation options are being explored. Properties in Malibu, West Los Angeles and Westlake Village are being considered.
Casa Escobar opened five years ago in the Cross Creek shopping center. The April 2005 fire, which Escobar said originated from electrical problems in Bay Cities Beauty Supply store, forced it to close for rebuilding for a year and a half, after which it was open for two years.
Resident hosts community meeting
A community meeting regarding the zoning of a land owned by Trancas/PCH, LLC and the upcoming Planning Commission hearing on a Local Coastal Program Amendment regarding the property will take place Monday at 7 p.m. at a local resident’s home.
The commission at its Jan. 6 meeting will consider a LCPA to change zoning of the vacant 35-acre site, located at Trancas Canyon Road, north of PCH, to allow 7.61 acres of the property for multifamily housing, and the remaining 27.58 acres as open space.
The meeting, which will take place at the home of Carol Bird, will also cover other issues including state law AB 885, which would impose statewide regulations on septic systems by 2010, and the proposed Broad Beach offsite sewage treatment plant on the Trancas/PCH, LLC site.
The meeting will also feature a presentation by the groundwater and treatment plant design team of the proposed offsite connection design.
More information can be obtained by calling 310.384.0646
Malibu actress interested in Senate seat
Malibu resident and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher expressed interest in replacing Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate in a Dec. 16 interview with Larry King.
In a written Dec. 9 statement to CNN, Drescher’s spokesman Jordan Brown said, “Fran Drescher, actress, women’s health advocate and public diplomacy envoy for the U.S. State Department, announced that she is throwing her hat into the ring of contenders for the Senate seat being vacated by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
On its Web site, New York Magazine quotes Drescher, who on Dec. 3 said she had just been given the appointment of U.S. diplomat.
Drescher’s current assistant, Amor Montes De Oca, would not comment on Drescher’s expressed interest in the U.S. Senate seat when she spoke with The Malibu Times on Tuesday. Drescher could not be reached for comment.
City seeks library remodeling
The City of Malibu is requesting proposals from architectural consultant firms for the remodel of the Malibu Community Library on Civic Center Way. Proposals should include design services ranging from schematic plans through construction.
The project will be based on issues identified in the Community Library Needs Assessment 2005 and will consist of three phases, which include the feasibility study and cost analysis, design and construction preparation, and management of construction, cost and scheduling.
A project walk through will take place Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. at the library. The complete RFP can be viewed online at the city’s Web site (www.ci.malibu.ca.us). Proposals must be submitted no later than 4 p.m. on Feb. 5.
More information can be obtained by calling 310.456.2489 ext 246
-Olivia Damavandi