Dobbs House – Memphis Flyer

I recently found, and purchased, a packet of 8×10 color photos at a local estate sale. The original owner/photographer must have been an architect, because most of them showed residential interiors. And then there was this one.

Does anyone recognize the place?

My first thought was that — finally! — I had turned up an interior shot of the Luau, but I’ve already had a few people (those lucky souls invited to the Lauderdale Mansion on the weekends for our badminton tournaments) who said this was NOT the Luau.

I’m not entirely sure it was even taken in Memphis, though everything else at this particular sale was Memphis-related. Was there another Polynesian/Tropical-themed restaurant in this area?

Inquiring minds want to know. And so do I.

Old high school yearbooks can be surprisingly good resources for photos of “Lost Memphis.” Case in point: The Dobbs House Luau on Poplar, one of our city’s most popular eateries, and a place that has been on my “wish list” of photographs for years. But looking through a 1961 White Station High School Spartan the other day, I came across this photo of the entrance, showing the giant “tiki” head that was a Memphis landmark — and came to an ignominious end. The very phrase that, I fear, will be engraved on my tombstone!

I should explain, first of all, that the Luau was our city’s answer to the Polynesian-themed restaurant craze that inexplicably swept across this country in the 1960s. I have no idea what prompted it. Every city had such a place, it seems, featuring exotic interiors with waterfalls and coconuts and lots of bamboo, thatched roofs and palm trees on the outside, and a menu that — well, more about that later. Many of them were also decorated with those giant stone heads like you’ve seen on Easter Island.

What do you mean, you’ve never been to Easter Island? Well, surely you’ve seen pictures of the place, haven’t you? If not, stop right here and Google it, and then resume reading. Ready? Okay then. Let’s move on.