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Don the Beachcomber - The Locations (Updated 11-22-10) |
Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3951
From: Santa Barbara, CA
|  Posted: 2013-01-15 07:46 am Permalink
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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.
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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
[ This Message was edited by: Dustycajun 2013-01-15 07:48 ]
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3951
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2013-02-13 7:42 pm Permalink
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
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Bora Boris
Mr. Unreasonable
Joined: Mar 25, 2005
Posts: 2417
From: Boogie Wonderland
| Posted: 2013-02-13 8:26 pm Permalink
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.
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Or Got Rum?
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 294
From: Wisconsin
| Posted: 2013-03-04 1:17 pm Permalink
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
 
 
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3951
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2013-03-15 9:14 pm Permalink
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
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TropicDrinkBoy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 27, 2011
Posts: 164 | Posted: 2013-03-16 09:00 am Permalink
"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?
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TropicDrinkBoy
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 27, 2011
Posts: 164 | Posted: 2013-03-16 09:07 am Permalink
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.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=34436&forum=1&6
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Or Got Rum?
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 294
From: Wisconsin
| Posted: 2013-03-26 1:42 pm Permalink
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
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3951
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2013-05-09 5:03 pm Permalink
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
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TikiTacky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 23, 2010
Posts: 211 | Posted: 6 days ago; 4:11 pm Permalink
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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).
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Here's pics from Apple Maps of how these two locations look today:
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