Omaha theater owner Ralph Goldberg opened the Beachcomber Room on November 15, 1941, as a dining, dancing and drinking addition to his Cinema Grill restaurant. The opening night act was Tavora and her South Seas Maids of Melody. The Beachcomber was decorated as a Pacific island paradise, in grand pre-tiki fashion, with plenty of bamboo and palm trees, including painted views of the ocean. As the “Home of the Famous Tropical Hurricane,” the Beachcomber promised that a tropical storm, complete with wind and rain, would erupt occasionally throughout the night.

The Beachcomber proved to be a popular lounge for its ability to attract top entertainers to its bandstand, including Fats Waller, the Mills Brothers, Scatman Crothers, the Nat King Cole Trio Coleman Hawkins, Louis Jordan and others. This popularity resulted in The Beachcomber being selected by Billboard Magazine as one of the “Leading Cocktail Lounges” in the region in their 1944 Yearbook.

It was not to last.

Despite its success, on May 1, 1944 the Omaha World Herald reported that the Beachcomber would be closed and remodeled into a VFW “G.I. Club,” bringing an abrupt end to this tropical night spot.

*NOTE: The B&W photo below shows the Cinema Grill exterior a couple years prior to the addition of The Beachcomber.

Details

Type

Bar

Address

Omaha, Nebraska, United States

Closed?

Yes (Permanently)