For 36 years, The Reel Inn stood on Pacific Coast Highway outside Malibu, serving fresh seafood at reasonable prices in an area dominated by millionaires, movie stars and mansions.
Then, in January 2025, the Palisades wildfire ravaged the area.
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Now owners Teddy and Andy Leonard face a devastating roadblock that may prove to be a dead end: California officials are refusing to release the ground where their beloved restaurant once stood [1].
Can this Malibu institution rise from the ashes of one of California’s worst fires, or will bureaucratic decisions permanently erase its nearly four-decade legacy?
Historic fire damage
According to co-owner Andy Leonard, for at least a century a seafood restaurant has occupied the current Reel Inn premises, which sits on state-owned land that’s leased to business owners.
But the Palisades Fire reduced it to ashes, along with 6,831 other structures across greater Los Angeles [2]. The Reel Inn wasn’t just a place for affordable seafood — it was a close-knit family. Nine of the restaurant’s 22 employees had worked at the Reel Inn for 20 years or more.
The Leonards launched a GoFundMe for their staff, raising over $205,000 toward a $225,000 goal.
The Leonards were determined to rebuild, but hit an immediate roadblock when their landlord, California State Parks, informed them that their lease had been canceled.
"Due to the catastrophic property loss associated with the Palisades Fire, DPR has regretfully determined that it will not continue to lease this site," said the letter the Leonards received.
Instead, the land will be used by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
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Settle for a food truck?
"We wanted to rebuild, remodel and expand from Day 1,” said Andy Leonard. “We thought that somebody from state parks, at some point, would go, ‘Look, we’re remodeling the whole place down there anyway. These guys have got good press. Why don’t we lean in with them and do something cool?”
California State Parks has offered the Leonard’s nearby land for a potential food truck, but the pair has balked due to a lack of water and sewer facilities. Worse, they’d still have to bid for the lease. The pair has also turned down an offer to relocate the Reel Inn to Marina del Rey, opting instead to focus on writing a cookbook.
In a statement, California State Parks said "Some of the department’s recent communications with the Leonards may have not fully conveyed our values and intent to partner with them, and the letter reaffirms our commitment to thoughtfully exploring a path forward that makes it possible for the Reel Inn to thrive on state park property while serving current and future generations.”
To the Leonards, the current stance by California leaders is a self-inflicted blow to the economy.
"It’s a snake chomping on its own tail," Andy Leonard said.
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[1]. KABC Channel 7 Eyewitness News. “Reel Inn restaurant among businesses that were told they can’t rebuild after Palisades Fire”
[2]. City of Malibu. “6,831 other structures across greater Los Angeles”
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