Kahiki Supper Club Read online

  We notice Thatched Huts beyond this lounge and approaching them now, we enter the main dining room area or elegant “Quiet Village” where we are welcomed by a gracious Maître d’…nor have we come a victim of our own imagination, for the village street down which we stroll is actually strewn with small shells, pebbles and beach sand that have been mixed and imbedded in a special composition and used for the first time here in Kahiki.

  The dining tables of rustic beauty, with mirror-polished tops have been hewn from split trunks of monkey pod14 and zebrawood trees; and as we take our places, a raven-haired Polynesian hostess, clad in a stunning sarong, presents a menu which offers an assembly of the finest foods available. We may choose from a tantalizing array of exotic dishes, tempting appetizers, over thirty Cantonese preparations, two dozen American entrees, a variety of refreshing desserts and many delicious tropical drinks.

  While dining in [sic] our utmost satisfaction, we see the tropical theme again carried out by the attire of our waiters, who are wearing white trousers and contrasting shirts of colorful tapa print cloth, as they move about beneath the towering palm trees which line the village street.

  On the east side of this room there is a lovely glass-enclosed garden of luxuriant plants and exotic ferns, resplendent in their natural setting of authentic island habitat. While on the opposite side of the room, our eyes feast upon the unforgettable beauty of the “Rain Forest” as it re-enacts the equinoctial storms typical of the tropics, complete with lighting and thunder, and through this maze of glistening woodland we follow the flights of brilliantly colored tropical birds as they wing their way to favored spots throughout the bower.

  At the far end of the Village, reaching twenty eight feet in height, a mammoth Easter Island Head provides the rare combination of a wood-burning fireplace and a waterfall. As you look beyond the waterfall that curtains a six foot width of the idol’s upper lip, a blazing log fire set back in his mouth shines through…and you can almost hear an age-old welcome spoken, as the Tiki god grants shelter from the storm.

  When the time has come to leave, our thoughts travel back over the many strange and beautiful sights we have seen. We look again at the beautifully carved native ornaments; the spears and shrunken heads; and on closer examination, one marvels at the artistry displayed in the carved Tiki gods, the crystal ware and in the various designs of rattan and handiwork of bamboo.

  As the great bronze door closes behind us, we think of the pleasure that awaits those who will visit here and of the travelers who will come from hundreds of miles away for their first visit to Kahiki…the world’s most beautiful Polynesian Restaurant, located on Route #16, East at 3583 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio. As we pause on the bamboo bridge, reluctant to leave a paradise, we toss coins below with a wish. The shimmering waters seem to whisper the answer…Aloha, until we meet again and we know you’ll return to Kahiki.

  Bill Sapp and Lee Henry prepare to throw open the doors to the Kahiki Supper Club. Courtesy Sapp/Henry.

  5

  SONG OF THE ISLANDS

  Hours…I might have found long and lonely, passed quickly and cheerfully by, occupied and soothed by the expression of my thoughts in music.

  —Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii

  Just prior to the onset of World War I, Hawaiian music was gaining favor on college campuses throughout the country, and Ohio was no exception. Recordings by Hawaiian-born Frank Ferera, the Waikiki Hawaiian Orchestra and other early recording artists brought the exotic sounds of the islands to the continental United States. In 1911, German-born Leon Berg published his first Hawaiian song, “Beautiful Isle of Love,” following it up with “In Honey Honolulu” six years later after he had settled in Dayton. Columbus’s own ragtime king Shep Edmonds contributed “Honolulu Lou” in 1920.

  The University Boys Company (James R. Frew, A.W. Cubbison and H.S. Billings) entertained audiences on the Ohio Chautauqua circuit with Hawaiian music during the summer of 1916. Frew, who played ten instruments, also signed a contract to record a number of phonograph records using the Hawaiian steel guitar, the ukulele and the Taro Patch (one-string) fiddle. The same year, Goldsmith’s Music Store in Columbus was advertising “Genuine Hawaiian Ukuleles,” as well as sheet music for popular Hawaiian-themed songs of the day, in the Ohio State Lantern.

  While interest in this new musical genre declined upon the nation’s entrance into the “Great War” in April 1917, the popularity of the ukulele continued. Along with the raccoon coat, it became part of the collegiate uniform during the 1920s. However, the second wave of Hawaiian music was ushered in by another instrument, the lap steel guitar.15 San Francisco’s Pan-Pacific Exposition introduced the Hawaiian guitar to the mainland in 1915. Over the next decade, the instrument was electrified and picked up many fans, ranging from bandleader Alvino Rey to country musician Jimmy Davis. Soon it was incorporated into big band and country recordings, where it remains ubiquitous.

  Aerial view of the Kahiki taken not long after it opened in 1961. Courtesy Sapp/Henry.

  As early as 1931, Weldon Groves and Herbert A. “Buck” Clark were playing electric (i.e. Hawaiian) guitars along with Harry Taverack on bass at the Airport Restaurant in Columbus. While performing regularly at Port Columbus Airport, Buck was also heard twice weekly on WCAH radio, with Martha DeGood on ukulele and vocals and Charles “Bud” Clark on guitar. They were billed as Theronoid’s Hawaiians in honor of their sponsor, the Theronoid Corporation of Cleveland, manufacturer of a sort of electrified belt that was guaranteed to cure whatever ails you.

  By 1939, the demand for ukulele music prompted John Jay Calborn of Columbus to start Calborn Music Publishing Company. He issued several dozen sheet music titles, primarily public domain tunes arranged for Hawaiian guitar. Much the same thing was happening in Cleveland at Oahu Publishing. In 1950, entertainer Arthur Godfrey, who had learned to play the uke from a Hawaiian sailor during the 1920s, decided to promote it on television. Although he already had two shows on CBS, he talked the network into giving him another, Arthur Godfrey and His Ukulele. The “Old Redhead” caused sales of the instrument to boom.

  Enter Ernest Gantt, aka Donn Beach. Gantt unwittingly gave rise to a new musical genre, “exotica,” when he hired classical pianist Martin Denny for a two-week engagement at his restaurant in Hawaii. A form of easy listening music, exotica uses various types of percussion instruments and often birdcalls and jungle sounds to convey its sense of mystery and wonder. The arrangements also played a big role in setting up a rich tropical background. Like a good tiki bar filled with grass skirts, puffer fish and other Polynesian pop, the goal was pure escapism.

  Attracted by the island lifestyle, Denny had decided to remain in Hawaii after his gig ended. Forming his own group in 1955, he quickly landed a job at the Shell Bar in the Hawaiian Village on Oahu. Although his combo frequently played on the mainland, they returned to their home base every twelve weeks to reunite with their families.

  It was while at the Shell Bar that Denny happened on the formula that would become “exotica.” His group was playing near a pool of water one night when he noticed that bullfrogs were croaking along with the music. When a tune ended, the frogs would stop. As a joke, several guys in the band began adding in tropical birdcalls. However, the next day someone specifically requested the arrangement with the frogs and birds. At the next rehearsal, Denny had his band play “Quiet Village” with each musician adding in a birdcall, while he reproduced the frog part.

  In 1957, Martin Denny released his first album, entitled simply Exotica, on Liberty Records. This album not only gave a name to an entire genre of music but also launched the entire exotica movement. Two years later, Denny’s album would reach number one on the Billboard charts while the song “Quiet Village” peaked at number two on the singles chart. Soon, albums by Arthur Lyman, Robert Drasnin and others flooded the record stores and grocery marts.

  The music could place the listener on a beach on a South Sea Island or plunge him/her into the deep
est jungles with voodoo drums pounding out a hypnotic beat. Because of the nature of this music, it’s not surprising that a vast majority of exotica artists were also film composers, including seasoned professionals Les Baxter, Robert Drasnin and Dominic Frontiere.

  John “Johnny” Yee Gim was one of many Kahiki success stories, working his way up from the kitchen to assistant manager. Courtesy Sapp/Henry.

  Baxter was somewhat of a musical prodigy. A classically trained musician who studied composition at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, he had many pop hits in the early 1950s and had full carte blanche at Capitol Records. But for Baxter, creative ideas and original exotic compositions would be his true calling. The seeds were planted when he forged the exotica style with his arrangements for Yma Sumac’s debut album, Voice of the Xtabay. And his albums Ritual of the Savage and Tamboo sealed his legacy as the godfather of exotica. Released in 1952, Ritual of the Savage contained the first appearance of the song “Quiet Village.”

  In exotics, the use of colorful titles and inventive liner notes (such as these from Ritual of the Savage) became as important as the music itself: “Do the mysteries of native rituals intrigue you…does the haunting beat of savage drums fascinate you? Are you captivated by the forbidden ceremonies of primitive peoples in far-off Africa or deep in the interior of the Belgian Congo?”

  At the Kahiki, the Outrigger and Maui bars were located on either side of the foyer, and often the Beachcomber Trio could be found there playing a fusion of Latin jazz and Polynesian melodies. Marcel “Marsh” Padilla was recruited to assemble a house band in 1961 and did not relinquish the job for the next seventeen years. Born in Mexico on January 16, 1918, Marsh came with his family to the United States in the 1920s and began studying the sax and clarinet as a child. He eventually mastered the tenor sax, alto sax, flute, clarinet, guitar, piano, bass guitar, marimba and congas. At fourteen, the Padillas relocated to Topeka, Kansas, and Marsh began jobbing in local combos. He joined Juan Rodrigo’s band out of El Paso in 1936, moving with it to Detroit two years later. He subsequently played with many bands throughout the Midwest. During World War II, he served as lead sax for the Camp Roberts Band, backing the likes of Judy Garland, Martha Raye, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

  After the war, Marsh returned to Detroit to organize the Marcel Padilla Orchestra at the Famous Door and Haig’s Supper Club. Then, in 1958, he moved to Columbus. In addition to his regular gig at the Kahiki, he also worked at the Clifford Hotel, Neil House, Deshler Hotel and Valley Dale. For a time, he toured with Bob Crosby’s band as a tenor sax player. Besides becoming a barber and operating his own salon with his wife, Nina, he taught woodwinds at Coyle Music. Marsh officially retired in 1998. The following year, he was inducted into the Columbus Senior Musicians Hall of Fame.16 In 2009, Marsh and his wife settled in Boise, Idaho, to be closer to family. While preparing to move, he discovered three reel-to-reel tapes of performances by the Beachcomber Trio recorded in 1965. Jeff Chenault and Lee Joseph of Dionysus Records would go on to release the Beachcomber Trio “Live” at the Kahiki album in 2010, a few months before Marsh passed away.

  A rare slide of the original Mystery Girl (whose identity remains a mystery). Authors’ collection.

  Asked whether it was fun playing at the Kahiki, Marsh replied, “Yes it was, when you had the right people. It was hard to keep the right people. The money wasn’t there, and the schedule was pretty tight. We could play anything we wanted. The only limitation was the personnel. We got a new man on guitar, got a new man on the bass. We went through a lot of people, but I stayed there and kept the thing going for seventeen years—until finally we got the word they were going to cut out the music.” However, he noted they did not play all Hawaiian music. “If you had to play Hawaiian music continuously, you’d go out of your mind.”

  Over the years, the Beachcomber Trio included Marsh Padilla (flute/percussion/guitar/ piano/bass), Leroy Plymale (guitar), Don Hales (guitar), John Dragu (vibraphone), Bob Chalfant (piano), Henry Burch (vibraphone/conga/bells/trumpet), Don Browne (marimba/timbales), Rod Metz (bass/guitar) and Roger Wolf (drums).

  Don Browne, who now resides in Florida, said, “I was fortunate enough to play in the Beachcomber Trio from 1968 to 1969 with Leroy Plymale and leader Marcel Padilla. I was a senior in the music school at Ohio State University and then a music teacher at New Albany High School. The Kahiki was a great place to visit and work. I met lots of great people there, including the staff from around the world and visitors from all over as well.”

  Both the Joe Weisberg Trio and the Sonia Modes Trio (Weisberg and Modes were also inducted into the Columbus Senior Musicians Hall of Fame) held court at the piano bar until it was removed. They played everything from light jazz to show tunes. There were also several percussion-driven groups, including the Tropics Island Band and Island Breeze.

  Unlike the Mai-Kai, the Kahiki never booked big-name acts or had a floor show such as a hula review. The reason, according to Bill Sapp, had to do with a different customer base. “We never really needed to get into a review like they do at the Mai-Kai. We figured that we wanted to attract local customers mostly because the Mai-Kai had a steady stream of visiting customers. In Columbus, Ohio, you really didn’t get that.”

  6

  MUGS, BOWLS AND GRAVY BOATS

  For years, Polynesians were regarded as a people who had either completely lost, or never engaged in, the art of pottery making. However, post–World War II archaeology soon documented that pottery manufacture had been a common cultural practice through the first millennium BC…before its manufacture ceased in the initial centuries of the first millennium AD.

  —Patrick Vinton Kirch and Roger C. Green

  From the beginning, Kahiki customers were presented with a multitude of Kahiki tchotchkes for those who wanted them. From matchbooks and swizzle sticks to backscratchers and postcards, a wide range of souvenir items were sold in the Beachcomber Gift Shop. However, not all were satisfied with what they could buy. Some customers also made off with items of tableware. For example, the Kahiki silverware and china were made by Sterling China of East Liverpool, Ohio. These all had the restaurant’s logo on them with the plates bearing a small tiki as well. However, it is the ceramic items that attract the most attention now, the provenance of which varied over the years.

  The story begins in Mexico, where Bill Sapp and his first wife, Marceline, went to a clay shop. While there, Marcy (as she was known) designed the original Mystery Bowls with the “straw-in-the-mouth” tikis, but when they were shipped back to the United States, all but two were broken. As a result, no further items were ordered from Mexico.

  The mother of Linda and Mark, Marcy was originally from Durham, North Carolina, but moved to Walterboro, South Carolina, when she was little. She became a print model for wedding gowns and moved to Cleveland, then Chicago and finally Columbus, where she modeled for the Noni Agency Finishing and Modeling School, founded by Ivola C. Nonenmaker. One day, Lee had a party and invited a lot of pretty girls, Marcy among them. At the time, she was working as a hostess at the Deshler Hotel. Bill met her at the party, and they began dating. After they married, Marcy took art classes. One of her friends, renowned local artist Emerson Burkhart, encouraged her painting. After the Kahiki opened, she helped with the gift shop.

  The Beachcomber Gift Shop had something for everyone. Courtesy Sapp/Henry.

  In the early days, the oil lamps, ashtrays and several of the mugs were all handmade by Marcy. She recruited family members and other volunteers to help make items that were used in the restaurant in the basement of the Kahiki. Some of her creations also included the original Rum Barrel, Zombie mugs, the Headhunter Mug and the Idol’s Cast. The face on the Zombie mug was replicated in brass on the original door handles of the main entrance, but they disappeared over the years.

  In addition to manufacturing items for the Kahiki, James Hite formed his own company, Hitiki, to market his Polynesian creations. Authors’ collection.

  Another n
ame that regularly turns up in conjunction with Kahiki pottery is James Joseph Hite, a family friend. According to Bill Sapp:

  He made various ceramic products for the Kahiki. [Marcy] was very instrumental in designing and making ceramics…so they worked together on various drink vessels…Almost all of the mugs that were made out of clay were made by my wife and James. These were before Hoffman Pottery. We didn’t get into buying that commercial stuff at the time because there wasn’t any, until the Kahiki got really going. The Hoffman stuff came later.

  Hite made tiki items under the name HiTiki (December 1963–78). According to Humuhumu (aka Michelle Trott), “HiTiki items were the earliest handmade collectibles sold by the Kahiki restaurant. These items included masks, ashtrays, small Moai heads and necklaces. He also made the female tiki that was built into the desk of Lee Henry upstairs in the Kahiki offices.” In 1963, Hite filed for federal trademark registration on the name HiTiki for “statuary, carvings, novelties and works of art.”

  A graduate of North High School and an alumnus of the Columbus College of Art and Design, Hite was the first interior designer for the Bell Telephone System. After retiring from Southern Bell in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he settled in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, and opened Hite Effects, a graphic design service, with his wife.

  Because the ceramics operation in the basement of the Kahiki could not keep up with the demand, the mugs, bowls and other items were eventually made by local ceramicist Hoffman Pottery using some of Marcy’s original designs as well as designs approved by the Kahiki. Hoffman Pottery was founded in Columbus, Ohio, by Richard P. “Dick” Hoffman in 1946. Hoffman’s dream was to do something creative that he could enjoy and be proud of at the same time. Following graduation from Ohio State University in 1941 with a bachelor of science degree in both fine arts and education, he went on to teach an adult class in ceramics for one year. However, he wanted to create something different in the art world, so after his short stint in teaching, he traveled around Ohio looking for ideas. With the help of his wife, Evelyn, he started making his own pottery in the basement of their home. As business grew, he built a small garage to make his wares. Eventually he bought the property at 4295 East Main Street and opened his first Pottery Shop. The place literally was a shed until he added a building onto the back area and two storage rooms for supplies.