The Reel Inn, a longtime Malibu restaurant, was just one of the businesses lost on Pacific Coast Highway after the Palisades fire.
Co-owner Teddy Leonard said the restaurant was built on decades of hard work and friendship and consisted of a team of 23 employees.
“I feel really blessed to have known and worked with these people. They were the first people we worried about when the restaurant was gone. What are they going to do? ? said Leonard.
The fire is not the only challenge Reel Inn has faced in recent years. The pandemic has also hit the team hard.
“Even during COVID-19, they didn’t want to take their paychecks. Some of them knew that we were taking our paychecks out of our savings accounts, so they asked us to give them back. “He asked if I could give it to him,” Leonard said.
To reward employees for their support, the owners started a GoFundMe account that has raised about $200,000 so far.
The donations will be distributed on Thursday in hopes of keeping Reel Inn employees in the coming months.
The Palisades Fire, which broke out on January 7 in Pacific Palisades east of Malibu, has burned more than 23,000 acres and is 65% contained as of Wednesday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
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