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Rob Roy’s restaurant
Misae Hironaka told me, “Decades ago there used to be a restaurant called Rob Roy’s in Kailua. My family and I remember it fondly as it was our favorite night-out place. Do you have any history regarding that restaurant and its owner?”
Rob Roy’s restaurant opened in 1969 at 26 Hoolai St. in Kailua (where a strip mall is today with a Subway and an L&L). It was a popular family restaurant.
The owner was Chuck Fraser, who also owned Chip’s, Scotty’s Drive-In on Keeaumoku Street and in Pearl City, the Village Inn in Kahala, the Crouching Lion in Kaaawa and Hawaii Blueprint, which is still in operation.
The restaurant’s namesake was Robert Roy MacGregor (1671-1734), a Scottish outlaw and folk hero. Fraser picked the name because he was of Scottish descent. Sir Walter Scott’s book “Rob Roy” contributed to his fame. A Rob Roy is also a drink made with scotch and sweet vermouth.
Conklin Nakamura, who worked for Fraser, says: “The customers were mostly local. Tourism hadn’t invaded Kailua, as is the case now. The local customers were like family. Customers called staff by their first names, and vice-versa.
“It was a nice, seemingly expensive but very relaxing and comfortable place. Its only competition in the area was Orson’s Bourbon House (owned by Andy Wong, a competitor and friend of Mr. Fraser).
“The general manager of Rob Roy’s was Howard Enbody. Howard left Village Inn in Kahala as its general manager when he was asked by Mr. Fraser to open the new Rob Roy’s. I was then transferred from Scotty’s Drive-In in Pearl City to relieve Howard at Village Inn.
“The assistant general manager of Rob Roy’s was Brian Clissold. The hostess was Daphne Gonzales, who knew practically all the customers by name. The chef was Chester Takemoto.
“Another unforgettable employee was a waitress by the name of Patrice Au. Pat, like Daphne, never forgot names and contributed greatly to the eventual success of the restaurant.”
After 18 years in business, the restaurant closed in 1987 and burned down in a 1988 fire.
Scots in Hawaii
My mention of Scotty’s Drive In and Rob Roy’s restaurant inspired Richard Lee-Ching to tell me about the prominence of the Scots in Hawaii. “Those of us living on the plantations always took it for granted, but I went to a Celtic concert a few years ago, and the spokesperson asked for hands on who had Irish ancestry, and then Scotch.
“Scotch won in a landslide, and they were surprised because everywhere else, the Irish were the most prominent, due, I suppose, to the emigration related to the potato famine.”
It’s true. We’ve had many Scots in Hawaii. Archibald Cleghorn was born in Edinburgh. He married King Kalakaua’s sister, Miriam Likelike.
Another famous Scot was James Campbell, who discovered Oahu’s underground artesian water lens, which allowed our sugar industry to thrive. Robert Wyllie founded the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce in 1849.
So many Scots worked plantations on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island 140 years ago, it was called the Scotch Coast.
And King David Kalakaua even visited Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, as part of his around-the-world tour in 1881.
Hot Dog Annie’s
Bill Futrell asked whether I could write about the history of Hot Dog Annie’s.
“She had a late-night eating spot that was popular with all sorts of night owls. My wife and I were newlyweds and living at the Tradewinds in Waikiki in 1970 and became good friends with baritone singer Boyce Rodrigues.
“After his shows he would often stop by our apartment in the early a.m. and take us out to Annie’s in his Cadillac convertible.”
Hot Dog Annie’s was founded by Annie West as a hot dog stand on Kalakaua Avenue near where Century Center is today.
She wore multicolored afro wigs and harlequin glasses. Annie carried an accordion and often whipped it out to entertain her customers.
She had a vulgar tongue, and some called her the female Don Rickles. She overheard some kids whispering about her, turned and shouted, “I’m not Hot Dog Annie. I’m Don Ho in drag!”
Annie also made sandwiches and Don Ho loved her pastrami, she said. Annie’s was open from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., and lots of entertainers, strippers, pimps, cabdrivers and students came by. She often sold 500 dogs a night.
She was married three times; the shortest lasted 10 weeks. She lived in Hollywood and dated many stars, directors and producers, she said.
Annie moved to Hawaii in 1958 to escape the smog. She bought a hot dog stand named the Chili Dog in 1962 and renamed it.
“I was the sanitation engineer, cashier, cook, waitress, bookkeeper, buyer, everything. I used to come home at 5 in the morning, and my feet hurt so much I would sit down on the couch with my bag full of money and cry!
“But that stand brought in about $1,000 a month net,” she said. “You just couldn’t walk away from that.”
Hot Dog Annie’s burned down in 1971. After the fire she went back to California and died in 1979 at age 64.
Beaver Grill
Sheldon Tyau of Kuliouou said he is 74 and vividly remembers the Beaver Grill. How old was it? he asked.
The Beaver Grill was a popular Honolulu restaurant from 1852 to 1976. That’s 124 years!
It opened in 1852 at Fort Street near Merchant Street, where Oceanit is today, and after 100 years moved to the Sheridan area.
Celebrities and statesmen were among those who dined there. King David Kalakaua, Syngman Rhee (who later became president of Korea), Dr. Sun Yat-sen (later president of China) and Gov. John Burns all patronized it.
The nearby Hudson’s Bay Co. probably inspired its name. They were fur trappers and hired many Hawaiians, who proved adept at the job. Their emblem was a wooden beaver that was mounted on the back wall of the restaurant. Today it’s at the James Campbell company offices in Kapolei.
In the 1960s popular menu items included fresh ulua or hamburger steak with fried onions for $1.20; laulau with lomi salmon and poi for $1.25; or pot roast and gravy over spaghetti for $1.35. Meals came with soup or fruit cocktail, rice or potatoes, vegetables, dessert and coffee or tea.
You could also order sea scallops with tartar sauce, for $1.40; shrimp tempura, $1.75; steamed Alaska king crab legs, $2.50; or lobster tail with fried rice, $3.25.
Oldest Hawaii restaurants
I’ve been compiling a list of island restaurants that are over 90 years old and still in business. So far, I have Manago Hotel’s restaurant on the Big Island, 1917; the Seaside Restaurant (Hilo) and Natsunoya Tea House, 1921; Waioli Tea Room, 1922; and House Without a Key at the Halekulani, 1926.
If you think of others, please let me know.
The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s now twice-weekly free email newsletter that gives readers behind-the-scenes background, stories that wouldn’t fit in the column, and lots of interesting details. Join in and be an Insider at RearviewMirrorInsider.com. Mahalo!
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