Heirs of Malibu pioneer family breathe new life into their parcel by celebrating artisans, creativity and community
By Barbara Burke
Special to The Malibu Times
“This is more what I thought Malibu would be like, with businesses based on talent and passion more than franchises and corporations.” Malibuite Darlene Dubray said as she walked through Surf Canyon, a parcel of land with Anawalts as the anchor tenant located right before one enters Serra Retreat across from the Park at Cross Creek.
The property has undergone an inspiring and exciting renaissance.
“We’ve had the property in our family since 1892 — my great, great grandfather was Frederick H. Rindge — and we are zoned for commercial uses,” owner Greg London said. “The city supports what we are doing and now we are working on obtaining proper permits for some events we want to host for the community.”
Longtime Malibu resident Don Maclay, who currently serves on the Public Works Commission, was a member of a team of dedicated residents who helped to found the City of Malibu. Maclay has great institutional knowledge concerning the status of commercial properties that date back to before cityhood in 1991 such as Surf Canyon.
“The very first thing the new city did was to form a bunch of advisory committees,” Maclay said. “Walt Keller, Malibu’s first mayor, appointed me and a lot of attorneys to a committee that considered matters concerning parcels with existing uses during the early cityhood era. The committee was called the General Plan Task Force.”
Maclay provided The Malibu Times with a legal opinion authored by former City of Malibu Attorney Christi Hogan explaining that the intent of those who founded the City of Malibu was that parcels that existed prior to cityhood would not conform with the new city’s design and build standards were allowed to keep their properties in the same condition as they were before cityhood
Over the years, London’s parcel housed an automotive store — many residents may recall getting their vehicles repaired by Kelly Higgins at Malibu Auto — as well as by various offices for contractors and other businesses and storage units. At one time, the City of Malibu’s Public Works Department was housed on the premises.
The Vision — A community of artisans and creatives
Greg London explains that he, his wife, Brigitte, and their team “had an intention to curate a beautiful space filled with amazing people who will contribute to Surf Canyon and to Malibu.”
He added, “We want people who will really be local and who will be here every day. It’s a community based on love, compassion, and trust.” 
London noted that he is using his background in real estate and his urban planning degree as he and the team strive to “Help Surf Canyon awaken.”
He explained. “It was already here — it just needed a lot of energy and new designs.”
As one tours the property, she enjoys gorgeous courtyard spaces and embracing landscape areas between various cool, creative spaces.
From Ikebani to Basque spices, Surf Canyon delights
On any given day, guests who enter Kenzan can find Samadhi Bishop and her partner, Vaughn Glover arranging gorgeous flowers at their shop.
“We do a lot of curating with galleries designing floral arrangements and elements that complement exhibiting artists’ works,” Bishop says, noting that Kenzan’s works are on show at Jac Forbes Gallery in Cross Creek. “We also provide floral arrangements for events, weddings, and to decorate home interiors.”
Bishop explained that Kenzan specializes in Ikebana, a Japanese style of arranging flowers. The word means “making flowers alive,” and for one who is immersed in Kenzan, that is the sense the space provides.
“There are hardly any Ikebana florists in Southern California,” Bishop, a native of Oahu, said. “We also help with sonic architecture and we curate music for events as well.”
Bishop’s melodic voice is welcoming, evincing that she is also a very talented musician. Readers are invited to visit Kenzan from Wednesday to Saturday from 12 to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Telephone: (213) 322-5499.
Next door is one cool, hip place — the headquarters for the latest, greatest in organic beers — Rancho West, founded in Malibu. When visitors stop by, Jason Thompson and Donnie Eichar will chat with folks and explain why their slogan is “Organic never tasted so beer.” No secrets were divulged to Malibu Times, but the hops that are used may have something to do with it — the non-alcoholic beer is brewed with Chinook and Perle Hops and the brand’s West Coast IPA is brewed with citra, amarillo, and cascade and is dry hopped with citra and amarillo.
To sample the beer, readers need to visit various stores, such as Vintage Grocery in Malibu, or BevMo or Erewhon nearby, or they can enjoy a brew at local establishments, including Duke’s, Malibu Farm, and Dreamland. To learn more about the beer created where the ranch meets the sea, readers can visit @ranchowestbeer or call (323) 433-5533 for more information.
One cannot leave Surf Canyon without visiting chef and entrepreneur Sebastien Pourrat’s Casita Basqueria, if for no other reason than to get her hands on his adds-just-the-perfect-flavor-to-every-dish Basqueria Coastal Table Espelette salt, a Maldon Sea salt with espelette peppers. The little shop also features cooking tools and an impressive array of Le Creuset cookware, as well as imported starters for making delicious paella and other herbs.
“Sebastian is an original who understands the simplicity of great taste,” said Larry Thorne, a third-generation Malibu farmer who has a weekly farmers market in Malibu where Sebastian sells his proprietary espellette salt and herbs as well as his very popular breakfast burritos.
“Two rivers of culinary influence — French and Basque — make for delicious surprises.” Thorne declared.
“If we want small businesses in Malibu that serve the community, they cannot thrive in our larger retail centers,” London said, as our tour ended. “That’s because the price per square foot demanded in those centers makes entering into businesses here in Malibu an unfair fight. Nobody can make a small business work at $15 to $20 a square foot.”
Pausing quite soberly, London added, “Malibu had lost her heart and if there is no place for the community to gather and locals to be comfortable, we would lose the fundamental core of what a community is all about.”
