Don the Beachcomber - The Locations (Updated 01-09-20)

On 2013-01-14 22:02, Bora Boris wrote:
I know it was there through 1977-78 and I think it lasted into the early eighties 81-82?

Here's a placemat image I nabbed from ebay a while ago.

Bora Boris,

Fabulous rendering, thanks for posting! This has to be one of the most underrated Don the Beachcombers out there, the exterior looked spectacular. Now, in only we had some photos of the inside.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2013-01-15 07:48 ]

What's this, a Don the Beachcomber outlet at the Drop Inn Liquors on Wilshire?

I just got this old flier from the liquor store advertising the Don the Beachcomber mixes.

The franchise must have been hooked up with Bacardi and Meyers Rums at this time. Will deliver!

DC

There is still a Liquor store at 8326 Wilshire, kinda.

I'll go in this weekend and see if they have any ancient Don's mixes.

An interview w/ DTB from 1967 from one of my restaurant industry mags. Fairly vanilla w/ some insight of his future Food-service plans....kind of like Tsao's Kahiki Foods with a more Global view. Also a pic and blurb from R. Fine on the Credit Card issue. OGR

OGR,

Nice find on the article. I was at a paper show and picked up one of the DTB fans like this one I posted previously.

The cool part about this the lot came with this drink menu on parchment paper that had been cut and taped to the fan at one point.

Some very old drink names from Don himself in Hawaii.

DC

"Or Got Rum", that's a wonderful Donn Beach article. Lacking a true autobiography, this may be as close as we'll ever get to one. I have "Scrounging the Islands with the Legendary Don the Beachcomber" but this gives additional insight to the history of his Hollywood and Hawaii locations. Did he really start in 1932, before Prohibition ended? Was he referring to his "rum runner" days or did he really have a speak easy at the original McCadden location? Finally, are there other examples of interviews with Donn Beach?

I just want to make sure that this post on the "Don the Beachcomber in the Sky" locations doesn't get lost to history! I knew about Trader Vic's United Airlines connection but this goes above and beyond anything they ever did. A Polynesian Pop restaurant in the sky complete with carvings, unfortunately those days will never return. Donn Beach mentions his airline connection in the above interview.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=34436&forum=1&6

I got lucky and scored 2 nice B/W Tourist photos (thanks DC :)) of Don's in Hawaii...nice Brownlee front and gable with a cool car shot also. OGR

OGR,

Nice score. How about a close up of the Don the Beachcomber sign?

I just spotted this incredible historical find for sale on ebay - the Don the Beachcomber door panels from Hawaii that were made by Oceanic Arts.

Complete with the shipping label!

From the location at the Beachcomber Hotel.

Now what does that design remind me of???

DC

On 2010-11-22 20:47, Dustycajun wrote:
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).

Here's pics from Apple Maps of how these two locations look today:

Another nice old tourist photo from the Waikiki Beachcomber (from ebay).

Short-shorts nicely framed by the Tiki Torches!

DC

Picked up a nice set of the illustrated drink table cards from the early Don the Beachcombers in Hollywood and Chicago. Nice graphics, and not a Tiki mug among theme.

Don's rum story on the back of the cards.

There are a few other varieties.

DC

THIS is a new location that belongs here, an amazing discovery by historian Chris Jepsen:

http://ochistorical.blogspot.se/2013/07/keeping-costa-mesa-safe-for-democracy.html

Cool story. A new Don location, great find by Chirs. Will have to add this to the front page list.

Love those photos:

Leave it to Don to Tiki-fy an Officer's Mess Hall!

DC

Those cocktail cards are great. Thanks for posting them DC!

Kevin

Time to bump this thread. A few more photos of Don's from Hawaii.

I like the outrigger sign on this one from the International Market Place.

Another old one from the original Don's in Waikiki. Note the fernwood Tiki and Blair's sign out front.

And I also spotted a modern tumbler from Don's.

DC

Interesting (to me at least!) that the older one was named 'Don the Beachcomber' while the more recent one was named 'Don the Beachcomber's'.

What? no....I don't think so, TropicDrinkBoy

Don't let Grog hear you say that TropicDrinkBoy :wink:

On 2013-12-19 17:56, TropicDrinkBoy wrote:
Interesting (to me at least!) that the older one was named 'Don the Beachcomber' while the more recent one was named 'Don the Beachcomber's'.

Astute observation. I believe that the sign out in front of the International Market Place is the only one to ever use the name "Don the Beachcomber's".

I think that ATP and Lunavideogames thought you were referring to the newer Don's in Huntington Beach.

DC

Got me, is that the same Don the Beachcomber that "Hells Half Acre" was filmed?

On 2013-12-20 14:37, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Got me, is that the same Don the Beachcomber that "Hells Half Acre" was filmed?

It was probably the earlier 3 grass shacks location on Kalakaua (Where Liberty House stood) because 1953-54 predates the International Market Place by a few years.

Just in time for Mothers Day, a family photo in front of Donn's IMP Tiki.

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Aloha to all of the Tiki moms out there!

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2014-05-11 09:29 ]

DC - Do we know this Tiki was outside of Don's. Any other pictures that show that?

On 2014-05-11 10:55, bigbrotiki wrote:
DC - Do we know this Tiki was outside of Don's. Any other pictures that show that?

Yes,

Below and to the right of the treehouse. I have a slide that shows it clearly... I think I've posted it already somewhere...

Spotted s couple of old color slide photos from the Don the Beachcomber in Palm Springs on ebay a while back.

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DC

Some old ads showing various DTB locations.

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DC

DC

This thread is spectacularly fantastic! I've been in it for an hour and I can't find my way out. How's a person supposed to get any work done?
Great idea and nice job DC.

So much to love about this thread! I especially think this is cool...

On 2009-04-22 19:09, Dustycajun wrote:
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On 2009-04-22 21:47, Bora Boris wrote:
Opening in 1943? :o Unless that token is some sort of morale building promotion, I would think that the Japanese occupation of both the Philippines and Singapore during that time put a damper on those expansion plans. :wink:

On 2009-04-24 07:24, Limbo Lizard wrote:
I think you're right about them being a morale-booster, BB. The Brits and Yanks were rather ignominiously defeated in Singapore and the PI, early on. I know that in the case of the Philippines, retaking them was more important symbolically than tactically. IIRC, some considered it a better, quicker plan to bypass them, as we battled toward Japan, but McArthur would have none of that - said he'd return, and that's that, dammit! I'll bet those tokens were one of Donn's contributions to the war effort - given to servicemen, implying that by that date, those locations would not only have been liberated from the "Japs", but a soldier could imagine himself, cleaned-up and comfortable, relaxing in a newly built DTB,... and with claim to a whole barrel of rum!
Great find - combo WWII/Tiki memorabilia.

Not mentioned yet is the significance of the date November 11th -- known to us Americans now as Veterans Day but known at the time as Armistice Day -- the day the Great War, the War to End All Wars (World War 1) ended. People at the time would have understood the implication. Too bad, for everyone, the war in the Pacific didn't end in the fall of 1943.

Kenbo-Jitsu,

Thanks for the update on the significance of the date on the token. Here is another photo spotted on ebay from the restaurant at the International Market Place.

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Nice sign and the three cannibals pole.

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DC

On 2016-02-01 16:03, Dustycajun wrote:
Kenbo-Jitsu,

Thanks for the update on the significance of the date on the token. Here is another photo spotted on ebay from the restaurant at the International Market Place.

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Nice sign and the three cannibals pole.

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DC

Nice and sharp. Makes me want to walk right in there!

Here's another matchbook from the Santa Barbara location.

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I had heard of Donn's Colonel's Plantation restaurant that was located in the International Market Place from this ad.

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Finally found a few photos of the exterior with a very nice A-Frame.

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It was located near Donn's tree house.

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DC

A new location... sort of. Found these photos of the Don the Beachcomber Enterprises corporate headquarters that were located at 17315 Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades.

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Designed by the same architect that did the Dallas UFO Beachcomber restaurant.

DC

Thanks DC...great work as usual...def does not look as cool today...
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Not sure if this postcard has been posted but I found a postcard of the "Coconut Palm Garden" of Don the Beachcomber's, Waikiki.

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Just when you think you seen it all...... another Don the Beachcomber location surfaces!

I spotted this menu on ebay from the Beachcomber Jr. bar that was located at 745 South Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles.

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The menu graphics and inside copyright are straight from the regular Don the Beachcomber menu so I am pretty sure this was one of the DTB corporation's authorized locations.

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Now this is pretty darn cool.

DC

A few more flickr photos from the Don the Beachcomber in Waikiki.

Fernwood Tiki and Cannibal poles at the old thatched hut entrance.

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Lady with two nice Tikis and Martin Denny on the entertainment list.

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Another entrance shot from the International Market Place location.

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The back pond and deck area.

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On 2016-12-19 09:43, Dustycajun wrote:
Just when you think you seen it all...... another Don the Beachcomber location surfaces!

I spotted this menu on ebay from the Beachcomber Jr. bar that was located at 745 South Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles.

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Now this is pretty darn cool.

DC

Indeed it is - to at this point come across a never heard of DB concept such as this is pretty amazing! Makes you wonder what else is out there!

On 2016-12-19 09:43, Dustycajun wrote:
Just when you think you seen it all...... another Don the Beachcomber location surfaces!

I spotted this menu on ebay from the Beachcomber Jr. bar that was located at 745 South Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles.

Very cool, but sadly it's also now a parking lot (see https://goo.gl/DBS4K4). Did a little snooping on the web and found this shot below of the block from about 1930. Too early for the Beachcomber Jr., but the Alhambra Theatre you see in the middle of the block was at 731 South Hill St. So Beachcomber Jr. was likely in the building where Herbert's Cafe is shown.

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[ Edited by: arriano 2016-12-20 12:43 ]

What a crazy find on that Beachcomber Jr. menu DC!!! Here's a cool table card.

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I never write off more than 2 Zombies per visit. After that it's no longer business...

On 2016-12-22 18:13, Tattoo wrote:
I never write off more than 2 Zombies per visit. After that it's no longer business...

I believe you must write off the third Zombie as a medical deduction.

Tattoo,

Nice table card. Those were the days of the two Zombie businessman's lunch!

Here are a couple of Ebay photos with Donn in action at one of his famous Hawaiian Luaus.

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And some early photos of the ladies in front of the Chicago Don the Beachcomber sign.

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Another shot of the sign lit up at night.

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DC

These images are from 1956

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The daggers in the Dagger Bar!

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** And a cannibal on the right.**
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Wow, those daggers are very cool! Never seen that before. Thanks Swanky
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DC

OK, I did some deeper digging on the Don the Beachcomber locations after going back and looking at Trad'r Bill’s menu with the list from the early 1980s. Here is what I found.

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Excelsior, Minnesota – There was in fact a Don the Beachcomber located in Excelsior Minnesota. I found a few newspaper ads from 1982 that advertised it as “Don The Beachcomber’s Mai Tai”.

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Now this seemed a little strange to me, as no other Don the Beachcomber included “Mai Tai” in the name. Why you might ask? Well, this DTB went into the former home of the Mai Tai restaurant as shown on these matchbox photos. You will note the same address at 687 Excelsior Blvd on Lake Minnetonka. This was back in the hermit crab days of the DTB corporation when they would simply take over an existing Tiki bar.

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You can read more about the Mai Tai on this thread!
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=13459&forum=2&hilite=excelsior

Next up Peoria, Illinois. Yes Virginia, Don the Beachcomber played in Peoria! In 1983, a Don the Beachcomber operated in the Ramada Inn located in Peoria. It was a small place with only 90 seats. I found another article from 1982 describing the lounge in the Ramada Inn as a hodge-podge with a South Seas design and fountain in one area – another DTB takeover move.

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West Lafayette, Indiana. This location has been listed on several menus and matchbooks. I confirmed a brief existence with two want ads for cooks from 1980. The first ad is from the Hilton Inn and the second one is from when the name changed to the Lafayette Inn.

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I am officially kicking Seattle, Miami, Kendall (FL), and Memphis off the list as I can find no proof of their existence what-so-ever.

So, with the addition of the Denver Elitch Gardens, the Los Angeles Beachcomber Jr. and these new ones, the grand total number is up to 33 – see page 1 of the thread for the updated list.

DC

Strong work detective

OK, another interesting newspaper archive find from the Don the Beachcomber history books. Found this article about a liquor license protest from 1938 in Hawaii for a new Don the Beach-Comber Café that was proposed in Waikiki.

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Donn clearly had a desire to open up in Hawaii as far back as 1938 before he went off to Europe for WW II.

DC