Longtime ambassador at Five Crowns restaurant gets help from his community

As the longtime ambassador of Five Crowns in Corona del Mar, Tommy Martin spent over 50 years taking care of guests at the landmark steakhouse restaurant. Now, after a recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Martin is being cared for by his community.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist with the cost of his long-term care by former Five Crowns’ employees Kelly Kallal, Dennis Brask and Margo Brask. At press time, $22,741 had been raised.

“Tommy Martin is truly the prime example of a good co-worker,” said Ryan Wilson, chief executive officer of Lawry’s Restaurants, Inc., whose grandfather hired Martin at Five Crowns back in 1968. Martin began as a bartender before becoming wine captain and then guest ambassador. Martin was born in Liverpool, England, and before making his way to Corona del Mar worked as a steward on the Queen of Bermuda, a cruise ship that traveled to the British island territories.

He was drawn to Five Crowns by the restaurant’s red telephone booth and English country inn theme, but Wilson said his long career with the restaurant went deeper.

Tommy Martin chats about his longtime friendship with cartooning legend Chuck Jones, shown standing with Martin in an old photo.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“I know that the British Heritage at Five Crowns was the initial draw. He always felt that connection,” said Wilson, “but truly I think he came to find a real connection with his fellow co-workers and with the Corona del Mar community.”

Martin was close with animator Chuck Jones and his family and often wore a Road Runner pin on his lapel as an homage to his friend and a reference to the nickname he earned on the tennis court and as an avid runner. During his tenure at Five Crowns, it wasn’t uncommon to see Martin sporting a Looney Tunes tie while greeting regular diners and newcomers with equal enthusiasm.

“I love it here and I feel very blessed for having this job,” Martin told TimesOC in 2018, the year of his 50th anniversary with Five Crowns.

Five Crowns named one of its dining rooms after Martin that year, an honor that was only fitting for a figure who, then 75, had become as much a part of the restaurant as the red telephone booth outside.

“People came to see Tommy, and he knew many, many generations of guests here at the Five Crowns,” said Wilson.

Martin lived in his Corona del Mar apartment for 30 years, but in February he was moved into a memory care facility. The cost of his stay is close to $9,000 a month, and his GoFundMe campaign has a goal of $130,000, a number his campaigners say is “a shot in the dark,” since it is unclear just how much money Martin will need. The fund will go directly to Martin’s care, and any excess will be donated in his name to the Alzheimer’s Assn.

During the month of April, Five Crowns is matching $10 donations made by diners to Martin’s GoFundMe campaign, and VIP members of the restaurant can earn a $25 bonus reward with a donation.

Details can be found at bit.ly/3MJjnw6.

The promotion is one Wilson hopes will serve Martin, who spent so much of his life serving others.

“Our company has been around for 100 years, and part of our longevity is our commitment to people and great co-workers and that starts from the top, all the way through,” said Wilson. “Tommy has just been an example of hospitality, of kindness for over 50 years.”

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