"Malibu has been an amazing place to have a restaurant!" Kristy Apana told The Malibu Times as she got ready to close Kristy's Wood Oven & Wine Bar on September 9 after 15 years. Two and a half weeks later, Rosenthal Estate held the last public tasting at its Newton Canyon vineyard.
New places opened over the same weeks: a sandwich counter across from Malibu High, an organic grocer on Pacific Coast Highway, and a Japanese clothing brand's first concept shop in the U.S. Kristy's served every meal, opened on the holidays and hosted birthdays. Two of the new arrivals cover a narrow slice of the week, and the third is a grocery. So where Malibu meets up this fall depends on the day of the week.
The Two Places That Closed in September
Kristy's ran on full days. It opened in early 2011 on a bluff above Zuma Beach, inside the Malibu Country Inn property, and served breakfast, lunch and dinner. In early 2017 it moved into the former Le Village Cafe space at Trancas Country Market. The Malibu Times story lists what that room held over the years: birthdays, anniversaries, retirement parties, wedding proposals and memorials, along with a yearly Chinese New Year gathering that featured a dragon dance. Vintage Grocers even stocked her chicken teriyaki bowls, according to the store's manager, Adrian Casso.
Hoodline reported that customers packed Trancas Country Market for a going-away party the Thursday before the closure. Apana told CBS News Los Angeles that her lease was expiring and that renewal talks did not work out. She is still catering through [email protected]. Asked about her next step, she told the Malibu Times, "You never know what the future holds!"
Rosenthal's vineyard tastings were a different kind of place, and they had a shorter run. When the winery lost its beachfront wine bar and patio on PCH in January 2025, it moved tastings up to the estate in Newton Canyon. It held a soft opening there in August 2025, under the oaks, with wine and live music. The vines date to 1987, when George Rosenthal planted what the winery calls Malibu's first vineyard: 28 acres at about 1,450 feet within the Malibu-Newton Canyon AVA. The final tasting day was Saturday, September 26. The Malibu Times notes that the online shop still sells wine, but the winery has not said what happens next to the vines, wine production or the wine club.
Both businesses gave people somewhere to spend a whole afternoon or a whole occasion, and both closed within the same 17 days.
What Opened, and When It's Open
The Sandwich Shop is the most local of the new arrivals. Malibu native Sara Jerabek opened it at 30150 Morningview Drive in a building her grandparents first occupied, across from Malibu Middle and High schools, in time for the school year. The menu names come from around town: Big Dume, La Costa, the Leo Carrillo and the Bluffs. She also brought back the Torpedo, a sandwich from Pt. Pizza; its owners gave her the recipe. The shop's own site lists pickup and delivery from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, and sandwich boxes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.
Hank's Organic took the former PC Greens site at 22601 Pacific Coast Highway after a wait of more than three years. The Malibu Times says permitting, fire delays and construction issues held up the opening. The paper reported hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and described a hot bar, smoothies, and a pineapple slicer and fresh orange juice machine it says no other store in Malibu has. The hours on the company website are for its store at 661 Imperial Street, so check before an early run.
BEAMS Malibu, at 23710 Malibu Road, opened August 7. BEAMS was founded in Harajuku and has about 165 stores across Japan and Asia; this is its first U.S. location. The company calls the concept "Weekend by the Sea," and its announcement describes the shop as a step toward a permanent Los Angeles store planned for 2026. The store page lists Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Monday through Thursday and on major U.S. holidays.
Laid out by day, Malibu's new arrivals look like this:
| Day | The Sandwich Shop | Hank's Organic | BEAMS Malibu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. | Closed |
| Wednesday | Lunch 11–3, boxes 9–3 | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. | Closed |
| Thursday | Lunch 11–3, boxes 9–3 | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. | Closed |
| Friday | Lunch 11–3, boxes 9–3 | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. | 11 a.m.–6 p.m. |
| Saturday | Boxes 9–3 | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. | 11 a.m.–6 p.m. |
| Sunday | Boxes 9–3 | 7 a.m.–9 p.m. | 11 a.m.–6 p.m. |
Sandwich Shop and BEAMS hours are from each business's own site. Hank's hours are from the Malibu Times report of September 7, 2026.
Monday and Tuesday Got Quieter
The table shows why this fall feels different. Of the three new arrivals, only Hank's is open on Monday or Tuesday, and it's a grocery with a deli counter. Friday is the one day all three are open. The Sandwich Shop's lunch hours line up with the school week across the street. BEAMS opens only for the weekend by design.
Each opening also sits in a different part of town. The Sandwich Shop is on Morningview near the high school. Hank's is on PCH in the old PC Greens building. BEAMS is on Malibu Road, the same street where N2 Aesthetics held its ribbon-cutting on August 22 at 23841 Malibu Road, Suite 18. Ollo catered the evening, and city council members and the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce attended. Kristy's sat in one spot for nine years and fed people at every hour. The new businesses are spread across town. Hank's keeps long daily hours as a grocery, and the other two open on only part of the week.
The Holidays Are Where the Gap Shows
This is the first holiday season in 15 years without Kristy's on the calendar. The restaurant was open on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with special menus for each. On Christmas morning, kids got free "pajama pancakes." The Malibu Times also notes that Apana made custom cakes for birthdays and other occasions, including a mango coconut cake.
None of the new businesses is set up to do that. BEAMS closes on major U.S. holidays. The Sandwich Shop's posted schedule doesn't cover Monday or Tuesday. Hank's will feed you, but as a grocery and deli. For a holiday breakfast out or a big table for a family birthday, people in west Malibu will have to find a new place this year. Apana's catering email is the one direct link to how Kristy's did it.
The Rosenthal closure changes the calendar in a smaller way. Since August 2025, the Newton Canyon vineyard had given Malibu an afternoon outing in the hills. The winery's online shop still lists its wines.
Friday Afternoon at the Bluffs
The City of Malibu's own calendar points to Friday too. The Halloween Bu Bash Carnival runs Friday, October 23, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Malibu Bluffs Park, 24250 Pacific Coast Highway. It's for kids ages 2 to 10, with a $10 participant fee. Pre-registration at MalibuCity.org/Register is highly recommended, and a limited number of walk-up spots may be available that day. The city's announcement lists carnival games and prizes, bounce houses, art activities, face painting, a trick-or-treat street and a costume catwalk. The Malibu Library will tell spooky stories, and the Rolling Hot Dogs Y Mas food truck will sell food. For questions, the city lists (310) 317-1364 and MalibuCity.org/SpecialEvents.
Bu Bash ends at 6 p.m., the same time BEAMS closes on Malibu Road that day. Hank's is open until 9 for anyone who needs dinner on the way home.
Knowing which Malibu businesses keep which hours, and which corners of town are filling in, matters to our team every day. If this fall's changes have you curious about what your own Malibu home is worth right now, ARIA Properties can help. Get your instant home valuation.
