Redondo Beach Bar Flooded By Seawater As High Tides Batter Waterfront: Report

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Seawater surged onto Redondo Beach's International Boardwalk Tuesday morning, flooding businesses along the waterfront and leaving one popular bar facing costly repairs, even as its owners vowed to keep the beer flowing.

Project Barley Taps and Grill, at 136 International Boardwalk, remained open despite several inches of water inundating the area, with video shared on the business's Instagram account showing sandbags lining its entrance as the high tides continued.

Owner Brent Reger told KTLA that the water had receded by Tuesday afternoon, but the bar's flooring had been ruined. Rather than closing, Reger encouraged customers to support the business by stopping in for a beer, joking that the flooding even came with a complimentary salt scrub for their feet.

Project Barley has operated at the waterfront location since 2021, offering live music on most nights. Reger said considerable effort had gone into improving that stretch of the boardwalk and attracting visitors, making the latest flooding a particularly frustrating setback.

But the damage has also renewed questions about the condition of the waterfront's flood defenses, which city planning documents show have been a concern for years.

Longstanding Concerns Over Flood Protection

According to KTLA, Reger said he has spent months urging Redondo Beach City Council members to replace a wooden retaining wall along the boardwalk with a concrete structure, but has been told the issue comes down to funding.

The vulnerability of the International Boardwalk is acknowledged in the city's King Harbor Public Amenities Plan, which describes recurring flooding along the waterfront and identifies deficiencies in the existing protective infrastructure.

The document notes that an approximately two-foot-high timber wall was constructed above the existing bulkhead, with sandbags used to seal a gap between the two structures. However, openings remain at gangway entrances, and portions of the timber wall have deteriorated.

According to the assessment, the timber extension appears primarily intended to reduce splashing from waves rather than prevent flooding. It recommends more robust temporary protections against seasonal inundation and identifies the underlying bulkhead as nearing the end of its useful life.

The city had also previously identified funding for improvements. Its capital improvement budget for fiscal years 2023-28 included $950,000 for a project titled Basin 3 Seawall Improvements, intended to repair existing infrastructure and add a small seawall to prevent flooding of International Boardwalk businesses during high tides and storm surges.

The budget listed construction as planned for fiscal year 2024-25, although it was not immediately clear whether the work had been completed, postponed or modified.

High Tides Expected Through Wednesday

Tuesday's flooding came as unusually high tides continued to affect Southern California's coastline, threatening low-lying streets, parking areas and waterfront businesses. The National Weather Service has maintained a coastal flood advisory for Los Angeles County beaches through 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, warning that minor to moderate flooding remains likely in vulnerable areas, particularly around high tide.

Forecasters expect late-morning tides of approximately 7.5 to 8 feet, about 1 to 1.5 feet above astronomical predictions, with the highest tides occurring through Wednesday. The advisory warns that seawater could inundate harbor walkways, beach parking lots and bike paths, while isolated damage to vulnerable structures remains possible. Moderate to significant beach erosion is also expected.

For businesses along Redondo Beach's International Boardwalk, the latest flooding serves as another reminder of the challenges posed by unusually high tides and aging waterfront infrastructure.

At Project Barley, however, the immediate priority remains keeping the doors open — and giving customers a reason to come down to the harbor despite the water.

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