D'Amore's Owner Says It's Becoming Business as Usual at Point Dume Village

Joe D’Amore has opened 10 restaurants in Southern California and Las Vegas, but he never saw an opening like the location at Point Dume Village in Malibu.

Many small restaurants struggle to get attention and publicity when they open. D'Amore's got plenty, but not the kind most would want.

Multiple protests were held outside of Point Pizza, D'Amore's predecessor at the location, near the end of 2012 by Malibu residents who wanted to keep the business open after Point Dume Village owner Zan Marquis decided not to renew Point Pizza's lease. Marquis said he wanted to bring healthier options to the center. At least 300 protesters showed up for one of the rallies.

D'Amore was asked if anyone had ever protested one of his locations before.

"No, not ever," he told Patch.

D'Amore has insisted, including in a statement printed in Patch, that if he did not take the location Marquis would have picked another pizza business, and that he had nothing to do with Marquis' decision.

Not everyone in town was buying the story, however.

"I'm officially going to go out of my way to make [D'Amore's] life difficult," said Hamish Patterson, who ran for Malibu City Council in 2012, in December. "It's a scumbag move."

In response to all the intensity of the protests, D'Amore said he worked the counter himself for the first six weeks after the Feb. 1 soft opening. He said he typically does not work behind the counter at his restaurants so much but did it because he wanted to explain his side of things to the customers himself.

"Also, I couldn't ask my employees to have to deal with everything that was happening," he said.

D'Amore said that a lot of people came in angry at him but that once he explained his side of things, many saw the situation differently.

This reporter stopped in for a slice on April 24 and found plenty of people in line in to pick up pizzas. Although it was around 3 p.m. on a weekday and not the lunch or dinner rush, at least six or seven other customers stopped in during the 10 minutes it took to be served and eat.

"I think there are a few people who were very involved in the protests who are not accepting of it, but most people, I think, are fine," replied a customer when asked if people had accepted the new place. The woman, who said she has two sons and has lived in the neighborhood for many years, asked not be identified because of the intensity of the protests. 

"I think most people think this is better quality," she said. "And then I like it because I can get gluten-free and dairy-free."

Not everyone agrees. Hundreds of comments on Malibu Patch have been posted about the "pizza wars," and many readers are still upset about Point Pizza closing.

D'Amore said a few of the protest leaders have shown up every now and then to cause trouble, but for the most part the protests have died down. He no longer has to work behind the counter and has been able to get back to business as usual operating his 10 restaurants.