Bill Craig, founder of Billy’s at the Beach restaurant in Newport, dies at 71; he’s remembered for his welcoming ways
Bill Craig, founder of Billy’s at the Beach, a Hawaiian-themed restaurant in Newport Beach, has died.
The longtime Newport Beach resident died Sunday at Hoag Hospital of complications related to pneumonia, according to his family. He was 71.
Inspired by his love of Hawaiian culture, Craig founded Billy’s along Mariners’ Mile in 1993. It was an immediate success, said Patty Craig, Craig’s wife.
“He made everyone feel very welcomed,” she said. “People continue to say how good it feels to go in there. You kick off your shoes and you’re at home — a very relaxed feeling.”
In 1993, a restaurant reviewer from the Los Angeles Times called Billy’s “a throwback to those carefree ‘70s (or ‘60s, or maybe even ‘50s), and is this joint jumpin’! Take your nostalgia pill before you visit.”
The review said Craig is “generally seen lounging in a corner of the bar or traipsing around the dining room in a Hawaiian shirt, schmoozing it up like a mainland edition of Don Ho.”
A Times feature about Newport Beach published in 2000 noted that there really was a Billy at Billy’s at the Beach.
“Owning a restaurant is like having a party for your friends and making them pay,” Craig joked at the time.
Craig was born in 1945 in Culver City and grew up in Glendale. He attended USC as a three-time All-American swimmer and competed in the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, where he earned a gold medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay.
Craig never gave up swimming. He frequented the pool at the Balboa Bay Club, Patty Craig said.
“He was loved and adored by his whole family,” she added. “We’ll miss him dearly. He was a warm, wonderful, generous man who gave to all of us that knew him.”
Fletcher Jones, Craig’s close friend of some 25 years and the owner of the Fletcher Jones Motorcars dealership, bought the restaurant in 2011.
“He meant a lot to me. He had a great personality,” Jones said. “Billy was just a great guy. He had a great sense of humor.”
Billy’s at the Beach was closed Tuesday in observance of Craig’s death.
In addition to Patty, Craig is survived by his sons Rick and Christian, daughter Kimber, daughter-in-law Kendra and two grandchildren.
A private celebration of life is planned.
Twitter: @BradleyZint
