Louise Saffery asked: “Do you remember the Green Turtle, a restaurant and bar, across the street from the former KGMB studios?
“My first job in Hawaii was as a cocktail waitress at the Green Turtle. The restaurant served a variety of foods, and there was a piano bar in the back room with John Saclausa tickling the ivories.
“I arrived in Hawaii in 1968 without a job, and a friend told me they were looking for help. I applied and got the job on the spot. I think they might have been desperate for help!
“On a day when I was serving, a group of men came in for their weekly martini lunch meeting,” Saffery recalled.
“One of them, Glen Maitland, was starting This Week magazine and gave me my first real job at his publication. I worked with Jerry Beam, who drove a yellow Chevy convertible. He used to let me drive it to pick up ads from agencies, printers and graphic houses. That was the best job I had in Hawaii and the most fun.”
Turtle races
The Green Turtle’s site, at 1529 Kapiolani Blvd., has a great history, and many readers remember it. Today, Target’s Ala Moana Center store occupies that location, but 70 years ago times were different. Let’s take a look back.
The Green Turtle was opened in 1962 by Paul Taber, who also owned the Hofbrau and Sandbox. He gave away over 1,000 turtles each year to kids, at a cost of 23 cents each.
He had annual turtle races in the parking lot. In 1968, 56 kids and their turtles competed. The winning turtles often covered the 12-foot track in less than 12 seconds.
The Green Turtle offered birthday parties for up to 10 kids for $9.95. Parents could drop them off at a private room with sandwiches, a birthday cake and soda. A clown would entertain, and there were paper hats, noisemakers and balloons.
The Green Turtle had an interesting breakfast special in 1962: bacon and eggs, hash browns, cornbread and coffee for 95 cents — served in under three minutes or it was free!
Rosalind Young said the Green Turtle was where her parents used to go for an occasional treat. “My favorite meal there was veal cutlet with brown gravy and mashed potatoes.
“My sisters and I loved the special kid’s dessert: turtle-shaped green sugar cookies! The restaurant was truly family-friendly, always making children feel welcome.”
The piano bar
For adults, John Saclausa entertained at the piano bar. Besides the Green Turtle, he also played at Canlis, Queen’s Surf, South Seas Village and Eagle’s Nest.
Michael Lilly remembered that Saclausa “called” a singer up by playing the intro to his/her song. “When you heard your song, it was your turn to come up and sing. Mine was ‘Almost Like Being in Love’ from ‘Brigadoon.’
“He went around the room letting all his regulars sing. He chose when it was your turn, and you never knew in advance. You might be deep in conversation with friends, and suddenly there was your song. You’d pick up the mike and sing. It was a great time with wonderful people.
“Saclausa retired in 1993 and it all ended. We had years of enjoying his playing and our singing, and then it was all gone! It was a very sad day.”
A love song
Bob Tassie said he met and fell in love with Patti Green at the Green Turtle in 1965. “She was one of many people with wonderful singing voices. This was before karaoke, so you had to know the words to the songs.
“Patti had a great voice but didn’t know any songs, so I would sit next to her and feed her the words. Then I convinced her that she needed me in her life, and we got married and stayed together for 55 years. So don’t let anyone tell you that a bar is not a good place to meet!
“John Saclausa was amazing. He could play any song in the world, by ear, and in your key, and would remember you the next time you came in.
“Sadly, John and Patti have moved on to the next life. I hope they’re making beautiful music together somewhere.”
Green Turtle Club
An anonymous reader said: “Back in the 1960s I was a Pan Am stewardess and belonged to the Green Turtle Club. I had my own beer mug hung over the bar with my moniker, ‘Shanghai Lil,’ on it.
“Whenever any club member (gals only, I think?) walked in, someone would holler, ‘So, are you thirsty?’ If the answer was, ‘You bet your sweet a — I am!’ then your first beer was on the house.
“I moved away from the islands soon thereafter and lost the chance to retrieve my special beer mug.”
Stolen B-25 bomber
Five years ago, in 2017, I wrote about a man who “borrowed” a B-25 bomber from Honolulu Airport and took it for a joy ride through Waikiki, out to Hawaii Kai, then to Waipahu and back to the airport. It began at the Green Turtle.
Bob Hampton, president of Waikiki Beach Activities at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, told me he was drinking with the guy beforehand.
In 1965, Hampton had a real estate news show on KGMB called “Sunday Open House Preview.” It was taped during the week and aired Sunday mornings.
“After our taping, usually by 9 p.m., we would go across the street to the Green Turtle and knock down some pau hana beers. One of our show’s salesmen was Jim Ashdown, a Maui guy who had been an Air Force pilot. He was often with us, and one night he told us about his girl problems. Naturally, we bought him a few more beers to help chase the blues away.
“The next morning, the news blew us away. After Jim left the Green Turtle, he walked onto the B-25 plane that he flew for an engineering firm (his part-time gig) and flew it into Waikiki, buzzing one of our buddies’ apartments at the Ilikai.
“He then flew out to Hawaii Kai at tree-top level, over the house where his girlfriend lived, then out to Waipahu where he clipped an old radio tower. The police nabbed him when he landed back at the airport. His pilot’s license was revoked.
“Every time I think of the Green Turtle, I think of that evening and Ashdown’s crazy flight,” Hampton says.
Evergreen
Prior to the Green Turtle, Harry Uehara owned the Evergreen restaurant on the site in 1950. He had two other Evergreens downtown.
Breakfasts ran from 70 cents to $1.70. Sandwiches were 30 cents to $1. King crab dinners were $1.75. Lobster or shrimp curry was $1.25. Lamb chops were $1.75. Prime rib, lobster, roast duck and steaks were also popular.
In 1959, Uehara opened Bakery Kapiolani next door at 1517 Kapiolani Blvd. Uehara retired in 1962. Gene Kaneshiro, who ran Columbia Inn, said his sons chose not to take over the Evergreen, but two did continue in the food service business.
“One son, Masa Uehara, became the executive chef for Zippy’s and then moved to the Flamingo Chuck Wagon in the same capacity. The other son, George Uehara, became the executive chef for the Columbia Inn. Both did well for those restaurants.”
Several restaurants took over the same site, beginning with the Olaa Steak House in 1971, the Rib Joynt and Big J’s disco. None lasted long.
Barefeets
In 1972, Sterling Mossman moved from the Barefoot Bar at Queen’s Surf when it closed to 1529 Kapiolani Blvd. and opened Barefeets. The “Hula Cop” and his friends tried to re-create their old Queen’s Surf magic but were unsuccessful. It just wasn’t the same.
Flamingo’s Royal Lanai took over in 1977 and was popular for 10 years. Then Kengo Nozaki opened Kengo’s Royal Buffet, which ran until 1994. He went to jail for 30 months in 2002 for tax evasion.
That block housed many other companies such as the Siam Orchid and Chicken Alice’s, but they were demolished in 2008 to make room for Nordstrom’s. Today it’s a Target store.
So, the next time you drive past Target, look in your rearview mirror and see the restaurants that were there over the past 70 years.
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Bob Sigall’s “The Companies We Keep 5” book contains stories from the past three years of Rearview Mirror. “The Companies We Keep 1 and 2” are also back in print. Email Sigall at Sigall@yahoo.com.
