Mauna Loa, Pittsburgh, PA (restaurant)

Name:Mauna Loa
Type:restaurant
Street:3333 William Penn Hwy
City:Pittsburgh
State:PA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
Only thing on TC about this is a slight mention in the Detroit Mauna Loa description.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4786&forum=2&hilite=mauna%20loa%20pittsburgh

Nice Find. Here is a quote from the thread by Tikifish.
"Gabriel and Nakashima will revise and add to the Mai Kai restaurant in Fort Lauderdale and work on another Mauna Loa, this one in Pittsburgh that will be headed by the Detroit project's 40 local stockholders.

(I assume the Mauna Loa Pittsburgh never happened...)"
TRT puts the Mauna Loa in Monroeville, near Pittsburgh. I not sure if this location is associated with the Detroit Mauna Loa. It seems if the owners opened another Restaurant that the same type of font would have been used for the printed media. This would make items such as mugs, server ware, matchbooks and even company letterhead interchangeable between the locations. A trip to the local library may turn up some more information.

Wow! Interesting! I'm originally from Pittsburgh, so you sparked my interest here. I always thought Pittsburgh completely missed the Polynesian Pop movement.

This place actually did open. I found a small blurb about it in the March 27 1980 Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

"The Royal Hawaiian Review featuring Chief Tuika and his fire dance finishes its month long engagement this weekend at the Mauna Loa Restaurant, 3333 Wiliam Penn Highway, Wilkins."

Also, by researching the address a little, I found that this Mauna Loa was definitely gone by 1984, as it had become a restaurant called "Sorry Charlie's".

That's all I could find right now, but there has got to be some more info in the Post Gazette somewhere. The google timeline has all of their papers from the 60s and 70s. I'll keep looking.

Found some more good info, from the July 16, 1977 Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

"Wilkins Township officials yesterday asked Common Please Court to halt construction of a major new nightclub on William Penn Highway because owners have not obtained necessary building and zoning permits. A request for a preliminary injunction was filed against Thomas J. and Barbara Reilly Jr., 838 Golfview Drive, McKeesport, owners of a former automobile agency at 3333 William Penn Highway on the route to Monroeville Mall. Township officials claimed the Reilly couple intend to open a 500 person nightclub and restaurant at the location without the necessary electrical, plumbing, sanitation and fire protection installed."

So, now it looks like this didn't open until 1977 or later, and was gone by 1984.

On 2009-05-01 11:56, Mo-Eye wrote:
Also, by researching the address a little, I found that this Mauna Loa was definitely gone by 1984, as it had become a restaurant called "Sorry Charlie's".

Did that place have some sort of post-Vietnam theme? :wink:

Kudos for your research stamina, I get sucked into that engine and just have to pull myself out by the scalp after a while or I'll dissolve!

[ Edited by: Pittsburgh pauly 2010-05-20 12:45 ]

On 2009-05-01 11:56, Mo-Eye wrote:
Wow! Interesting! I'm originally from Pittsburgh, so you sparked my interest here. I always thought Pittsburgh completely missed the Polynesian Pop movement.

This place actually did open. I found a small blurb about it in the March 27 1980 Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

"The Royal Hawaiian Review featuring Chief Tuika and his fire dance finishes its month long engagement this weekend at the Mauna Loa Restaurant, 3333 Wilmar Penn Highway, Wilkins."

Also, by researching the address a little, I found that this Mauna Loa was definitely gone by 1984, as it had become a restaurant called "Sorry Charlie's".

That's all I could find right now, but there has got to be some more info in the Post Gazette somewhere. The google timeline has all of their papers from the 60s and 70s. I'll keep looking.

There ARE other references in the Post-Gazette, by mid-December 1980 it was the "Organ Grinder Pizza Parlor".

There's also reference that in '81 the parent company was sued by someone who slipped on a dancer's grass skirt when he was being led onstage. Leading his wife to be "deprived of his comfort, companionship and services"!

And unless it's named after another Tuika, it looks like the floor show is still around Pittsburgh as "Tuika's Polynesian Island Magic" http://www.hawaiianshows.com/home.html

I have had these two items from the Mauna Loa for some time now.

The Pittsburgh Press Jan. 31st 1980

Hawaiian Event together with the Hospitality Inn

A complementary Hawaiian gift!
Sounds like it was a fun

Keep posting!

Found these in a thrift store east of Pittsburgh the other day:

TT

Nice score Tonga! Been living in Pgh nearly 20 years and I've never found Pittsburgh tiki while thrifting. You can tell that that place came at the end of tiki by those glasses for sure!
I know you just got 'em, but if you're ever looking to part with 'em.....

Here are the articles about the guy slipping on the hula dancers skirt and another about regarding it turning into a pizza parlor... MAKE SURE TO COPY WHOLE LINK

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vEQcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ll0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2142,1508503&dq=mauna+loa+restaurant&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=moUqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5lwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5395,1301055&dq=mauna+loa+restaurant&hl=en

So yesterday I was browsing this thread and saw the glasses here. Then TODAY I went to a thrift store in Jeanette, PA just to browse around and I look down and found the blue mountains glass! CRAZY!

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TsEdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=B1kEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7068,245857&dq=mauna+loa+monroeville&hl=en

A wedding at the Mauna Loa, December 1978.
Maybe one day I'll figure out how to clip from google's news archives.

Pauly,

Assuming you have a Windows PC, for getting clips from Google News, you can use the key then paste into Paint (that little accessory application that comes with Windows) and use the Select and Crop tools within Paint to get just what you want. Then save as a .jpg file. It's a bit laborious but works. If you want to eliminate the highlighting, note the date and page of your finding, then choose "Browse this newspaper >>" in the Google News menu bar to get back to the same date and page. Again, it takes time and patience, but that's the price of treasure hunting. Someone may know of a better way, and I'm ready to learn...

Here's your clip using the technique described...

The Pittsburgh Press December 2, 1978

-Tom

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2011-06-08 05:45 ]

Thanks Tom! let's see if this works:
A Mauna Loa ad from the July 27, 1978 Pittsburgh Press

$6.95 for dinner show and dance!

I might be on a role:

I was preparing for a yard sale, and unpacking a punchbowl set from my neighbor...as I unwrapped the cups I scanned the paper pages and found another ad for the Mauna Loa in Pittsburgh, dated 6/8/1978. Wish I had been able to take in a show back in the day!

Ha, brings new meaning to a garage sale find!

Cool ad.

DC

Wow! What a time warp:

"Boogie in Hawaii in the NEW Hawaiian Disco Room! - Dress: sport coats.
DISCO LESSONS" ! :)

From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Jan 6, 1978

My parents used to go here, as well as the Hukilau in the North Hills; Pittsburgh did have tiki going on back in the sixties and seventies!!

File this one under "Only in Pittsburgh"! Found this ad from 1980 for the Hawaii' 80 revue that had moved from the Mauna Loa after a 2-year stint to Conleys Tiki Show Room.

The Polynesian floor show featured a tribute to the champion Pittsburgh Steelers football team! You can see the Steelers on the hula dancers headdress.

Not to mention an erupting volcano and Tiki Gods.

DC

A nice piece just after the Moana Loa opened, dated Jan 11, 1978, and well after the Hu Ke Lau.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hZxRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=L20DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6962%2C1108532

Edited to fix link and add pic.

[ Edited by: Pittsburgh pauly 2014-02-12 15:30 ]

[ Edited by: Pittsburgh pauly 2014-02-12 15:38 ]

Christmas and New Years parties at the Mauna Loa in 1978.

The entertainment included Tane and the Polynesian Chorus Girls.

DC