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PHOTOS & VIDEO: Don the Beachcomber launches Morgan’s Cove speakeasy in Tampa

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Don the Beachcomber launches Morgan's Cove speakeasy in Tampa

The revival of the iconic Don the Beachcomber brand has entered a new chapter with the opening of the first Gantt Reserve Collection bar in downtown Tampa. A sneak preview of the Morgan’s Cove speakeasy was held July 13, with the official public opening announced July 18. The hidden door swings open daily at 4 p.m.

Don the Beachcomber presents Morgan's Cove

More below: Speakeasy celebrates Tampa’s pirate past
LIVE REVIEW: The experience | The cocktails | The menu

Tampa-based 23 Restaurant Services launched its first Don the Beachcomber venue in February in nearby Madeira Beach, a full-service 250-seat restaurant with South Seas decor and many traditional Tiki flourishes. It’s tucked into the Cambria Hotel, just a few blocks from picturesque Gulf of Mexico beaches in tourist-friendly southwest Florida.
* Previous coverage: Don the Beachcomber grand opening in Florida is a smashing success

Another large restaurant – considered to be the brand’s flagship – is in the works for Hamlin, near Disney World in Central Florida. This ambitious, ground-up buildout is not expected to be finished until next summer. Other restaurant locations are planned, but in an effort to expand the brand in a quicker (and less costly) manner, 23 Restaurant Services announced a creative new “brand within a brand” concept in April.
* Previous coverage: Don the Beachcomber announces new bar concept, three upcoming locations in Florida

The revival of the Don the Beachcomber restaurant concept was kicked off in Madeira Beach in February 2024 by 23 Restaurant Services. (Official photos)
The revival of the Don the Beachcomber restaurant concept was kicked off in Madeira Beach in February 2024 by 23 Restaurant Services. (Official photos)

Gantt Reserve Collection bars will be much smaller, concentrating on elevated cocktails and immersive decor. The themes will vary based on location, but all will try to maintain the high standards established by Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Gantt), when he created the world’s first Tiki bar as a speakeasy in 1932.

Indeed, it didn’t take long to get Morgan’s Cove up and running in just three months after the announcement. There are many reasons for this, which we’ll detail below. The next Gantt Reserve Collection bar won’t be open until early 2025.

Marc Brown, president of 23 Restaurant Services, says he hopes to open the yet-to-be-named speakeasy-style bar in February in a space adjacent to the company’s Ford’s Garage restaurant in Plantation, west of Fort Lauderdale. There will also be a speakeasy located inside the Hamlin restaurant, a tribute to Donn Beach’s original Dagger Bar.
* Previous coverage: Upcoming South Florida location uncovered

Marc Brown (left), the 23 Restaurant Services president, welcomes designer Daniel "Tiki Diablo" Gallardo to the sneak preview party on July 13. Gallardo and his team created a spectacularly immersive space. (Photos by Hurricane Hayward)
Marc Brown (left), the 23 Restaurant Services president, welcomes designer Daniel “Tiki Diablo” Gallardo to the sneak preview party on July 13. Gallardo and his team created a spectacularly immersive space. (Photos by Hurricane Hayward)

We were privileged to attend a sneak preview of the Tampa bar on July 13. Mahalo to Brown and his team for the exquisite hospitality. Following is a comprehensive recap.

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Minimalist Tiki
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First new Don the Beachcomber location on track to open in early 2024

EXCLUSIVE: First new Don the Beachcomber location on track to open in January 2024

Updated February 2024

The much-anticipated re-launch of the iconic Don the Beachcomber brand will kick off in early 2024, when the first of several new restaurants will open in Florida. All indications point to a February grand opening in Madeira Beach on the southwest Gulf Coast.

LIVE COVERAGE & REVIEW: Don the Beachcomber grand opening in Florida is a smashing success
* Revived Don the Beachcomber brand opens first location in southwest Florida (February 2024)

Don the Beachcomber

The indoor-outdoor space on the ground floor of the waterfront Cambria Hotel was originally scheduled to open in November or December. The Don the Beachcomber website currently says “early 2024.”

The space is still under construction, so more delays are possible. However, management started seeking employees several weeks ago, and photos shared on social media show the interior decor nearing the final stages of installation.

A reel posted Dec. 14 on the official pages on Instagram and Facebook provides “a sneak peek into paradise.”

If all goes according to plan, expect a public opening in February with a soft opening for “friends and family” a week prior. An official annoucement on an exact date likely won’t be made until after a certificate of occupancy is issued.

A general rule of thumb in the restaurant business is to begin hiring at least six weeks before a grand opening. The first “now hiring” post appeared Dec. 1 on the Don the Beachcomber Instagram page.

The “GOATS wanted” ad encourages “career seekers” and “badass dreamers” to apply via the website of parent company 23 Restaurant Services. Among the jobs posted on the website are bartender, cook, dishwasher, expeditor, host/hostess, manager, managing partner, server, and service assistant.

Detail photos of the interior decor at the Don the Beachcomber location in Madeira Beach, Fla., posted Nov. 13 on the official Facebook page.
Detail photos of the interior decor at the Don the Beachcomber location in Madeira Beach, Fla., posted Nov. 13 on the official Facebook page.

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YouTube preview: Marie King talks cocktails, upcoming locations
Sneak peek: Renderings, mission statement revealed at Tiki Oasis
Merchandise: Mugs, glassware, apparel, ephemera
Bonus cocktail recipe: Sunakora

The Madeira Beach space was originally slated to be a new Tiki Docks location, but 23 Restaurant Services shifted its strategy away from the Florida beach bar concept and accelerated its focus on the more traditional Don the Beachcomber brand. Additional Polynesian restaurants named for the tropical cocktail genre’s godfather have been announced for Viera in Brevard County on Florida’s east coast and Hamlin in Orange County just north of Disney World.

A photo posted Dec. 11 on Facebook by Daniel "Tiki Diablo" Gallardo shows the entrance to the new Don the Beachcomber restaurant in Madeira Beach, Fla.
A photo posted Dec. 11 on Facebook by Daniel “Tiki Diablo” Gallardo shows the entrance to the new Don the Beachcomber restaurant in Madeira Beach, Fla.

Though not yet listed on the official website, there’s also a stand-alone Don the Beachcomber bar planned for Tampa, revealed in October by Marie King, the 23 Restaurants Services director of beverage. King is a respected veteran in the tropical drinks world after managing California’s historic Tonga Hut from 2012 to early 2023. She also ran the bar program at the last Don the Beachcomber in California from 2009 to 2011.

According to the official timeline, the waterfront Viera location at the corner of Viera and Lake Andrews boulevards is set to open in 2025. But King said the smaller Tampa bar could open its doors first, likely in 2024.

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New Don the Beachcomber locations launching in Florida, up to 15 planned across Southeast

New Don the Beachcomber locations launching in Florida, up to 15 planned across Southeast

LATEST UPDATES
* Don the Beachcomber grand opening in Florida is a smashing success (February 2024)
* Revived Don the Beachcomber brand opens first location in southwest Florida (February 2024)
* First new Don the Beachcomber location on track to open in early 2024 (December 2023)
* Florida is ground zero for revival of iconic brand (October 2023)

The Feb. 22 birthday of Tiki bar pioneer Don the Beachcomber (1907-1989) is typically a red-letter day for many bartenders and home enthusiasts, who celebrate by mixing up classic tropical cocktails to toast the originator of such iconic drinks as the Zombie, Nui Nui, and Three Dots and a Dash. This custom has intensified recently with the announcement of new book and film projects that celebrate the life of times of the creator of what’s now known as Polynesian Pop, aka Tiki culture.

Don the Beachcomber

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Sneak peek: Renderings, video of the new location near Orlando
Bonus recipe below: Don’s Beach Planter cocktail

But the occasion gained special importance this year with the announcement that a Tampa-based hospitality company will begin rolling out a chain of new Tiki-themed restaurants featuring the Don the Beachcomber branding in 2023. According to a press release from 23 Restaurant Services, “there are currently two Don the Beachcomber restaurants and bars under development in Central Florida, with the first slated to open by the end of the year.”

The company’s president, Marc Brown, said in the release that he expects as many as 10 to 15 restaurants to be spread across the Southeast over the next several years, with plans to expand nationally. Brown’s company bought the rights to the Don the Beachcomber brand in 2021, aiming to incorporate it into its successful Tiki Docks concept in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.

Ernest Raymond Gantt, aka Don the Beachcomber, was a former bootlegger who kicked off the Tiki craze with his first bar in Hollywood, Calif., in 1933. Within a few years, imitators sprang up across the country. (Courtesy of 23 Restaurant Services)
Ernest Raymond Gantt, aka Don the Beachcomber, was a former bootlegger who kicked off the Tiki craze with his first bar in Hollywood, Calif., in 1933. Within a few years, imitators sprang up across the country. (Courtesy of 23 Restaurant Services)

The birthday of Donn Beach, who legally changed his name from Ernest Raymond Gantt after the success of his Don the Beachcomber restaurants in the 1930s, seemed like a great time to announce the ambitious plan that 23 Restaurant Services calls “an expansive growth strategy.”

“Each of the restaurants will feature the eccentric, Polynesian-inspired design and flamboyant, rum-based drinks that have become synonymous with Don the Beachcomber locations for more than 90 years,” the press release says.

“Don the Beachcomber is the most iconic brand in Tiki history, so it’s impossible to overstate how excited we are about what lies ahead,” Brown said. “We look forward to leveraging our expertise in management and operational excellence to reintroduce the world to the legend that is Don the Beachcomber.”

Searching for Don the Beachcomber by Tim "Swanky" Glazner

To accomplish this, 23 Restaurant Services will be guided by an advisory board featuring some of the top artists, writers, and bartenders from the current Tiki scene:

Marie King, who will lead the new Don the Beachcomber cocktail program, previously managed the venerable Tonga Hut in Los Angeles. She has been a leader and mainstay in the industry since running the bar at the Don the Beachcomber in Southern California before it closed in 2018. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward from The Hukilau 2022 in Pompano Beach)
Marie King, who will lead the new Don the Beachcomber cocktail program, previously managed the venerable Tonga Hut in Los Angeles. She has been a leader and mainstay in the industry since running the bar at the Don the Beachcomber in Southern California before it closed in 2018. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward from The Hukilau 2022 in Pompano Beach)

“Assembling this dynamic and legendary group of experts to serve as our advisory board was the first step in developing a plan to share and represent the history and life of Don the Beachcomber with the utmost authenticity,” Brown said. “We could not be more excited to share the work we are doing together to bring Don the Beachcomber back to life.”

In addition to the advisers, Brown has taken a huge first step in bringing back Don the Beachcomber’s classic cocktails by , former beverage director and general manager of Tonga Hut in Los Angeles, as director of beverage for 23 Restaurant Services. King also served as beverage director of the last Don the Beachcomber restaurant in the continental U.S., located in Huntington Beach, Calif., from 2009 to 2018. Like 23 Restaurant Services, the owners of this location purchased the name and did not have any connection to the original company.

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