D'Amore's: No Intention to Go Behind Point Pizza's Back

The family that owns D'Amore's Famous Pizza released a statement this week clarifying how it came to sign a lease to take over the space of Point Pizza Malibu.

Point Pizza Malibu, which is owned by Hye Song Oh, announced last week it will be closing in December after the owner of Point Dume Village, Zan Marquis, opted not to extend its lease when it expires on Dec. 31.

According to the property manager for the Point Dume Village, Kathryn Natalia,  D’Amore's has already signed a lease with the Point Dume Village.

• RELATED: Owner Says He Agonized Over Decision to Close Point Pizza

Oh's son-in-law, Charles Lee has said in a statement that she wants to stay at the location, and that she has sought to meet the landlord's requirements over the years.

• RELATED: Point Pizza Ownership Refutes Landlord's Claims Over Quality of Ingredients

The D'Amore's Team, which says it had no intentions to go behind Point Pizza's back in signing the lease, issued the following statement Monday:

We are out of town mourning the loss of a loved one but it has come to our attention that there are some people who are very sad to see Point Pizza replaced by D'Amore's Pizza. Certainly, Point Pizza has been a staple in the community and Hye Song and her family are loved by many. She has provided food and great service to Malibu for years, however as of December, the lease expires as all leases eventually expire, including our own.  

Zan Marquis, the owner of the shopping center, selected at least three pizza places as a replacement that we are aware of; Z Pizza, Mulberry and D'Amore's, and after a taste test, picked ours. We were thrilled to be considered and gladly accepted the offer. Zan expressed his desire to make his shopping center a healthier destination and even though we are known for our low fat pizza we have slowly been adding healthier items to our menu and were planning on going natural in 2013 so the timing was perfect.  

We, being Malibu locals ourselves, have seen a lot of changes and can certainly appreciate the idea of preserving Malibu to our own individual likings, but we still recognize when a shopping center does not belong to us no matter how much we want to keep our favorite Chinese restaurant or ice cream shop. Our neighborhood shopping centers are not our property and do not belong to us any more than Larry Ellison's properties or our neighbors homes do.

Savory, Pavilion's, Sunlife Organics, the new coffee shop are all good changes in our opinion and we are pleased to patronize them. Chipotle replaced D'Amore's in Westwood, point pizza took over a previous pizza place, regardless of how long ago it was and as a past employee mentioned, everyone was up in arms and quit except him.  He then proceeded to teach Hye Song all of the previous owners recipes and the rest is history.  

D'Amore's took over a Dominos Pizza in Malibu 15 years ago, but no one complained because it was a big bad chain. Now, we too have been labeled by one or two of these posts as a big bad chain because we are expanding after 25 years in the business. D'Amore's has served this community and given to the local schools and numerous causes just as point pizza so generously has.

Although we don't know Hye Song very well it is clear that she is a special woman and loved by much of the community. We certainly had no intentions of going behind her back as a few here have claimed to know; we simply were told that the space would be available in the New Year for specific reasons only Zan and point pizza are privy to.  

Because we are the next ones to change the shopping center we are now being attacked. We actually empathize with your concerns and fears of change but we personally thought Trancas was in desperate need of a makeover and the Heathercliff center was becoming quite run down as well. We are very pleased with the changes at Heathercliff and we would be honored to try and live up to the standard Zan is attempting to create with his shopping center.

But, that being said, we realize some people will not choose to see our point of view and will choose to see us through their own perspective. We thankfully embrace the many people who have expressed their excitement at seeing us move into the center and will continue to make the best food we know how. Thank you for your consideration.

The D'Amore Team

D'Amore's has 10 locations throughout Southern California and Las Vegas. Joe D'Amore, a former actor, started up his business in 1972, and it has steadily grown over 25 years. He has another location in eastern Malibu, which will remain open.

A rally was held Friday, to show support for Point Pizza. A protest is scheduled for Friday at D'Amore's Pizza. 

Andy Borenzweig, who started up the Facebook Page "Save Point Pizza," called on Malibu residents to show up.

"We need just as many people there this time, if not more people, to show D'Amore's how strongly the community disapproves of what they are doing," Borenzweig said.