The Diners Rendezvous, Nanaimo, BC, Canada (restaurant)

Name:The Diners Rendezvous
Type:restaurant
Street:Wallace Street
City:Nanaimo, BC
State:
Zip:
country:Canada
Phone:-
Status:defunct

Description:

Okay, now this one I was considering if I should even give it it's own thread because I have not found out enough about it.
It isn't really what I would consider a Tiki restuarant but you gotta see these photos and my little bit of info. that I have. I have seen worse places on here so let me know what you think.

The decor is VERY much, almost exactly, to what I think is one of the best Tiki establishments in North America(read on)!

This place was specifcally a Chinese and Canadian restaurant exclusively.
As far as I have been able to find out, there were no carvings of any sort or were there any drinks served in any sort of vessels. I have not been able to find any menu's, stir stix, matchbooks or anything else for that matter from this place (as of yet). I only have ever seen the following postcards. There is very little info. that I have been able to find out except for what I have here.

On the back of one of their postcards, it reads: "Air conditioned dining lounges and coffee shop. Dine under the stars or in our Pagoda Lounge and enjoy Delicious Canadian and authentic Chinese cuisine. Located in the heart of downtown Nanaimo, BC, next to the City Hall."

[ Edited by: TabooDan 2008-12-31 16:26 ]

Grab yourself a drink.... oh..... you have one already!! Perfect!

The following photo is the first card I found of a restaurant that was once located on Vancouver Island in Nanaimo, BC. It was called "The Diners Rendezvous" and was situated in the heart of Nanaimo.

I was going through a large stack of cards when I noticed this one. It looked kind of cool with it's 60's looking decor, nice mural and bamboo on the wall. I didn't notice at first, but it was actually a mirrored wall with bamboo below the mirrors and what looked to be a reflection of a night sky.

The back of the card reads: "Air conditioned dining lounges and coffee shop. Dine under the stars or in our Pagoda Lounge and enjoy Delicious Canadian and authentic Chinese cuisine. Located in the heart of downtown Nanaimo, BC, next to the City Hall." Only one of my cards was mailed and I can not make out the date. It does look like 1959 but can't be sure. Strange that none of the three cards that I have had an address for this restaurant on them. I had to do a search and managed to track it down.

The next card sealed the deal for me. I wasn't sure about even buying the first card as I kind of gotta be specific with what I buy these days and couldn't make up my mind. This second was in the same stack of mixed postcards at an antique show earlier this year.

Look familiar to anyone?? How about the Waldorf Hotel?? Tahitian Lounge anyone?? The curved room with the bamboo bar and mirrors on the wall! It was pretty much bang on!!

You can see this photo much clearer and see the details. This photo is actually of the wall with the mural as opposed to a photo of the reflection in the mirror as the first card. You can see a really cool Nite time scene of an old tree, moon lite, tropical foliage, and a Chinese looking 'Junk' sailing in the water. About five pieces of thick bamboo line either side of the mural with matting on the walls and all under a awesome looking curved ceiling with a Nite sky painted on it and complete with twinkling lights!! You can also see how the ceiling curves up and out just like the Waldorf Hotel and the way their sky was done.

Here's a picture of the Waldorf's Tahitian Lounge:

Pretty much bang on! What yah think??

Here's another, darker, shot of the Waldorf:

This is a shot of the bar area where you can see the completely mirrored wall behind the bar and a reflection of the ceiling, the Nite sky and the matting on the walls. Even the colors are pretty much the same. Check out the location of that mural. I like these cards!!

It turns out that the building that housed the The Diners Rendezvous (Not a very cool name is it?) is now a historic landmark in BC. I do not know if the room is still there today but I got a feeling it is. It would be cool to get inside and see what it actually looks like now.

Here is another cool card that I found which pretty much shows the whole interior:

In this shot you get much more of a feel for the restaurant and the whole theme. Pretty nice looking place! I found out that this restaurant opened in 1956!
That is one year after the Waldorf opened up it's Polynesian Rooms!!

Here is a little information I did find out about the building itself:

"The Brumpton Block is a two-storey Edwardian Commercial style building in the downtown core. The historic place is confined to the building footprint.

Designed and built by local contractor James Green in 1912, this horizontally proportioned block is a very good example of a vernacular Edwardian Commercial style building. The second floor retains its original appearance. The ground floor originally had four separate storefronts and a central entry to the top floor but was later converted to use as a single restaurant.
The alterations, which included using mosaic tile as cladding on the exterior, were designed by the Nanaimo firm of McArravy & Barley in 1956 and are a good expression of the building's aesthetic evolution over time and the trend towards stylistic modernization prevalent at the time.

The Brumpton Block is significant because of it's association with the Wong family and the Diner's Rendezvous Restaurant. For several decades, starting in the mid-1950s, the Diner's Rendezvous was one of the most popular restaurants in Nanaimo. The Wong family were exceptionally active in community life.

The Brumpton Block is also significant because of its association with two well known and prolific Nanaimo builder-architects. Green was active in Nanaimo in the 1920s and 1930s and is best remembered for Beban House. McArravy, a formally trained architect, designed many notable buildings including City Hall and the Fitzwilliam Street Library building. A neighbourhood landmark, the Brumpton Block's long facade is very prominent on the street."

Here is a picture of what the outside of the building looks like as of 2004:

You can see the front of the place and make out the renovations that they did in 1956. Not bad but I am hoping to be able to find out a little more and hopefully be able to track down a menu or something to see the dishes they served. What about that drink list?? Tropical cocktails??? Hmmm....we'll see!!

TabooDan

[ Edited by: TabooDan 2009-01-01 18:01 ]

Oh, and it's New Years Eve so if you are reading this,
Happy New Year to you and your's!!

TabooDan

What...Nothing on this place?? Where is TikiWahine gone??
She's over on the Island and might know something.
Cool place but we need some more info!!

Mahalo, TabooDan

Unfortunately Nanaimo is not a town I visit very often, as it's up island from me. The only reason I stop is for the antique shop on the side of the highway, as I'm passing through town.

However, next time I'm going through there I'll definitely try to get into this place, or try to find someone who can tell me more about it. It had a very cool interior! VERY similar to the Waldorf.