Post #370269 by Dustycajun on Sun, Mar 30, 2008 3:02 PM

OK, I got the Retro vs. Vintage thing - won't make that mistake again.

There have been several questions regarding the Chucks Steakhouse located in Santa Barbara. It is Vintage, have been around for a long time now, however, it is not really tikified. Still worth a stop for Happy Hour Mai Tais and free steak bites. Here are a couple of photos.

And here is some history from their website"

Yes, there really is a "Chuck", and his name is Charles "Chuck" Rolles. Chuck graduated from the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant School in 1956, and then moved to Hawaii, and in 1959, opened the first of a number of restaurants that bear his name in Waikiki. After opening his second steak house in Waikiki, he was the first to bring the steak house and salad bar concept to the Continental United States.
Ken Williams was the first of Chuck's partners to bring the concept to the East Coast. Ken opened the first Chuck's Steak House in the East with its salad bar operation over 35 years ago, in West Haven, Connecticut. It was then that Chuck and his partners opened the first of a number of Chuck's Steak Houses that stretch from California to the East Coast.

Customers fell in love with the informal atmosphere, the open grills, all you could eat salad bars and high value concept. By the combining of the finest aged Western choice beef available, with the open hearth cooking, Chuck's Steak House has long established a solid reputation. Many have tried to copy the Chuck's Steak House and salad bar concept over the years. Most have met with varying degrees of success.

BUT, we are the original, and we are STILL THE BEST!

There is also a new RETRO tiki restaurant in the Santa Barbara area (Goleta to be exact) that is called Kona Ranch House. It has a nice little thatched hut bar and some Tikis and Hawaiian stuff on the walls. It is worth a stop if you are in the area. Here are a couple of photos.