Remember Cougar from the movie “Top Gun.” Actor John Stockwell and his wife, chef Helene Henderson, cut a deal with San Diego port commissioners on a 10-year lease for their growing restaurant chain Malibu Farm, which in this location plans to transform the 14,000-square-foot half-empty Harbor House into much more of an indoor-outdoor venue that will include full-service dining, an ice cream and espresso bar, and a home goods store.
Basically, Cracker Barrel on the beach. Give hide cutters in Tennessee credit for that shop-and-eat biz model—it just works if you can pull it off.
Malibu Farm, founded in 2013, currently has eight locations, including Malibu, Newport Beach, Miami, New York, and Tokyo.
As part of the lease agreement, Malibu Farm will get a subsidy of $2.8 million from the port.
