A Look Back

Jerry Person

If you ask someone to name a past eatery that was located next to the

Huntington Beach Pier, they’ll invariably name Maxwells by the Sea

restaurant.

As the years go by few people remember that there was a restaurant in

the old Pavalon building prior to Maxwells and fewer can remember its

name.

This week we will be looking at the short history of The Fisherman

that preceded Maxwells as Huntington Beach’s premier seafood eatery.

Howard A. Lutz and Paul T. Renius who held the lease on the Pavalon

spent over $200,000 to transform the city’s ballroom into a chic seafood

restaurant.

These two gentlemen hired Mike and Georgia Liberty as the cafe’s

managers. The Libertys were experienced caterers and the owners felt that

their experience was just the thing they needed for their new restaurant.

To kick off their enterprise Lutz and Remius held a three-day VIP open

house beginning on Monday night May 13, 1968. They held a buffet starting

at 5 p.m. and on hand for the gala event were Huntington beach Mayor Al

Coen and his wife, City Council members and their families, the city

department heads and families and the Orange County Supervisors.

The next two evenings (Tuesday & Wednesday) were by invitation only

and limited to business executives, Industrial leaders and professional

people. Guess that leaves me out of the VIP party.

On the inside, the decor colors for each of the three sections (bar,

banquet hall and dining room) were tastefully done in gold, black and

walnut. Diners could enjoy watching the surf from the balcony with its

glass panels.

The Fisherman billed itself as “the south coast’s finest seafood

restaurant overlooking the ocean.” In its first Easter on April 6, 1969,

you could have enjoyed a complete ham dinner for only $3.75. What a deal

compared to today’s prices.

Over the years many talented people performed in its Barnacle Lounge

including the Inn Sound with Rosemary and Eddie Ryan in 1971. Also

performing in the lounge over the years were Harry Liszt and Dorothy

Harpell, Don Rayl and the Norman Major Duo.

During the year of 1971, the Fisherman held fashion shows during their

luncheon menu and unescorted ladies could have their cocktails at half

price on Tuesday’s Ladies Night.By November 1976 Lutz was its manager and

on the 11th of that month sold the Fisherman and the building’s lease to

Charles Rivezzo.

Lutz closed its doors a day before and ending the short, but

interesting period of history of the Fisherman Restaurant and when those

doors were again opened, the restaurant sported a new name, a name most

of us remember- Maxwells.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.