Don the Beachcomber
Encyclopedia
Donn Beach born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, is the founding father of tiki
restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The many so-called "Polynesia
n" restaurants and pubs
that enjoyed great popularity are directly descended from what he created. After years of being called Don the Beachcomber because of his original bar/restaurant, Gantt changed his name several times, using Donn Beach-Comber, to Donn Beachcomber, and finally settling on Donn Beach.
native, had left home in 1926 and traveled around the world on his own, scouring many of the islands of the Caribbean
and the South Pacific
.
A former bootlegger
during Prohibition
he moved to Hollywood in the 1930s. Gantt opened a bar called "Don's Beachcomber Cafe" in 1934 at 1722 N. McCadden Place. In 1937, the restaurant moved across the street to 1727 N. McCadden Pl. and its name was changed to Don The Beachcomber. He mixed potent rum
cocktail
s in his tropically decorated bar. This was such an escape from everyday life, it quickly gained popularity, especially with Hollywood celebrities. At "Don the Beachcomber", customers ate what seemed like wonderfully exotic cuisines, but, in actuality, were mostly standard Cantonese
dishes served with flair. The first "pu pu platter
" was probably served there. A competitor's attempt at a copy of his Zombie cocktail
(a rum drink) was served at the 1939 New York World's Fair
. He also was known for creating "Tahitian Rum Punch," "Navy Grog" and many other cocktails.
in World War II
as an operator of officer rest-and-recreation centers. He was awarded the Purple Heart
and Bronze Star
while setting up rest camps for combat-weary airman of the 12th and 15th Air Forces in Capri
, Nice
, Cannes
, the French Riviera
, Venice
, the Lido and Sorrento
at the order of his friend, Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle
.
When Gannt was serving his country, Don the Beachcomber flourished under his wife's management, turning into a chain with 16 restaurants.
's in the late 1930s in the San Francisco Bay
Area and the two men were amicable rivals for many years. Each claimed to have created the Mai Tai
, a rum and fruit-juice cocktail still popular today -- "maitai" is the Tahiti
an word for "good." The Trader claimed to have invented it in 1944, the Beachcomber in 1933. However, at the peak of their success, there were more Trader Vic's around the world than Don the Beachcombers. Don also opened a "Polynesian Village" at his Encino, California ranch, where he entertained many Hollywood celebrities.
, where he opened his second Polynesian Village. He was the originator of the International Marketplace in Honolulu, and had his office up in the limbs of the enormous banyan
tree in the center of the market.
He later built an elaborate houseboat
, the Marama, a prototype for what he hoped would be floating housing in Hawaii
but failed to get the zoning
for it. He eventually shipped the houseboat to Moorea
, and lived there in retirement for a number of years before a succession of hurricanes destroyed it. He died in Honolulu.
He was buried with full military honors including a flag draped coffin, 21 gun salute and missing man fly-over.
When Disney's California Adventure opened in 2001, it included a small Don the Beachcomber at its Hollywood & Dine food court. It offered Chinese-style food, but did not serve alcoholic drinks. The restaurant closed within a few years. A short-lived Don the Beachcomber Bar was located inside the Royal Star at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas from 2004 to 2006.
In 2005, a full scale Don the Beachcomber restaurant opened at the Royal Kona Resort in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; and at the Royal Lahaina Resort in Lahaina, Hawaii in 2007. By then, Arthur K. Snyder
's firm Marisol, LLC, owned the name.
In 2009, Sam’s Seafood in Huntington Beach, California changed hands and was re-named "Kona". However, new owner Chuck Purrington then struck a licensing deal with Marisol and re-branded the restaurant as Don the Beachcomber. The restaurant has installed new signs, added many of the original Don The Beachcomber drink concoctions to the bar menu (including the original Mai Tai recipe), and is serving some of the drinks in newly manufactured Don The Beachcomber tiki mugs. They also have a renamed web site up and running, containing the history of Don The Beachcomber and his original restaurant/bar chain.
Tiki bar
A tiki bar is an exotic–themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the "mai tai" or "Zombie cocktail". Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their Tiki culture décor which is based upon a romanticized conception of primitive tropical...
restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The many so-called "Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
n" restaurants and pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
that enjoyed great popularity are directly descended from what he created. After years of being called Don the Beachcomber because of his original bar/restaurant, Gantt changed his name several times, using Donn Beach-Comber, to Donn Beachcomber, and finally settling on Donn Beach.
Adventurer, bar proprietor and restaurateur
Gantt, a Limestone County, TexasLimestone County, Texas
Limestone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 22,051. Its county seat is Groesbeck.-Geography:According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water....
native, had left home in 1926 and traveled around the world on his own, scouring many of the islands of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
.
A former bootlegger
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
during Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
he moved to Hollywood in the 1930s. Gantt opened a bar called "Don's Beachcomber Cafe" in 1934 at 1722 N. McCadden Place. In 1937, the restaurant moved across the street to 1727 N. McCadden Pl. and its name was changed to Don The Beachcomber. He mixed potent rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
s in his tropically decorated bar. This was such an escape from everyday life, it quickly gained popularity, especially with Hollywood celebrities. At "Don the Beachcomber", customers ate what seemed like wonderfully exotic cuisines, but, in actuality, were mostly standard Cantonese
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...
dishes served with flair. The first "pu pu platter
Pu pu platter
A Pu Pu platter, Pu-Pu platter or pupu platter is a tray of American Chinese cuisine consisting of an assortment of small meat and seafood appetizers...
" was probably served there. A competitor's attempt at a copy of his Zombie cocktail
Zombie cocktail
The Zombie is a cocktail made of fruit juices, liqueurs, and various rums, so named for its perceived effects upon the drinker. It first appeared in the late 1930s, invented by Donn Beach of Hollywood's Don the Beachcomber restaurant...
(a rum drink) was served at the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
. He also was known for creating "Tahitian Rum Punch," "Navy Grog" and many other cocktails.
World War II service
Gantt served in the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as an operator of officer rest-and-recreation centers. He was awarded the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
and Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
while setting up rest camps for combat-weary airman of the 12th and 15th Air Forces in Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
, Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, the Lido and Sorrento
Sorrento, Italy
Sorrento is a small town in Campania, southern Italy, with some 16,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination which can be reached easily from Naples and Pompeii, as it lies at the south-eastern end of the Circumvesuviana rail line...
at the order of his friend, Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle
Jimmy Doolittle
General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
.
When Gannt was serving his country, Don the Beachcomber flourished under his wife's management, turning into a chain with 16 restaurants.
Post-war tiki fad
Tiki restaurants enjoyed a tremendous burst of fad popularity in the 1940s and 50s and there were several Don the Beachcomber restaurants across the country. Victor J. Bergeron had opened a competing version called Trader VicTrader Vic
Trader Vic's is a restaurant chain headquartered in San Francisco, California. Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. was the founder of a chain of Polynesian-themed restaurants that bore his nickname, "Trader Vic," and was one of two people who claimed to have invented the Mai Tai...
's in the late 1930s in the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
Area and the two men were amicable rivals for many years. Each claimed to have created the Mai Tai
Mai Tai
The Mai Tai is an alcoholic cocktail based on rum, Curaçao liqueur, and lime juice, associated with "Polynesian-style" settings.-History:It was purportedly invented at the Trader Vic's restaurant in Oakland, California in 1944. Trader Vic's rival, Don the Beachcomber, claimed to have created it in...
, a rum and fruit-juice cocktail still popular today -- "maitai" is the Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
an word for "good." The Trader claimed to have invented it in 1944, the Beachcomber in 1933. However, at the peak of their success, there were more Trader Vic's around the world than Don the Beachcombers. Don also opened a "Polynesian Village" at his Encino, California ranch, where he entertained many Hollywood celebrities.
Hawaii-bound
When Gantt divorced his wife (and business partner) Sunny Sund, she retained control over the restaurants. Because of the settlement, Donn was not allowed to open a Don the Beachcomber in the United States. He moved to Hawaii (before its statehood) to be able to continue his enterprise. Beach settled in WaikikiWaikiki
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
, where he opened his second Polynesian Village. He was the originator of the International Marketplace in Honolulu, and had his office up in the limbs of the enormous banyan
Banyan
A banyan is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree...
tree in the center of the market.
He later built an elaborate houseboat
Houseboat
A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities...
, the Marama, a prototype for what he hoped would be floating housing in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
but failed to get the zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
for it. He eventually shipped the houseboat to Moorea
Moorea
Moʻorea is a high island in French Polynesia, part of the Society Islands, 17 km northwest of Tahiti. Its position is . Moʻorea means "yellow lizard" in Tahitian...
, and lived there in retirement for a number of years before a succession of hurricanes destroyed it. He died in Honolulu.
He was buried with full military honors including a flag draped coffin, 21 gun salute and missing man fly-over.
Former restaurant locations
The original restaurants are no longer in existence, but here are some of the former locations of the chain:- Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
(bar opened - 1934, restaurant opened across street - 1937) - 1722 North McCadden Place, formerly a parking lot; a new apartment building has been constructed there, open 2011. Restaurant closed approximately 1985. - Aurora, ColoradoAurora, ColoradoCity of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
- Chicago, Illinois (opened in 1940) - 101 East Walton Place
- Corona del Mar, California (opened in 1969) - 3901 E. Coast Highway
- Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
- Meadow Road, just off Greenville Avenue, closed in the mid-1980s. - Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
- Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
(opened in 1971) - International Marketplace, WaikikiWaikikiWaikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī.... - Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
- Woodlake Square - Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan areaThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
(opened in 1962) - Sahara Hotel - Malibu, California - 22878 Pacific Coast Highway (former home of the Tonga Lei). Closed in the 1980s
- Marina del Rey, CaliforniaMarina del Rey, California-Demographics:-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Marina del Rey had a population of 8,866. The population density was 6,094.6 people per square mile...
(opened in 1970) - Hotel Marina del Rey, 13534 Bali Way - Oxnard, CaliforniaOxnard, CaliforniaOxnard is the 113th largest city in the United States, 19th largest city in California and largest city in Ventura County, California, by way of population. It is located at the western edge of the fertile Oxnard Plain, and is an important agricultural center, with its distinction as the...
(opened in 1976) - 2631 Wagon Wheel Road (former home of the Trade Winds). Closed in the late 1970s and demolished. - Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
(opened in 1953) - 120 Via Lola, at North Palm Canyon Drive - St. Paul, Minnesota (opened in 1966) - St. Paul Hilton
- San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
(opened in 1970) - 1590 Harbor Island Drive (next to the Sheraton Hotel) - San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
(opened in late 1970s) - Vacation Village Hotel - Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
- 101 E. Cabrillo Blvd. - Santa Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
- on Stevens Creek Blvd. - Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
- Waikiki, Hawaii
- West Lafayette, Louisiana
Revival
There are currently three operating restaurants sporting the Don The Beachcomber name.When Disney's California Adventure opened in 2001, it included a small Don the Beachcomber at its Hollywood & Dine food court. It offered Chinese-style food, but did not serve alcoholic drinks. The restaurant closed within a few years. A short-lived Don the Beachcomber Bar was located inside the Royal Star at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas from 2004 to 2006.
In 2005, a full scale Don the Beachcomber restaurant opened at the Royal Kona Resort in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; and at the Royal Lahaina Resort in Lahaina, Hawaii in 2007. By then, Arthur K. Snyder
Arthur K. Snyder
Arthur K. Snyder, also known as Art Snyder, was a Los Angeles, California, City Council member between 1967 and 1985 and later engaged in a private law practice.-Biography:...
's firm Marisol, LLC, owned the name.
In 2009, Sam’s Seafood in Huntington Beach, California changed hands and was re-named "Kona". However, new owner Chuck Purrington then struck a licensing deal with Marisol and re-branded the restaurant as Don the Beachcomber. The restaurant has installed new signs, added many of the original Don The Beachcomber drink concoctions to the bar menu (including the original Mai Tai recipe), and is serving some of the drinks in newly manufactured Don The Beachcomber tiki mugs. They also have a renamed web site up and running, containing the history of Don The Beachcomber and his original restaurant/bar chain.