Spencecliff filled islanders with food, warm memories

The most popular and successful restaurant chain in the islands from 1939 through the 1970s was Spencecliff, which owned more than 50 family eateries.

I’ve written about a couple of the Spencecliff restaurants in the past, notably Queen’s Surf, Tahitian Lanai and Fisherman’s Wharf. Today I thought I’d look at the rest of the chain.

Spencer and Clifton Weaver were the sons of one of the nation’s leading architects. Fullerton Weaver designed the Waldorf-Astoria, the Hotel Pierre in New York and the Breakers in Palm Beach. The boys’ mother was Emily Stokes, a great beauty who won the U.S. Open in mixed doubles tennis one year.

Spence and Cliff fell in love with Hawaii while on a trip with their father around the world. They moved here and found jobs as cafeteria workers at Pearl Harbor in the late 1930s.

In 1939 they opened Swanky Franky’s Hot Dog Stand on Ena Road. Swanky Franky’s Drive-inn opened a few months later where Singha Thai Cuisine is now.

After service in World War II, they formed the Spencecliff Corp. "Spencecliff" is a composite of Spencer and Clifton’s names, but most do not know it was also the name of their family’s summer home in East Hampton, Long Island, N.Y.

The Sky Room, which opened in 1948, was atop the airport terminal at John Rogers Field, a great location with constant traffic. "It was a fancy place with great steaks," recalls Mi­yuki Hruby, who started with Spencecliff in 1944.

Next they purchased M’s Ranch House (and dropped "M’s") and then Fisherman’s Wharf at Kewalo Basin. One of their most famous acquisitions, in 1949, was the Waikiki beach home of millionaire Christian Holmes, heir to the Fleischmann’s Yeast fortune. They turned it into Queen’s Surf.

Spencecliff also owned the Hob Nob in the old Alexander Young Hotel. "It was famous for its lemon crunch and dream cakes, but we never made any money there," Hruby recalls.

They also purchased the lease on the site of the Kau Kau Korner in 1960, much to the dismay of owner Sunny Sund­strom, who had run the place since 1935. They turned it into Coco’s. "Spence liked short, catchy names. I don’t think there was a Coco," Hruby maintains. "It was probably short for coconut."

Bill Kelly lent his name to Kelly’s Coffee Shop on Nim­itz Highway. "He was the manager and Spence liked him. Spence thought it was a good-luck kind of a name," Hruby says. It took Spencecliff five years to negotiate the lease with the Damon Estate.

Originally called Kelly’s Drive-in Diner when it opened in 1951, it was the eighth restaurant Spencecliff opened. A year later they opened a bowling alley on the site. Kelly’s served 125 bowls of saimin a day, and Spencecliff served 3 million meals that year.

"Spence was a Yale grad and the brains of the operation." Hruby says. "He was fiery and flamboyant. Cliff was the younger brother by six years. Everybody loved him. He was a kind man, but Spence was 99 percent of the business. We were the most popular chain in town because Spence knew what the public wanted and could change at any time to meet their needs."

While on a trip to Tahiti, Spence met his future wife, Turere, a native dancer at the hotel where he stayed. To show his love for her, he opened a Tahitian-themed restaurant, the Tahitian Lanai, in 1956 with outdoor tables and grass huts for private parties. It was famous for its banana muffins served with every meal, and eggs Benedict, selling 16,000 orders a year.

One former employee told me a new hostess at Kelly’s got into a fight with Turere. He said customers were lined up at lunchtime for tables one day. A table was cleared and Turere walked in, past the line with a girlfriend, and sat down.

The hostess didn’t know she was the owner’s wife and asked her to wait in line. The next thing he knew, the two were rolling on the floor, fighting.

Among the 50 restaurants that Spencecliff owned were such landmarks as Trader Vic’s, Popo’s, Yacht Harbor Towers, Hawaiian Hut, The Gourmet, Tiki Tops and the South Seas.

They also owned the Hotel Tahiti and Tahiti Village, the Pioneer Inn and Lahaina Broiler on Maui and also had the Snowflake Bakery in Kapa­hulu, which became Holsum Bakery. They ran cafeterias for the military and did airline catering, which served 190,000 in-flight meals in 1959. Total meals served that year topped 5 million, and revenue topped $20 million.

Spencecliff was renowned for taking care of its employees, many of whom served more than 20 years. For instance, each employee received a birthday cake on the day before his or her birthday. Then they got their birthday off with pay. This was no small feat, given that they had 1,400 employees.

In 1986 Nittaku Corp. bought Spencecliff for $6 million, but losses forced them to close restaurants until only Fisherman’s Wharf remained, and it closed three years ago.

Bob Sigall, author of the "Companies We Keep" books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.