Post #566140 by Dustycajun on Mon, Nov 22, 2010 8:47 PM

I asked Zulu Magoo to research the Denver Don The Beachcomber locations and boy did he come through with the info!

The Denver Don the Beachcomber history is intertwined with Trader Vic's. Trader Vic's opened as an Outrigger restaurant at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in downtown Denver in 1962, and then changed to the "Trader Vic's" name later as all the Outrigger's did.

Trader Vic's moved from the Cosmopolitan to the Hilton Hotel in 1978. Shortly thereafter, Don the Beachcomber moved into the Cosmo using the Vic's decor as the backdrop. Here is an news clip announcing the news, a later ad and a photo (all courtesy of Zulu).

So now we had Vic's at the Hilton and Don's at the Cosmo. Don decides to raise Vic and opens another restaurant at the Ramada in Aurora in 1981. Here is the ad provided by Zulu.

Phone book showing TWO Don's in Denver.

Denver was quite a Tiki mecca for the early 80's.

The final chapter. Vic's leaves the Hilton hotel in 1985 and Don the Beachcomber moves in 1986 for a few years.

There is more to this story, to be continued.....

DC

(Thanks again to Zulu Magoo for all of the amazing research).