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Last Hurrah for the Royal Hawaiian ??? |
Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5734
From: CaliTikifornia
|  Posted: 2006-01-20 3:11 pm Permalink
Yes Please,
Let's confirm that the Royal (God Forbid) is closing or remodeling before we make a pilgrimage.
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2006-01-20 3:19 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-20 15:11, Unga Bunga wrote:
Yes Please,
Let's confirm that the Royal (God Forbid) is closing or remodeling before we make a pilgrimage.
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That's exactly the line of thought that will ensure its demise. We've got to support these places and keep them thriving! I can't guarantee my schedule will let me be there, but the threat of it closing is the alarm clock/kick in the pants I need to get there, whether the threat is real or not.
Sadly, the threat does sound very real to me -- if you wait for confirmation, it might come in the form of pictures of a post-wrecking ball lot.
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Hau 'oli Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 03, 2005
Posts: 401
From: Lamegoona Hills, CA
| Posted: 2006-01-20 3:30 pm Permalink
I think I'm gonna cry!! I just went to look up hours and saw the sad news! The Mr and I are going tonight for our 14th anniversary. I think I'll haunt the place every weekend until they close...
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bongofury
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: Oct 15, 2002
Posts: 1478
From: Ventura County
| Posted: 2006-01-20 5:24 pm Permalink
Whether it is closing or not, I say we go anyway and do some OC crawling. 18th is good.
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WooHooWahine
Grand Member (7 years) 
Joined: Mar 04, 2005
Posts: 2902
From: Mission (Impossible) Viejo, Ca
| Posted: 2006-01-20 6:27 pm Permalink
Soccer Tiki and I are heading over to The Royal Hawaiian Tonight!!! Hopefully we will have some information for everyone after we return 
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Hau 'oli Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 03, 2005
Posts: 401
From: Lamegoona Hills, CA
| Posted: 2006-01-21 08:09 am Permalink
OK. The Mr and I went last night and got to talking with the bar waitress. She said the dude buying it owns...hold on to your sandals...the CHEESECAKE FACTORY! Nice. She said the escrow is 60 days and could still fall out. She also said she doesn't know (no one working there does) about his intentions. However, he can't turn it into a cheesecake place (not enough square footage according to code).
Then I asked her if she had been, you know, kinda eyeing a few of the treasures hanging around. She said for sure, but only eyeing them with longing, as they had no clue what was going on yet.
She stated some crazy people came in a few days ago and told everyone they wanted to purchase a lot of the lamps, pictures, TIKIS! The employees were not too happy about that, "everything's like, 40 years old and would probably go on Ebay for a ton"...I guess they had quite a time getting the people to leave with out any treasures. So I said yeah, you better start watching every one as they leave. Make sure they don't all of a sudden look like a pregnant lady, only with puffer fish spines sticking out of her shirt. Or a dude wearing a really long, bulky coat that clanks.
I mentioned the folks from TC would be coming around to party. She didn't seem to know what that was. But said yeah- come on over and let the (maybe)new owner know how much we like it there.
I say let Mr Cheesey know how much we NEED it to stay just the way it is!
I'll be there again tonight voicing my opinion!
AND, I just had a thought. I have a few friends working for the city of Laguna. One in code enforcement and one in property preservation!! I'll make a few calls today and see if Mr Cheese has been asking about changes.
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rugbymatt
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Jun 03, 2005
Posts: 1201
From: Sacramento
| Posted: 2006-01-21 09:20 am Permalink
Sorry I can't fly out and join the Ohana this time 'round.
Would it be appropriate to use TC to circulate a petition to show Mr. Cheesecake just how much it means to people all over the place (i.e. people who patronize his establishments elsewhere)?
Just an out of the box thought.
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Luckydesigns
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 15, 2002
Posts: 1893
From: Costa Mesa
| Posted: 2006-01-21 1:04 pm Permalink
This is ridiculous! The Royal H has been a Laguna Beach fixture for years and years. I can't believe that the owners would sell it to the Cheesecake factory! It's not like the place isn't busy any more. I know tons of people that I grew up with in Newport Beach that don't give a f*ck about tiki, but love the Royal H. This just doesn't seem right, especially after they went to the trouble to replace some of the old weathered tikis with new ones a few years back.
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floratina
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 997
From: West Los Angeles
| Posted: 2006-01-21 3:55 pm Permalink
In, 11th or 18th, prefer the long weekend, though.
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-01-21 4:55 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-21 08:09, Hau 'oli Tiki wrote:
OK. The Mr and I went last night and got to talking with the bar waitress. She said the dude buying it owns...hold on to your sandals...the CHEESECAKE FACTORY! Nice. She said the escrow is 60 days and could still fall out. She also said she doesn't know (no one working there does) about his intentions. However, he can't turn it into a cheesecake place (not enough square footage according to code).
. . .
I'll make a few calls today and see if Mr Cheese has been asking about changes.
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Please do. The Laguna Beach code states the property is too small for a new restaurant, even though its current use is a restaurant?
Has Mr. Cheesy filed for a variance with the Zoning/Planning dept?
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-01-21 4:57 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-20 15:19, Humuhumu wrote:
That's exactly the line of thought that will ensure its demise. We've got to support these places and keep them thriving!
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Well said.
Nevertheless, has there been a decrease in revenue at the Royal Hawaiian?
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SoccerTiki
Grand Member (6 years)
Joined: Feb 24, 2005
Posts: 1727
From: TheSoccerTikiGrotto, Island of LongBeach
| Posted: 2006-01-21 6:27 pm Permalink
WooHoo and I Spoke with the son of the owner last night. They want to travel. He (Jr) hasn't been to Hawaii since he was 4 (now 48!) After his dad died (the original owner)his mom, he and his sister have been managing the place and not taking any "real" vacations....He says the family loves the place and all the guests, but they're ready to move on. He said he would welcome a group of TCers to come in and use the banquet room anytime.
Now the valet feels things are going to change...If anyone knows who I'm talking about, then you know he has some tikis and artwork in his little garage/cubby hole where he spends his time waiting for cars to pull in. He sold me a couple items last night!
We plan on going back Wednesday (they have some good specials before 7pm!! And for those who haven't been in a while...The food is good!!! Of course the Lapu Lapus are 2nd to none and the drink prices are reasonable!
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Doctor Z
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 01, 2002
Posts: 1603
From: The Hale Moana Lounge, Torrance, CA
| Posted: 2006-01-21 6:38 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-21 08:09, Hau 'oli Tiki wrote:
She said the dude buying it owns...hold on to your sandals...the CHEESECAKE FACTORY! |
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Yikes! These are the same folks that took over and killed Beachbum Burts in Redondo Beach back about 20 years ago...
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-01-21 8:42 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-21 18:27, SoccerTiki wrote:
WooHoo and I Spoke with the son of the owner last night. They want to travel. He (Jr) hasn't been to Hawaii since he was 4 (now 48!) After his dad died (the original owner)his mom, he and his sister have been managing the place and not taking any "real" vacations....He says the family loves the place and all the guests, but they're ready to move on.
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Why cant they hire a general manager and keep the income?
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tikipedia
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 25, 2004
Posts: 488
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2006-01-21 10:51 pm Permalink
The probable demise of the venerable Royal Hawaiian shouldn't come as any surprise. The place is sitting on some choice real estate, and with So Cal's obsession with 'redevelopment', it was only a matter of time before some punkass developer bought it for upscale yuppie condos. Or some consortium used eminent domain to take over and tear it down.
Let's hope that there is an outside chance the Royal Hawaiian will be saved. But at the very least, the treasures that it holds will find it's way into the hands of enthusiasts, rather than the local dump.
I just might try to make a jaunt up there tomorrow for a Lapu Lapu!
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