The boys in the club

Greg Risling

SOUTH COAST PLAZA -- Flashbulbs popped and fashionably dressed women

swooned Sunday evening when actors Kevin Costner, Robert Wagner and pro

golfer Fred Couples helped officially open the Clubhouse Restaurant.

Hundreds of people crammed the marble-tiled cafe to capture a glance or

possibly have a conversation with one of the superstars on hand.

“I came to see Kevin Costner -- are you kidding?” said an excited Marilyn

Broward, who was lucky enough to snag an invitation. “This place looks

magnificent, but so does he. He’s a dreamboat.”

Costner, Wagner and Couples co-own the restaurant with golfing great Jack

Nicklaus, who couldn’t attend the lavish celebration. The famous foursome

share interest in the restaurant with about a dozen investors, who were

also involved in the grand opening of the restaurant’s first location in

Oak Brook, Ill.

Chairman Keith Rudman said Costa Mesa was an obvious choice for its

20,000-square-foot restaurant.

“It’s the number one retail center in the country,” Rudman exclaimed to a

round of applause.

Costner, an Academy Award-winning director and movie superstar, had his

own reasons for opening up shop in Orange County.

“This is a bit of a hometown to me,” said Costner, who went to Cal State

Fullerton.

The 44-year-old actor confessed that he wasn’t the best student. “I

graduated here by the skin of my teeth. There are 12 people here tonight

that are on the guest list that I need to talk to because they helped me

graduate.”

Restaurant investors spared few expenses when the design was approved

last year. The $10-million cafe features a brick-lined facade, a spiral

staircase and mahogany French doors.

Visitors might expect to see trophies or mementos a la Planet Hollywood

or All-Star Cafe. Fred Couples said the name is derived from the final

destination on a golf course, but the main feature is the cuisine, not

the owners.

And, are there any regulations for this clubhouse?

“As long as you are wearing a shirt and shoes, I think you’ll be fine,”

Couples cracked.

Chief operating officer John Morlock -- no relation to the former county

treasurer -- said customers will be treated like exclusive members. He

added the restaurant will offer a program that allows customers to be

invited to special parties.

“We want to make people part of the club,” he said. “First and foremost

we are a restaurant, not so much the golf theme. The reason these guys

(Costner, Nicklaus) are involved with the restaurant is because they have

class. If there are any four guys who you want to be part of your club,

these guys are it.”

In the works are plans for a third location in Atlanta next summer,

Morlock said.