The Port of San Diego’s multi-million dollar revitalization of Seaport Village inked its most recent partnership. Restaurant chain Malibu Farm - founded by celebrity chef Helene Henderson and her husband, actor, film director and restauranteur John Stockwell - will join more than a dozen new stores and restaurants now open or coming soon. With a menu of farm-to-table, mostly-organic California-inspired cuisine, Malibu Farm will be a restaurant destination as well as a transformative, anchor tenant at Seaport Village. The Seaport Village outpost will be the ninth location for Malibu Farm, which has grown from its first home as a pop-up café on the Malibu Pier to establishments throughout the United States and the world, including New York City, Miami, Tokyo, and Cabo San Lucas. The Port anticipates Malibu Farm will begin construction in fall 2021 and open for business by summer 2022.
"We welcome Malibu Farm to our table and are delighted they want to plant a seed on our beautiful San Diego bayfront," said Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners Chair Ann Moore. "The Port has invested a lot of time, money and effort in bringing more locals and visitors to Seaport Village, and it’s really paying off. Malibu Farm and what they’ll add to our community will help us continue to fulfill our promise to enrich the relationship people and businesses have with our dynamic waterfront."
The 40-year-old Seaport Village is in the process of a $2.3 million refresher to modernize the walking retail area. New leases have recently been secured with local companies including Mr. Moto Pizza House, Mike Hess Brewing, City Tacos, Spill The Beans Coffee, and Sam "The Cooking Guy" Zien. A 10-year lease with Seaport Market for a market and liquor store was also approved earlier this year.
"We are thrilled to be opening Malibu Farm at Seaport Village," said Helene Henderson, founder of Malibu Farm. "I have always been very cautious and specific about where we open a location as the guest experience is of critical importance to me. The spectacular waterfront location at Seaport reminds us of when we first opened on the Malibu Pier which had not been enjoying the popularity and acclaim it deserved and which is now a thriving bustling destination. We always work to be inclusive, offering up food and beverage options that everyone in the family can enjoy, and have thrived in places where an outdoor, healthy lifestyle is welcome and cherished and that is what Seaport Village affords to us."
Harbor House Restaurant was founded by D.E. "Butch" Bucciarelli and Louis A. "Luigi" Rezzonico, Jr. in 1980 in San Diego's Seaport Village. The Harbor House has indicated that they intend to continue operating until Malibu Farm is ready to begin construction. Therefore, the Port has granted Harbor House a one-year lease extension which expires September 30, 2021. The lease has a 90-day termination right that can be exercised by the Harbor House or the Port at any time. The parent company of Harbor House also operates sister restaurants in Seaport Village - San Diego Pier Cafe and Edgewater Grill.
For more information about Malibu Farm restaurant, visit malibu-farm.com.
