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June 2, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Tiki (or Tacky)

Remember the pre- and post-war (WW II) proliferation of “Tiki” bars and restaurants?

OK, I wasn’t even born then, but as the phenomenon grew into the 1950s and 60s (by then, I was around,) I do recall the tacky tourist joints in Waikīkī and elsewhere.

Thing is, though, those rum-based watering holes didn’t start here; they were the brainchild of a couple entrepreneurs on the continent, who eventually brought their establishments to our shores.

Starting in 1934, Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt (who?) – aka Donn Beach – opened the first Polynesian motif bar in Los Angeles, just off Hollywood Boulevard.

Named “Don the Beachcomber,” his bar seated about two dozen customers and he scattered a few tables in the remaining space. The place was decorated with faux South Pacific décor, along with old nets and parts of wrecked boats he scavenged from the oceanfront.

The Polynesian Pop revival was underway.

Not to be out-done, Victor Jules Bergeron (who?) – aka Trader Vic – in 1936 converted his Oakland “Hinky Dink’s” pub into a South Seas tropical retreat with tiki carvings, bamboo and outrigger canoes and rechristened it “Trader Vic’s.”

I still recall my 21st birthday and the celebration of my first legal consumption of alcohol at the downtown Denver Trader Vic’s, while I was a student at University of Denver – we had Mai Tais.

Polynesian Pop spread like wildfire and tiki-themed eateries opened across the country. While others have followed, none bettered the tiki and tacky of Don’s and Vic’s.

Along with the décor, rum-based concoctions were the signature drinks in these themed establishments. And that brings us to a discussion on who really invented the themey-est Polynesian Pop umbrella drink of all … the Mai Tai.

Some say Donn, some say Vic – others suggest a quiet barkeep at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Here is what I have found and it’s based mostly on the self-professed statements from each of their websites.

While Don the Beachcomber started the whole tackiness, he apparently does not claim “invention” rights to the Mai Tai. Although the Mai Tai was served in Donn’s establishments, then and now, his signature rum-based theme drink was the Zombie.

The New York Times ran a brief obituary that painted him as a sort of Thomas Edison of the thatched-roof bar and the inventor of 84 bar drinks (Mai Tai, not included.)

The honor of invention of the Mai Tai seems to be directed at Trader Vic.

The story goes that the original Mai Tai was created by Victor J. Bergeron in 1944 by combining 2 ounces of 17-year-old J. Wray Nephew rum with juice from one fresh lime, 1/2 ounce each of Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao and French Garnier Orgeat, and 1/4 ounce Rock Candy Syrup. The mixture is hand shaken and poured over shaved ice with a fresh mint garnish and 1/2 the lime rind.

The story seems to indicate he then asked some Tahitian friends to taste his new concoction and they reportedly exclaimed “maitaʻi” – the Tahitian expression for “good”; but today the drink is spelled as two words, sometimes hyphenated or capitalized.

Reportedly, in 1953, Vic brought his wildly acclaimed Mai Tai to the Hawaiian Islands when he was asked by the Matson Steamship Lines to design the cocktail menu for the bars at their Royal Hawaiian, Moana and Surfrider Hotels.

The Mai Tai became such a popular cocktail in the 1950s and 1960s that virtually every restaurant, particularly tiki-themed restaurants or bars, served them.

Nelia and I find ourselves returning to Waikīkī every now and then, rotating between the Royal Hawaiian and Halekūlani for Mai Tai sunset sips and pupu.

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don-the-beachcomber-bar
don-the-beachcomber-bar
Donn Beach
Donn Beach
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Victor_Bergeron-Trader_Vic’s_Invents_Mai_Tai-1944
Mai-Tai
Mai-Tai
Zombie-Don_the_Beachcomber
Zombie-Don_the_Beachcomber
Hinky_Dinks-Saloon-forerunner of Trader Vic's
Hinky_Dinks-Saloon-forerunner of Trader Vic’s
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Trader_Vic’s-Denver
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Trader_Vic’s_Opens_First_Franchise_in_Hawaii-1950
Trader_Vic's_Matchbook_cover
Trader_Vic’s_Matchbook_cover
Trader_Vic's_logo
Trader_Vic’s_logo
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Trader_Vic’s_International_Marketplace
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Trader_Vic’s_Honolulu
Trader Vic's Ward Avenue
Trader Vic’s Ward Avenue
Trader Vic's Open First Operation in Seattle-1940
Trader Vic’s Open First Operation in Seattle-1940
Trader Vic's International Market Place
Trader Vic’s International Market Place
Trader-Vics-first-at-926-Ward-Avenue-in-Honolulu.-It-opened-in-the-early-1950s-and-moved-to-the-International-Marketplace-after-1967
Trader-Vics-first-at-926-Ward-Avenue-in-Honolulu.-It-opened-in-the-early-1950s-and-moved-to-the-International-Marketplace-after-1967
Hawaii_Kai...in_New_York
Hawaii_Kai…in_New_York
Exotic_Drinks
Exotic_Drinks
Don the Beachcomber
Don the Beachcomber

Filed Under: General, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Halekulani, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Trader Vic's, Don the Beachcomber, Mai Tai, Polynesian Pop

March 22, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki

Starting in 1934, Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt – aka Donn Beach – opened the first Polynesian motif bar in Los Angeles, just off Hollywood Boulevard.

Named “Don the Beachcomber,” his bar seated about two dozen customers and he scattered a few tables in the remaining space. The place was decorated with faux South Pacific décor, along with old nets and parts of wrecked boats he scavenged from the oceanfront.

Not to be out-done, Victor Jules Bergeron – aka Trader Vic – in 1936 converted his Oakland “Hinky Dink’s” pub into a South Seas tropical retreat with tiki carvings, bamboo and outrigger canoes and rechristened it “Trader Vic’s.”

The Polynesian Pop revival was underway.

The Polynesian restaurant is one of the first, and perhaps most successful, of the theme restaurants in the middle 20th-century.

Much of the success of Polynesian restaurants rests in the recreation of outdoor landscapes that are responsible for bringing the magic of the Polynesia to life in the restaurants. Inscape is prevalent and incredibly intricate, with a high level of detail and realism.

The most successful Polynesian restaurants make use of water features, live plants, rocks, and even special effects to recreate lush, paradisiac environments. The use of Inscape strongly suggests the fostering of a sense of place by anchoring the theme restaurant in a particular time and place. (Cornell)

Historically the thematic construct for Polynesian restaurants is intended as a total immersion in another cultural context, so much so that its effect is to disassociate people from their familiar surroundings.

Polynesian restaurants provide an escape from routine. “Women in particular like to ‘get away from it all’ by dining in a romantic, exotic room with a ‘faraway look in its eyes.'”

One trade source states that “the ways in which mats and thatch are used beneath the ceiling stimulated the shutting out of (the city’s) heat and glare.” (Cornell)

In the 1950s and 60s, an epidemic of island fever swept the US. Tiki-themed structures spread like jungle vines. (Flaherty) The Polynesian restaurant boom produced from 100 to 200 restaurants.

One consequence of the disjunction from reality means that Polynesian restaurants are adaptable for any American city. Consequently, they were built across the country in seemingly unlikely places.

Once such made its way to uptown in the Windy City.

From its opening in 1949, Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki on Wilson Avenue in Chicago, provides “entertainment direct from Hawaii” and “dancing under Hawaiian skies.”

By 1959, its owner escalated the restaurant to an “authentic Hawaiian theatre restaurant.”

It stood on the corner of Clarendon and Wilson in uptown Chicago. “There were fresh pineapples on the tables, paper leis and ti leaves hanging all around”. (Campbell, 1954)

“So many clubs have come and gone,” said veteran entertainer Gwen Kennedy, owner of The Barefoot Hawaiian, who performed in many of the vanished places, doing the hula on stage at Honolulu Harry’s beginning at age 3. (Daily Herald)

Although Polynesian restaurants remained fashionable in the 1960s, other theme dining establishments start to appear with different themes. (Cornell)

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Honolulu Harrys Waikiki
Honolulu Harrys Waikiki
Chicago - Honolulu Harry's Waikiki - 4541 Broadway - Interior - 1950
Chicago – Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki – 4541 Broadway – Interior – 1950
Chicago-honolulu-harrys-waikiki-theatre-restaurant-c1960
Chicago-honolulu-harrys-waikiki-theatre-restaurant-c1960
Chicago-Clarendon-and-Wilson-Honolulu-Harrys-Restaurant-1956
Chicago-Clarendon-and-Wilson-Honolulu-Harrys-Restaurant-1956
Chicago-honolulu-harrys-waikiki
Chicago-honolulu-harrys-waikiki
Honolulu Harry's audience participation
Honolulu Harry’s audience participation
Honolulu Harry's Waikiki Restaurant, Chicago, IL (restaurant) -Tiki Central Menu
Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki Restaurant, Chicago, IL (restaurant) -Tiki Central Menu
Honolulu Harry's Waikiki Dancers
Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki Dancers
Chicago - Honolulu Harry's Waikiki - Photo Holder
Chicago – Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki – Photo Holder
Chicago - Honolulu Harry's Waikiki - Children
Chicago – Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki – Children
Chicago - Honolulu Harry's Waikiki - Business Card
Chicago – Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki – Business Card
Honolulu Harry's Waikiki-mailer
Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki-mailer

Filed Under: Buildings, Prominent People, Economy, General Tagged With: Hawaii, Trader Vic's, Don the Beachcomber, Polynesian Pop, Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, Donn Beach, Victor Jules Bergeron

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