What a restaurant, shop or office build-out costs in Malibu (2026)

Opening a cafe, restaurant, retail store or office in Malibu? A tenant improvement (build-out) turns a lease space into your business. Hemisphere A&E designs, permits and builds it. Here are typical numbers, the local rules, and your next step.

Typical build-out numbers in Malibu

• A 1,500 sq ft cafe build-out costs about $600,000 all in, in a move-in-ready shell with a standard finish.
• A full restaurant of the same size costs about $775,000, with a full kitchen, hood and grease interceptor.
• An office or retail store of the same size costs about $300,000 to $340,000.
• Typical rent in areas like Malibu: about $110 per sq ft per year, or about $13,750 a month for 1,500 sq ft plus shared costs.

Run the free tenant improvement (build-out) cost calculator for Malibu

Permits for a business space in Malibu

Who runs permits

City of Malibu Planning Department, and Building Safety in the Environmental Sustainability Department.

Change of use and health permits

Turning a shop into a restaurant is a change of use. It can trigger parking, restroom, fire and accessibility upgrades, plus a health department plan check for food.

Free lot check in Malibu

Send Hemisphere A&E your address. We look up your zoning and lot size, what fits (ADU, junior ADU, SB 9, new home, apartments, remodel or business space), red flags like fire zones or hillside rules, and a rough cost range. No cost, no pressure. Email info@hemisphereae.com or call (619) 762-7144.

More cost guides for Malibu

• What an ADU costs in Malibu
• What a new home costs in Malibu
• What an apartment building costs in Malibu

Cost guides for more of LA County

• Build-out costs in Alhambra
• Build-out costs in Altadena
• Build-out costs in Arcadia
• Build-out costs in Beverly Hills
• Build-out costs in Burbank
• Build-out costs in Culver City
• Build-out costs in Downey
• Build-out costs in Eagle Rock
• Build-out costs in El Segundo
• Build-out costs in Glendale
• Build-out costs in Hawthorne
• Build-out costs in Highland Park
• Build-out costs in Inglewood
• Build-out costs in Lancaster
• Build-out costs in Long Beach
• Build-out costs in Manhattan Beach
• Build-out costs in Mar Vista
• Build-out costs in Pacific Palisades
• Build-out costs in Pasadena
• Build-out costs in Redondo Beach
• Build-out costs in Santa Clarita
• Build-out costs in Santa Monica
• Build-out costs in Sherman Oaks
• Build-out costs in South Pasadena
• Build-out costs in Torrance
• Build-out costs in Venice
• Build-out costs in West Hollywood
• Build-out costs in Westchester
• Build-out costs in Whittier