Los Angeles love! Moonshadows proprietor JD Slajchert sat down with ET to share how the California group has come collectively to assist his household’s restaurant in Malibu, California after shedding it to the wildfires in Jan. 2025.
The eatery, visited by Britney Spears, LeAnn Rimes, Lupita Nyong’o, Kim Kardashian, and extra, was a go-to spot for well-known faces and past.
“What made Moonshadows so distinctive was that at one desk you may have a few of the most notable A-list celebrities, and on the desk beside them, there may very well be a traditional household out to have fun a birthday. It was an genuine melting pot. I believe that was one thing that each celebrities and common patrons alike loved,” he defined.
And the outpouring love and assist the previous Division I athlete has obtained since is a testomony to only that.
“1000’s of individuals from all around the world have reached out, typically sharing their favourite pictures and recollections from the restaurant. It has been so touching and immensely useful for my household and I as we navigate this troublesome state of affairs to have the ability to tangibly really feel that reminder about how impactful Moonshadows was,” he continued.
Along with receiving heartfelt messages, the novelist began a GoFundMe for the restaurant workers, which raised over $100,000, they usually have been in a position to serve a few of their hottest dishes at their sister spot, The Sundown.
“My hope is that we are going to proceed to stay collectively and stay resilient. … Will probably be onerous, and it’ll take time, however I am assured in our group to bounce again. I consider in L.A.,” he shared.
Whereas the screenwriter has confronted his personal hardships lately, it hasn’t prevented him from serving to others, together with these struggling with Sickle Cell Illness after shedding his buddy and UCSB basketball fan, Luc Bodden, to the well being situation.
“I consider that giving again is a very powerful factor we do. … I credit score this straightforward lesson in humility to my finest buddy, Luc. … Luc taught me that even when it is one thing small, now we have to all the time be searching for others,” the motivational speaker famous.
in 2017, Slajchert even launched The LucStrong Basis, a non-profit group that helps the household and youngsters recognized with the blood dysfunction, and in 2018, he wrote MoonFlower, a best-selling novel about their bond, each of which consistently encourage him.
“Luc was legendary, and I do know he might tackle any problem thrown his means, however it’s nowadays that I really feel his legendary power increasingly more, and since he’s not right here with us, I really feel an incredible duty to hold his message ahead to a group that’s significantly in want of his inspiration proper now,” he stated forward of what would have been Bodden’s nineteenth birthday on Could 12.
“Stand tall, love one another, and keep in mind that you’re not alone and that we are going to get via this. Brighter days are forward, I promise,” he added.
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