Circling The News

Members and guests of the Palibu Chamber of Commerce cut the ribbon for Ciela.
Photo: Rich Schmitt/CTN

PaliBu Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Ciela on October 3 in the Palisades Highlands. About a hundred members and guests enjoyed drinks and appetizers in the upstairs patio overlooking the Santa Monica Mountains.

Ciela, which is described as a modern, resort-style retirement community, offers independent living, assisted living and memory care. The facility located at 17310 West Vereda de la Montura click here is set to open for occupancy later this month.

Afterwards, there were tours of rooms. When walking down the hallways, one person said, “It looks just like an ocean liner.”

This CTN editor also looked at the site of the hydro pool, exercise room, and the area where the infrared light sauna will be located. This area is still under construction, but when completed will be state of the art.

The ground floor of the Highlands building has spectacular views of Los Angeles Park and the Santa Monica Mountains. There is a small café, a bistro, that will be open to the public, daily, per the lawsuit that was brought before Ciela opened.

Initially, there were plans to open at the beginning of October, but Ciela is waiting for its certificate of occupancy. CTN was told at the ribbon cutting that one L.A. City inspector had okayed a specific area, then a second inspector decided a change needed to be made.

Once the certificate of occupancy is approved, the state, which licenses senior living sites, can do an inspection and provide the licensing.

At the ribbon cutting, employees said they felt that everything would be approved by the end of the month.

There are still some rooms available.

People enjoyed drinks and appetizers on the upstairs patio.
Photo: Rich Schmitt/CTN

A membership fee is required. With independent living, rents are paid monthly. A studio apartment starts at $8,395, a month,  a one-bedroom at $12,985, and a two bedroom is $18,845. Everything is month-to-month and if you want to add a second person to any of the rooms, it is an additional $1,500.

If you need assisted care in addition to monthly rent, Level 1 is an additional $800 a month, Level 2 is $1,350 and level 3 is $1,950.

Included in the fee are three gourmet meals a day, housekeeping and laundry services, life alert monitoring, Wi-Fi and basic cable, transportation within a 10-mile radius, security and 24-hour emergency call response, 24-hour concierge service and a “dynamic calendar” of events.

People can bring their own furniture, or furniture can be supplied. The facility is pet friendly.

Every room has a “handicapped shower,” safes, washers/dryers, microwaves and refrigerators.

The living room/kitchen in a one-bedroom apartment.
Photo: Rich Schmitt/CTN

To learn more about the Chamber of Commerce, click here.

Several diners appreciated the late afternoon view at Gladstone’s restaurant.

Numerous newspapers and television stories wrote that Gladstones, built in 1972, was going to close in October.

It is not. And won’t, for at least two years.

It has opened under new management and residents are invited down for drinks and food and the glorious sunsets over the Pacific Ocean.

Former Mayor Richard Riordan had a 20-year concession agreement with the County to operate Gladstone’s. The state owns the land, but the concession is controlled by the county Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Gladstone’s General Manager Jim Harris, who had worked at Dukes for 15 years, came to work at the restaurant after Riordan’s wife, Elizabeth, brought him to the restaurant.

When Riordan’s agreement was up, the family did not want to bid on an extension, which meant the County sought a new concessionaire.

In 2018, Restauranteur Wolfgang Puck paired with architect Frank Gehry and won the right to rebuild and run a new restaurant. Then the pandemic put everything on hold, even shutting down Gladstones from March through June 2020.

This past August, Harris and the crew of long-time employees were told the restaurant would close when the lease was up on September 15.

Then, L.A. County Supervisors learned that the permits for the new Wolfgang Puck restaurant were not in place. It could take up to two years or longer and the building would sit empty.

Harris was approached by L.A. County Supervisors on August 20 to see if he would continue operations.

“They wanted this to be a stop gap, so the building wouldn’t sit empty and be a detriment to the community and leave a black mark on L.A.” Harris said.

He spoke to parking lot managers Voltaire and Lisane Menezes, who came from Brazil in the 1980s, to see if they would continue. He spoke to Chef Juan Aquino and manager Alex Peniston and asked if they would stay. The answer was “yes,” and the Legacy group was formed.

Jim Harris is the general manager at Gladstone’s, he spoke to CTN in the dining room in the late afternoon, where there were beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean.

Then, it was a flurry of activity. The liquor license had to be transferred before September 16. The restaurant was closed for two days for cleaning and painting and then it was reopened under the Gladstones Legacy Group.

Bartender Felipe Ortega has been at Gladstone’s since 1986.

Many of Gladstone’s employees have worked there for decades or longer. Felipe Ortega, the bartender, first came to the eatery in 1986, to have drinks with friends. Someone asked him if he wanted a job. He started by bussing tables and never left.

Leftovers from the generous portions served at Gladstone’s, are artistically wrapped in foil by Miquel Carillo in the shape of whales, dragons, rabbits and even a mermaid coming out of a whale’s spout. He’s been at the restaurant since 1983.

Although the new owners have only been in place for two weeks, Harris said they are planning “some fun specials and promotions.” The restaurant cooks the Palisades High School Football team’s meal on game nights.

He plans to reengage with the community, including adding a “golden hour” (happy hour) later in the month.

“We’ll probably work on more California vegetables for the menu,” Harris said. “But our chowder and fish and chips will still be a mainstay.”

About Gladstones, writer Chris Erskine wrote in September column click here.

Me, I liked Gladstone’s. I mean, no one could flub a table reservation quite like they could, and the food seemed double-fried, as if it hopped from one boiling vat of oil into another. Sizzle. Kerplunk. Sizzle.

But didn’t you love the foil swans? 

Old restaurants feel like old friends. Reportedly, Wolfgang Puck will be putting up something nouveau here, with a vision he and Frank Gehry sketched on a cocktail napkin. No doubt, it’ll be somewhat exclusive. Beg a reservation, offload some Apple stock, that kind of place.

If there was anything I really liked about Gladstone’s, it was the accessibility. Anyone could eat there — even writers, even surfers, though we barely did. You went only with the kids, or out-of-town guests. Even then, somewhat reluctantly.

For 50 years, Gladstone’s wasn’t shy about overfeeding us. They left diners robust and happy, while we gazed out at the cellophane sunsets and that queen’s necklace of headlights winding down from Malibu.”

Harris invites residents to stop by for the view, a cocktail, the lobster mac and cheese, speak to long-time employees, or just enjoy this iconic restaurant.

Gladstone’s, located at 17300 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH at Sunset Boulevard) opens at 11 a.m. and the last seating during the week is at 8 p.m. On weekends the restaurant last seating is 9 p.m. “But we never turn anyone away,” Harris said, click here or call (310) 454-3474.

Pedro Martinez wrapped rabbit foil for this editor.