Seven Seas, Los Angeles, CA (bar) - Locating Tiki

L Lloyd*AloHHHa Member San Diego (now living in Elk Grove, CA) Joined: Feb 20, 2013 Posts: 43	L LloydAloHHHa Posted posted on Thu, Feb 13, 2014 12:41 AM Did you all know that Ray "The Master Ninja" Buhen (founder of the world famous Tiki Ti) used to work at the Seven Seas? Check it out here: "He'd say anything," chuckled Ray. "He said he invented the Zombie, but he didn't. Or hardly any of his drinks." That work, Ray maintained, was done by Ray and his fellow Filipinos. As fond as he was of his brazen boss, Ray left the Beachcomber's in 1937, moving to the Seven Seas when it opened across from Grauman's Chinese Theater. Owner Bob Brooks hired away most of Don's bar crew by offering $10 more per week, at a total salary of $40 per week. Recalls Mike Buhen: "Mom used to say that they could pay their rent, stock the fridge, and still have money to party. A loaf of bread was five cents back then, so they could afford to go out nightclubbing." The Seven Seas built on Don's faux Polynesian restaurant concept with live Hawaiian music and a Tahitian dance revue. Ray’s duties included playing a thunder-and-lightning LP for the bar’s famous "Rain On The Roof" sound -- sometimes with unintended results. As Ray told the Bum in '98, "One time I put the record on, and this chick jumped up from her table and ran outside to close the top on her convertible." Ray also remembered an illegal gambling set-up downstairs, run by an offshore casino boat operator named Tony Corneo. World War II bounced Ray back to the Seven Seas, which needed all the help it could get: Sailors on shore leave packed the place, clamoring for what might be the last drink of their lives before shipping out to the real South Pacific. Even with eight bartenders mixing in tandem, “You worked your ass off. There was always money on the bar, never a minute’s rest.” In addition to making sailors drinks, Ray made their boats: He helped build Liberty Ships during a stint at the Long Beach shipyards, which were churning out four to five transport vessels a day by 1945. Ray worked as a “burner,” torching off rough edges left by the welders working above him –- who rained down showers of sparks that left life-long scars across his chest." (from: http://www.tiki-ti.com/pages/ray.html ) [ Edited by: LloydAloHHHa 2014-02-13 00:43 ]

Did you all know that Ray "The Master Ninja" Buhen (founder of the world famous Tiki Ti) used to work at the Seven Seas?

Check it out here:

"He'd say anything," chuckled Ray. "He said he invented the Zombie, but he didn't. Or hardly any of his drinks." That work, Ray maintained, was done by Ray and his fellow Filipinos. As fond as he was of his brazen boss, Ray left the Beachcomber's in 1937, moving to the Seven Seas when it opened across from Grauman's Chinese Theater. Owner Bob Brooks hired away most of Don's bar crew by offering $10 more per week, at a total salary of $40 per week. Recalls Mike Buhen: "Mom used to say that they could pay their rent, stock the fridge, and still have money to party. A loaf of bread was five cents back then, so they could afford to go out nightclubbing."

The Seven Seas built on Don's faux Polynesian restaurant concept with live Hawaiian music and a Tahitian dance revue. Ray’s duties included playing a thunder-and-lightning LP for the bar’s famous "Rain On The Roof" sound -- sometimes with unintended results. As Ray told the Bum in '98, "One time I put the record on, and this chick jumped up from her table and ran outside to close the top on her convertible." Ray also remembered an illegal gambling set-up downstairs, run by an offshore casino boat operator named Tony Corneo.

World War II bounced Ray back to the Seven Seas, which needed all the help it could get: Sailors on shore leave packed the place, clamoring for what might be the last drink of their lives before shipping out to the real South Pacific. Even with eight bartenders mixing in tandem, “You worked your ass off. There was always money on the bar, never a minute’s rest.” In addition to making sailors drinks, Ray made their boats: He helped build Liberty Ships during a stint at the Long Beach shipyards, which were churning out four to five transport vessels a day by 1945. Ray worked as a “burner,” torching off rough edges left by the welders working above him –- who rained down showers of sparks that left life-long scars across his chest." (from: http://www.tiki-ti.com/pages/ray.html )

[ Edited by: Lloyd*AloHHHa 2014-02-13 00:43 ]

Post #708036 by Lloyd*AloHHHa on Thu, Feb 13, 2014 12:41 AM