Nuka Hiva, Hillcrest

(1961-1971) The Nuka Hiva was a Polynesian-themed wine & beer bar in Hillcrest run by U.S. Army vet John Joseph Mahon Jr. (1919-1989) and his wife, Helene Rita Sedar (1921-1991), named after Nuku Hiva, the largest island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. They leased the previous Sixth Avenue Liquors space in a small commercial building on the corner of Sixth and Robinson, apparently for a 10-year run. Mahon was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and an amateur wood carver. Can you say, “Tikis in the bar?”

There may be another San Diego Tiki connection, as the initial liquor license was purchased by Mary Cox Hunter (1920-2009), wife of Garland Bowie Hunter (1915-2010). They owned and operated the LGBTQ-inclusive Skipper’s Twin Palms in La Jolla.

In 1961, the Huka Niva tropical bar opened, next to neighbors The Whistle Stop hobby shop and Dottie’s Donut House. Across the street were Pernicano’s Casa di Baffi pizza house and Caesar’s Italian restaurants. The Mahons operated the bar until 1970, when they moved to Palm Springs.

Well-known San Diego pianist Jeanne Lequin Van Cott (1918-1983) — a regular entertainer at The Brass Rail, Red Fox, Rudy’s Hearthside, the Saratoga Grill, and others — took over and operated the Nuka Hiva as a piano bar. She lasted just one year, and then Dawn Hulick Dawson (1931-2019) took over, but the bar ultimately closed in 1971 with an ignominious cash liquidation sale.

The old building at 3817-3821 Sixth — like all on the block — was later demolished for a new AT&T long-lines microwave tower and Bell System network center. Side note: With advances in cellular phone service, the large outdated microwave structures atop the building were recently removed.

Who remembers this bar? Leave a comment below with your recollections and stories!

Hillcrest
Nuka Hiva Bar (1961-1971)
Sixth Avenue Liquors (1960)
3817 Sixth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103

 

 

Notes

Citation: Martin S. Lindsay. ‘Nuka Hiva, Hillcrest.’ Classic San Diego: tasty bites from the history of America’s finest city. Web. < https://classicsandiego.com/restaurants/nuka-hiva/ >

Illustration of Nuku Hiva island Moai by Martin S. Lindsay. Prints available!

Sources include San Diego city directories, 1960-1975; San Diego Union and San Diego Tribune newspaper advertisements, articles, and legal notices, 1960-1975. Biographical data from vital records and U.S. Census records.

Sanborn fire insurance map books are indispensable for verifying an address in a building that has since been demolished. Once verified, then we consulted the San Diego City Clerk’s digitized street films for a screenshot. Note: Street image above has been AI-enhanced for clarity from the blurry film.