Hard Rock a Hard Act to Follow

When operators of the new Hard Rock Cafe plugged in their guitar--a 40-foot-high neon Fender Stratocaster that lit up the evening sky Saturday--the night life in Newport Beach immediately picked up a beat.

“This gives Orange County a new heartbeat,” said Jan Seitz, chairwoman of the restaurant’s preview benefit party that drew an overflow crowd of about 400 people.

Guests cheered when the sign went on line, but the real reason for their party mood was the addition of the trendy eating spot:

“Yea! There’s finally night life after 9 o’clock in Newport Beach. It’s exciting. It’s about time,” said Toni Alexander of Laguna Beach.

Many looked forward to having a new tourist attraction in their midst.

“This will be one place we take all of our out-of-town guests,” said Barbara Magness, who lives three blocks from the eatery. “I love the music and the attitude.”

With its impressive collection of rock-related memorabilia hanging from its wood-paneled walls, the new Hard Rock is a kind of rock and surf museum. Suspended above the bar is a ’59 Cadillac.

“We had to put the car in before we built the building,” said Warwick Stone, the Hard Rock’s creative director responsible for rounding up and displaying the collectibles.

Among his favorite finds: rhinestone-studded platform shoes and sunglasses picked up at Elton John’s garage sale and Prince’s “Purple Rain” suit, estimated to be between a boy’s Size 12 and 14, and matching Size 6 purple shoes.

“He’s tiny,” Stone said.

Perhaps Stone’s greatest coup was snaring a Coca-Cola sign that once hung in the Casbah Coffee Club in London, one of the first clubs the Beatles played.

“Pete Best, the Beatles’ original drummer, sold it to me. His mother owned the club,” Stone said. The sign now occupies a display case of Beatles keepsakes in the restaurant’s entry.

Surfboards from Greg (Da Bull) Noll, Mickey Dora and other ‘60s big wave legends and skateboards from ‘90s skaters Richie Collins and Matt Archbold also pay homage to the local surf-and-skate scene.

In keeping with the classic rock era, waitresses and waiters in white ‘50s-style outfits walked around serving the Hard Rock’s classic American fare--onion rings, hamburgers, chicken wings--on huge silver platters.

“I’m here because I love the ‘50s,” said Jessie Scott of San Clemente, who was already sporting a newly purchased Hard Rock letterman’s jacket with her full black-and-white checkered skirt. Like any tourist attraction, the Hard Rock has a gift shop where customers can pick up the chain’s ubiquitous T-shirts and other souvenirs.

Party-goers sported a mixed bag of fashions as Orange County’s conservative roots bumped up against up-and-coming urban chic.

Business suits mixed it up with bustiers. Women in black leather bra tops and bomber jackets stood side by side with those in sequined cocktail dresses and silk pantsuits. Men wore everything from suits and ties to jeans and cowboy boots.

Peter Morton, founder and owner of the Hard Rock Cafes, decided to open his 12th restaurant in Newport Beach because “it’s a great town. I like the community and this part of Newport.”

Like the other Hard Rocks, this one will combine a taste for music with environmental awareness.

“We try to view ourselves as a socially responsible company,” Morton said.

With “Save the Planet” its official motto, the chain has championed local and global ecological activities. The Newport Beach restaurant will join in the chain’s recycling program in which napkins, towels and even menus are recycled.

To raise customers’ environmental awareness, the restaurant has an electronic tote board that ticks away the world’s population as it grows by seconds. The board also keeps tally on the dwindling acres of rain forest.

Proceeds from the $125-per-person party will go to the Assistance League of Newport-Mesa, which offers programs for local underprivileged children, and the Hard Rock Mobile Medical Van, which is used for vaccinating children against a variety of diseases.

The premiere party and a concert Sunday headlined by the Neville Brothers were expected to raise $50,000 for the same groups.