LA Night Club Mogul Revamps Popular Malibu Restaurant
Filed under: Dining
Gladstone's oceanfront restaurant in Malibu, California is a popular place to take guests from out of town but it's not exactly the hippest place in town. That might be about to change now that owner Richard Riordan, the former mayor of Los Angeles, has hired nightclub mogul Sam Nazarian to do the honors of reinventing the traditional seaside restaurant. The LA Times reports that Riordan plans to sell Nazarian part interest in the restaurant.
Seating nearly 800 diners, the restaurant is Southern California's highest-grossing independent restaurant with annual revenue topping $14 million, according to Restaurants & Institutions, an industry trade journal. Gladstone's is known for its view and its long history but recent reviews found people complaining over the service and the high prices. Nazarian's company, SBE Entertainment Group, began running the restaurant over the summer on a short-term management contract. So far Nazarian has laid off some of the staff, brought in a new chef, added a new drinks menu, expanded the wine list and upgraded the fish selections. He also added umbrellas on the deck. According to Riordan revenue is already starting to tick up.
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