For Lily Castro, the owner of Lily’s Malibu, it is no coincidence that the word “lily” is symbolic of success. Across the pathway from Bank of Books at the Point Dume Plaza Shopping Center, Castro and her restaurant have been serving the Malibu community for more than 25 years with cheap and delicious Mexican food.
The journey into the hearts — or stomachs — of the Malibu residents started when a pregnant 18-year-old Castro inherited the restaurant, then a doughnut shop, from her sister when she retired, only a year after moving to America from El Salvador.
“This restaurant was a doughnut shop,” Castro said. “Me and my husband came every morning at four to bake. We baked donuts, Danishes and cakes, but Malibu rent was getting high so we decided to make a restaurant.”
The doughnut shop was called Sten’s Pastries Shop — Sten was her sister’s husband.
A few years after taking ownership of the venue, she started cooking Mexican food.
“We decided to make burritos, hamburgers and tacos,” Castro said. “And then when we started, from that point on, it attracted Pepperdine and Malibu High School students. People love the burritos. People love the hamburgers. Everything.”
However, is Lily’s Malibu a “Mexican” restaurant? Well, not exactly. Castro doesn’t like to regionalize her cooking. She wants her dishes to blend the flavors of Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico — the countries where many of her employees are from.
“We have Guatemalan people, Salvadoran people and Mexican people,” Castro said. “And I love to cook, so I take their ideas and we make the new fashion and it becomes unique flavor.”
Castro calls her mix a fiesta — “party” in Spanish. She says that when her dishes are not labeled to a particular country, they become a Malibu trademark or as she prefers to call it, “Malibu style.”
The best part about Castro’s dishes is that they do not cost more than $10. Her food is simple and tasty but inexpensive — her breakfast burrito is a great example of her cooking philosophy.
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For only $6.50, a homemade breakfast burrito stuffed with eggs, beans, cheese and bacon is served inside a warm, crusty tortilla. Deliciousness at its best. Simplicity at its finest.
Castro wants to serve her customers with healthy, fresh food. She avoids using oil, and if she ever does so, the oil is of the best quality. Lily’s Malibu’s fish taco is an excellent example: Castro doesn’t fry the fish to avoid the buildup of grease.
“I like to cook healthy food of good quality, because I know the people must be healthy,” Castro said.
Castro’s cozy family restaurant is senior Maria Prada’s favorite Malibu restaurant. As an international student from Costa Rica, Prada said Lily’s Malibu is the closest she can get to home.
“I really like Lily because she speaks Spanish to me and it is a place very similar to home,” Prada said. “I came across Lily because she is just very famous with all the students.”
From behind the counter, Castro reminds her customers that an optimistic way of living is the secret to happiness. Despite running the restaurant on her own after her husband Abel died six years ago and having a daughter with brain cancer, Castro says working at Lily’s Malibu and socializing with her customers is enough to fuel her cheerful personality.
“For me, if I’m healthy and I can work, everything is nice,” Castro said.
To the joy of her customers, Castro is ready to take Lily’s Malibu to the next level. She intends to stay open later for dinner and start serving alcohol soon.
Lily’s Malibu is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Anthony Wells completed this story in Dr. Theresa de los Santos spring 2015 Jour 241 class.
