After months of combating the results of fires and mudslides, Duke’s Malibu has laid off the vast majority of its workers.
The primary indications of the information got here yesterday after the restaurant confirmed up on the State of California’s Employee Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) checklist, which famous 126 workers have been being let go. The rationale for the workforce discount was listed as “Closure Everlasting.”
That led to reviews that the Malibu landmark — working as Duke’s since 1996 and serving meals because the Las Flores Inn, the Sea Lion and Charlie Browns successively since 1915 — was closing.
Not so, in response to a discover posted late yesterday on the restaurant’s social media channels. That posting reads as follows:
UPDATE AS OF 3/25: We’re quickly closed because of the mudslide that brought about in depth injury. Nevertheless, we anticipate reopening this summer time as soon as we full the cleanup and repairs. We look ahead to hiring again our workers and welcoming company again in a number of months. We will’t wait to see you then!

That discover was adopted by a press release late yesterday from the CEO of TS Eating places, — which owns Duke’s, Jackie Reed.
“Because of the continued closure, we have been pressured to enact layoffs for almost all of our Duke’s Malibu workers,” Reed informed SFGATE, which had initially reported the closure. “We respect all the neighborhood help and it’s important that our neighborhood is aware of we shall be open as quickly as attainable.”
Deadline additionally reached out to TS Eating places yesterday for remark and this story shall be up to date when one is obtained.
Duke’s has been closed since January 7, in response to Basic Supervisor Jimmy Chavez.
Chavez informed NBC4 on February 17 that the Malibu establishment, which appeared largely spared from the wildfire, was “proper about on the finish of the [smoke] remediation course of due to the Palisades Hearth” when the mudflow hit. That flooded the complete restaurant.
He mentioned that the time that Duke’s was attempting to help workers, partially by donations from the general public. Staff had already waited 5 weeks by that time for the Malibu landmark to reopen.
The Malibu Instances reported in February that the restaurant had 130 workers, six of whom misplaced their houses to the Palisades Hearth. Amongst these was Duke’s Ambassador of Aloha, Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman, the unique Gidget on whom her father Fredrick Kohner’s 1954 novel and the eponymous 1959 film starring Sandra Dee — which spawned two different movies — and the 1965 TV present starring Sally Area as have been primarily based.
The mudflow down Las Flores Canyon in mid-February occurred the identical day an LAFD member had his car swept off the highway and into the ocean by a big particles stream simply down the coast at Huge Rock Highway. Duke’s was inundated with mud.

Duke’s car parking zone on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 after the mudslide (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Instances by way of Getty Pictures)

