The
tiki torch has been passed. Jimmy Buffett has
opened his latest restaurant/club in the same
Waikiki location where friend and Hawaiian music
icon Don Ho had played for nearly a decade.
"Don and I talked about me doing this in his
place, and he was OK with it," Buffett said. "He
knew his health was preventing him from
performing as often as he had, and he understood
the tiki torch was being passed."
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts' executives
approached Buffett three years ago about using
the venue, in the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber
Hotel, for his Jimmy Buffett's at the
Beachcomber restaurant.
"I told Outrigger I wouldn't go into this unless
it's completely compatible with what Don wants
to do," Buffett said. "Our plan was to have Don
involved and play when he was healthy."
Ho died in 2007.
David Carey, president and CEO of Outrigger
Enterprises Inc., said Buffett's presence in
"Ho's home" is "the perfect transition for what
Don represented."
"Jimmy embodies Don's beach life spirit and the
love of the music and cultural talent that
embodies Hawaii."
Buffett said the reported $15 million spent on
constructing the 21,000-square-foot, 500-seat
restaurant was "all my dough." (Buffett's Las
Vegas Margaritaville is said to be the nation's
top-grossing restaurant.)
The faltering economy never gave Buffett pause
to consider delaying construction.
"Even with 10% unemployment, 90% are still
working," he said. "Before 9/11 people wanted to
come see us perform. After 9/11 they had to come
because they needed us. The world is crazy, and
people are scared to death."
Keeping it simple
Creating the right kind of restaurant is like
planning a music tour, said Buffett, because
"the basics have to be right."
"We're not a fancy restaurant, but you have to
have good chow," he said. "We know what we do
good and don't try to be fancy. The restaurants
adapt to the local culture musically and with
food preferences."
Jimmy Buffett's at the Beachcomber occupies a
prominent second-floor location along Waikiki's
main street, Kalakaua Avenue. It features a
wrap-around bar with inset, red-orange floor
lighting designed to look like a lava flow.
Seating booths are bordered by a wall and floor
shaped like a breaking wave. Guests can dine
inside the restaurant or on an open-air lanai.
The restaurant serves a Hawaii specialty plate
lunch: chicken, teriyaki beef or fish with rice
and macaroni salad.
Though most of his customers are tourists,
"we've always insisted on doing things to
attract locals," Buffett said.
He's especially excited about attracting
Japanese visitors, which "is a distinct
challenge because they have no idea who I am,"
Buffett said.
"I've never performed in Japan, so it's a unique
situation to be in a location [like Hawaii]
where 50% of the people who come here don't know
who you are," he said. "But they like the beach
lifestyle, so ... "
The restaurant is also home to the Honolulu
Surfing Museum & Bar. Buffett purchased, for a
reported $1 million, the entire Santa Barbara
Surfing Museum collection, which includes iconic
Californian and Hawaiian surfboards,
photographs, guitars and ukuleles.
Buffett said another reason he opened the Hawaii
restaurant was simply to give himself an excuse
to visit Waikiki and surf.
"You never know when I'm going to show up on
stage or out at Queen's Surf," he said.
Visit
www.jimmybuffettsatthebeachcomber.com.
