Last week I mentioned the Cavalier restaurant and Eagle’s Nest lounge in the Pan Am Building on Kapiolani Boulevard. They were there from 1969 until 1982, but, as is often the case, I heard from many who were involved or touched by the story.

The son and daughter of one of the owners contacted me, as did Terrance Tom, who played piano there, earning money to put himself through law school. Mayor Frank Fasi and Gov. Neil Abercrombie were both regulars. Their stories, I felt, were compelling, so let’s take a closer look.

The Cavalier restaurant and the Eagle’s Nest were owned by John Quong (1924-2011) and Charles Lau. Ron Quong said, “My sister, Gayle Quong Takiguchi, and I were so happy to see that so many remembered them.”

Immigrant from China

“Our father, John Quong, was an immigrant from Canton, China. He came to the U.S. at age 17 during World War II. He had no money and spoke no English, but he was a fast learner,” he said.

“Upon graduation from high school, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and was stationed on Guam. He learned how to manage mess hall operations, which eventually drove his passion to open his own restaurant.

“After the war he completed a business management program at the University of Hawaii. His first restaurant was the Hofbrau, a German restaurant in Waikiki he purchased with several others. From there he opened the Green Turtle restaurant on Kapiolani Boulevard and Sandbox restaurant on Sand Island Access Road.”

The Cavalier was inspired by an upscale, fine-dining restaurant in San Francisco called the Blue Fox. It opened in the Pan Am Building on Kapiolani Boulevard. Another space on the second floor was available, and this became the Eagle’s Nest.

“He began an employee cafeteria for the building tenants next to the Eagle’s Nest, and this was named Boulevard House.” said Quong.

The Cavalier could seat 130. Its menu offered dishes such as prime rib, lamb chops, veal scallopini, beef stroganoff and chicken Kiev for $5-$6. Lunch prices began at $2.

Fasi had a standing reservation every Friday for lunch at the Cavalier, where chef Wally Takara would make his special spaghetti.

Abercrombie was also a regular, especially if jazz great Gabe Baltazar was performing. He told me he loved the mahimahi with macadamia nuts and capers ($6).

The decor was “16th century with heavy wrought-iron chandeliers, rich red-velvet upholstery and period paintings,” Quong said. Norbert “Bonne” Nabonne, formerly of Michel’s, was maitre d’hotel.

“Both my sister, Gayle, and I worked in the Cavalier,” Quong said. “Gayle helped as a cashier and I was in the kitchen. Dad made me start by washing pots and dishes, to learn the value of working hard. I worked my way to being a front-line cook under Chef Takara.”

Piano players

“The Eagle’s Nest is where the fantastic John Saclausa performed after following dad from the Green Turtle,” Gayle Takiguchi said. “We had a Yamaha baby grand piano with a see-through plastic top so (the) audience could see his fingers and keyboard.

“The famous organist Walter Kau often performed at the Cavalier in the evenings. He had a new, 154-key electronic organ that cost over $75,000 in today’s dollars. It could duplicate many symphonic instruments, like violins, trumpets, saxophone, mandolin, accordion, sleigh bells, snare drums, etc.

“He had a wonderful medley from ‘My Fair Lady’ — ‘On the Street Where You Live,’ ‘I’m Getting Married in the Morning,’ ‘I Could Have Danced All Night,’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?’” Takiguchi recalled.

“Others who entertained at the Cavalier included Paul Conrad, formerly of the Maile Room with occasional weekend jams with singer Ann McCormack; Baltazar; singer Linda Ryan accompanied by Dave Wild; and Terrance Tom.

“Dad worked hard, as it was a seven-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day operation. On weekends he would be in the office answering phones for weekend reservations.”

John Quong’s hard work paid off. In 1971, after 18 months in operation, Cavalier was named a prestigious Holiday Magazine award winner, which continued in subsequent years. In 2019, Takara was inducted into the Hawaii Restaurant Association Hall of Fame.

John Quong retired from the Cavalier, Ron Quong said. “His retirement didn’t last long, as his friend Flora Chang, owner of the Inn of the Sixth Happiness in Kalihi, asked him to help manage the Pier 6 restaurant on the second floor of the Oceania Floating Restaurant in Honolulu Harbor.

“Dad also had a small interest in the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Hong Kong. What’s funny is that he managed seven Oahu restaurants and none served Chinese food!”

Terrance Tom

Tom played piano at both venues before going to law school at the University of San Francisco in 1970.

“I played more often at Cavalier,” Tom told me, “taking over for Rene Paulo when he had other engagements. I’d play at the Eagle’s Nest once in a while when Johnny Saclausa was busy. I have great memories of both venues.”

He also played at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Nick’s Fishmarket, Hee Hing, Sam Choy’s, Kahala Resort, Dynasty restaurant and the Oceania Floating Restaurant.

Tom said his favorite music was a medley of “Camelot” songs he learned from Saclausa — “If Ever I Would Leave You,” “How to Handle a Woman” and the title track, “Camelot.”

High on his list are medleys from “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Miss Saigon” and “West Side Story.”

Another favorite is Billy Joel’s 1973 hit “Piano Man,” which came from six months working at a bar in Los Angeles.

Blind since birth

Tom has been blind all his life, and he learned Braille at the Diamond Head School for the Blind (now the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind).

“My uncle Harris Ichida taught me to play piano when I was 10 years old. I was probably his only blind student, and with his help, music has become a big part of my life.”

Tom met his wife, Penny, while at the University of Hawaii. “It paid people to read to me, and she was one. I loved the sound of her voice. We married in 1971.” They have two sons and four grandchildren.

Tom says he was the first person in the U.S. to take and pass the bar exam in Braille, but he said no one wanted to hire a blind lawyer. He was offered a job in the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office and left it a few years later to open his own law firm downtown in 1976.

“Music helped me pay some of the bills while I was getting my law practice started.”

Tom ran for the state House of Representatives in 1980 and lost, but ran and won in 1982, representing Kaneohe. He was House Judiciary chairman for eight years. His staff turned all the written documents into Braille so he could read them. He served 16 years in the Legislature.

Tom is now 76 years old and still works as a lawyer. “I continue to play piano at Arcadia and 15 Craigside regularly. I enjoy taking requests from the residents and keeping up with my piano skills.”

Ron and Gayle Quong provided a file with 10 of Takara’s best recipes (mahimahi a la Cavalier, lobster thermidor, roast duck a l’Orange, shrimp scampi, baked Alaska, lilikoi chiffon pie and more). Send me an email with “Recipes” in the subject line and I’ll send it to you.

Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.