Malibu Inn Back in Business

Think of “Miserlou”—the Greek folk song rocked up into a surf music classic by Dick Dale. Now imagine a Malibu super group playing “Miserlou” at the newly renovated : Eddie Van Halen on guitar, Mike D and/or Tommy Lee on drums, Bob Dylan on rhythm guitar and Sting on bass—or maybe Flea, but he puts the bass down and picks up a trumpet to blow that ripping little horn solo.

That is a vision of how cool the music scene could be at Malibu Inn, which has been raised from extinction by two East Coast transplants with their own vision and the finances to make it come true. Owners and brothers Steven and Alex Hakim have reconfigured the Malibu Inn, which was redesigned by the acclaimed and quirky Andrew Alford and swarmed over by teams of framers, painters, electricians, chefs and management as they prepare to reopen the doors Wednesday, and hopefully become what everyone has always thought it should be—one of the best bars, clubs and restaurants on the Southern California coast.

Externally, the Malibu Inn looks pretty much as it always has, going back through the decades and its various incarnations, including its time as the Crazy Horse Saloon in the 1970s, when Neil Young was part owner and the likes of Harry Nilsson, Rick Danko and Keith Moon hung out there and played, and musicians passing through town came by to sit in.

Photos from the 1930s show an early incarnation of the Malibu Inn across Pacific Coast Highway from the Malibu Colony, roughly where is now. The Malibu Inn moved to its present location at the base of the Malibu Pier in the early 1950s.

Fast forward to the 1970s, when "the Inn was owned and operated by an entrepreneur named Tom Blake [not the surfer] when it was called the Crazy Horse Saloon," said longtime Malibu resident Griff Snyder. "This was the first evolution after it was the ‘old’ Malibu Inn. The interior was designed and built by local architect Tom Torres and was the only dance place, bar and honky tonk in town. Neil Young was a silent partner as were several others. Tom took over in ’75, and had a pretty good run at it into the ’80s.”

The Malibu Inn changed hands, and that was the beginning of a downtime for the joint, said Cary Weiss, a longtime Malibu surfer and former Los Angeles County public defender.

“The Inn really lost the locals when the new owners destroyed the soul and local historical connection by tearing out the bar, taking down the Hollywood and local pix and stills and vintage surfboards; eliminating any historical or contemporary reference to surfing and Surfrider Beach—and serving up expensive and lousy food with poor service,” Weiss said. “During my association with , I have seen that when owners/management are sensitive to and will cater to the needs and wants of the locals, the success of the business is enhanced many fold, especially during the low-tourist winter months.”

The death of owner Mitchell Stewart put the Malibu Inn on the foreclosure auction block in January 2009, and the new owners purchased the property for $5.2 million.

On a summery spring day, the Hakims and interior designer Alford lead a tour from the east side to the west side of the Malibu Inn, showing what was staying from before, what was new and what was uncovered like hieroglyphics from eras past.

“The good thing about this space—some say it was kind of risky or whatever—but the bones were here,” Steven Hakim said. “All that was really needed was cosmetic work.”

Alford is the guy responsible for the cosmetic work. He hails from San Francisco, and has rearranged hotel spaces throughout the country.

“There were many layers to this place when we came in; on the floors, on the walls, on the ceiling,” Alford said. “The idea was stripping it back to what it would be a while ago. I keep saying we are making Malibu Inn even more Malibu Inn, and that means embracing the weird, eccentric elements.

“Although a lot of tourists will be coming through here in the summer, the design intent was to make this about the local Malibu community. You know, outside of Malibu there is a perception of what this place is like, but when people come through, it’s not what they expect. There’s a laid-back, natural, eccentric beach-style kind of thing going on here. So we started with that and blended in things so you may not necessarily be able to tell what was done today, what was done in ’52 and what was done in ’72.”

And what they were frantically doing in 2011.

Some of the weird, eccentric elements were already there, like the ’70s, hippieish, possibly drug-addled cartoon murals in the billiard room—reportedly done by local surfing legend Jo Jo Perrin. Alford salvaged what he could of that, and then seamlessly blended elements such as a ’60s-era photo of the Malibu Inn that morphs into a flowing waterfall.

On the ceiling of the billiard room, there is one of many custom wallpapers designed by Alford. It's ’70s and defies description, so you’ll just have to check it out yourself.

Back in the dining room, Alford pointed to some cowboy wallpaper that seemed to be original and harks back to Malibu’s horsey years from the ’20s to the ’70s.

“It looks like ’50s wallpaper,” Alford said. “But if you look closely, you have surfers and punks and hip-hop guys.”

And he’s right—those elements are custom-printed into the wallpaper. A very nice touch, but one of many. 

“And then taking in the space, we’re obviously going to have a delicious dining scene here,” Alex Hakim said.

The deliciousness in the dining scene will be provided by Top Chef alumnus Angelo Sosa.

Next stop is the east side, where there are two larger rooms for overflow diners or private parties.

“It’s a big space,” Alford said. “We have three TVs, so you really have your own environment in here. There is going to be all this cool furniture with two area rugs and a 70-inch-by-110-inch projection screen that comes down for the Super Bowl. A lot of different components.”

This private area has separate bathrooms, each decorated with six different kinds of custom wallpaper.

Hopefully Malibu will get its proper, perfect weather in the summer. If that happens, the outside bar and patio on the west side will be popular. Steven Hakim pointed out the extensive array of beers that will be served, and Alford noted another plus.

“Out on the patio we’ll have a 1966 Volkswagen Beetle that we’ve restored and turned into a photo booth so people will be able to climb inside and have a little takeaway postcard, and they’ll also be able to email it to their friends,” he said. “Some of the better photos will go in the area that used to be a phone booth.

“In the time I have been working here and talking to people, I’ve heard a lot of stories and memories about this place; a guy who met his girlfriend or wife here and some of the bad behavior. What I can’t wait for is when that photo booth goes up and some of that bad behavior repeats. The phone booth will be a Hall of Fame for images of some of that behavior.”