Ernest Beaumont-Gantt, who legally changed his name to "Donn Beach," opened this Waikiki version of his popular stateside restaurant chain in 1947 on Kalakaua Avenue after finishing his service in WWII. All other mainland Don the Beachcomber locations were actually owned by his ex-wife and business partner Sunny Lund, but this location was owned by Beach.

The designer, Paul Wimberly, built three main grass huts for Don, including The Crossroads Bazaar, The High Talking Chief's Hut, and The Tahitian Dining Hut -- all centered around the Queen's Royal Gardens.

This was across from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

This first Hawaii incarnation lasted 10 years which is how long his original lease was for.

Don the Beachcomber moved to the International Market Place, a short distance away, after it was built sometime in 1957, and this was on a new lease of 17 acres.

Duke Kahanamoku's moved into the Don The Beachcomber building at the International Marketplace at some point and Don moved to another nearby location (circa 1971), although this final location was named The Colonel's Plantation Beefsteak and Coffee House. This location burned in a fire in 1966, due to outdated and faulty wiring.

Opened in 1966.

This Don the Beachcomber's was in a Hilton Hotel. That hotel was renovated in 2015 and is now known as the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront.

The Sahara itself opened in 1952 and has long been considered a classic of the early Las Vegas "Strip" casinos. This Don the Beachcomber opened there December 1st, 1962, in the third floor of the Sahara, and featured decor by Eli Hedley, who also created the large signature tikis for the nearby Aku Aku. Dining and cocktail capacity was set at 300 persons. The facility featured a sky room with dancing, cocktail lounge, a huge waterfall and individual Polynesian style huts suspended over flowing water for the comfort of diners. The menu featured over 40 varieties of dishes. The Sahara Don the Beachcomber’s first female hostess in 1963 was Ruth Maestas, who recalled that prominent local residents who were regular customers used chopsticks that were stored in their personalized bamboo containers at the restaurant. She and her late husband, Louie “the Blade,” would later own the hotel barbershop and claim among their clients singer Robert Goulet, comedian Buddy Hackett and jazz drummer Buddy Rich. The Sahara closed on May 16th, 2011.

Early menus and other items are labelled "120 Via Lola," which maps to the south face of the site rather than the east face. The Palm Springs location site dates back to at least 1941, but this Don's was opened there on March 2nd, 1953.

Frank Sinatra was a regular here, and was reportedly a big tipper, but also a demanding customer. He liked the Navy Grog.

Today, this same spot houses Bootlegger Tiki.

The now restored rooftop tiki torches from the old Don the Beachcomber's now form the logo for the adjacent Ernest Coffee Co., which opened in June 2014. The two entrepreneurs behind this independent coffeehouse, photographer Jaime Kowal and designer Chris Pardo, also paid tribute to the history of this site by calling it after Don the Beachcomber’s real name: Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt. (They also own neighboring bar Bootlegger Tiki, a nod to Don’s occupation before he essentially invented the tiki bar.)

Trader Dick's was located in the Nugget in Sparks, just outside Reno. Trader Dick's had been remodeled twice and even moved across the street once since its opening in 1958. The final incarnation of Trader Dick's featured a 6,000 gallon fish tank, and support columns for the highway ran right through the restaurant and tank. When it opened, an unamused Vic Bergeron (of Trader Vic's) sued for trademark infringement and lost. The original Trader Dick's decor, which didn't survive the remodeling, was done by Eli Hedley, grandfather of Bamboo Ben. Trader Dick's closed in February 2014, and the space became Gilley's, a "honky-tonk" themed restaurant.

Don the Beachcomber's Chicago location was a legendary hotspot on the Chicago restaurant scene for decades. It opened on May 1st, 1940, and was open at least until the late '60s, probably later. It was in Chicago's Magnificent Mile neighborhood, about where the Four Seasons Hotel is today.

The building had a simple entrance, with a large neon sign in the trademark Don the Beachcomber driftwood sign shape. Inside, the restaurant had several rooms: the Tahitian Room and the Zombie Room were dining rooms, and the Cannibal Room was the bar. The bar had striking black posts carved with a stacked trio of Tahitian cannibal tikis. The whole restaurant was thoroughly encrusted with bamboo, and float lamps and beachcomber lamps were everywhere.

One of the key bartenders at the Chicago Don the Beachcomber, Mariano Licudine, eventually went on to lead the bar program at the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, bringing drinks in the Don the Beachcomber style with him that can still be tasted there today.

Opened January 1961 at the corner of Roscoe at Desoto in Canoga Park, CA.

Opened July 10th, 1961.

Pub Tiki had "1-1/2" incorporated into its logo tiki -- the reason for this is unclear, it has been rumored that this was their promise to pour drinks on the heavy side (1-1/2 shot where 1 was called for), or perhaps it was a reference to their 1-1/2 hours of free parking. There were other restaurants in this "Pub" chain, but this was the only Polynesian themed location. A non-tiki Pub location still exists in New Jersey.

Today, as of 2023, this is a vacant lot.

Opened July 23rd, 1959 and was popular through the 1960s.

The Tiki-Jo was in the Miramar Hotel (now the Fairmont Miramar), and featured a tiki carved by Eli Hedley, grandfather of Bamboo Ben.

In 1961, the Thunderbird International Hotel was built at 525 N Sepulveda Boulevard, in El Segundo, California, just a few blocks south of Los Angeles International Airport.

Originally, it had a coffee shop, but a year after it opened, in 1962, they changed their mind and remodeled the coffee shop and re-opened it as the The Huki Lau.

A few years later, the Thunderbird International was sold and re-named the Hacienda. Along with this name change, The Huki Lau was re-named to the simpler "Tiki Hut".

Most recently, the Hacienda was split into two and completely redone, with the Aloft being formed from the south building and a Fairfield Inn formed from the north building.

There are no longer any signs of The Tiki Hut.

Tiki Cove was once part of the Mecca Bar in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Wally Burnett opened the Mecca Bar in 1946, and in 1958 he added Tiki Cove in the basement. The bar featured an original mural with trees and a mountain range, some tapa cloth designs and fish net. The tikis were bolted to the floor to keep them safe from thieves. It’s been said that you could enjoy the cocktails and Chinese food in the privacy of a rickshaw table. The bar also featured a clamshell phone booth.

Tiki Cove relocated out of the basement of the Mecca Bar in 1977 into the top floor of the Polaris Hotel where it didn’t last long.

Mecca Bar is still open...