Willie Nelson Used To Hang Out At This Hawaii-Based Saloon

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It's great to have a place where everybody knows your name and doesn't ask you for a selfie, and for Willie Nelson, that place was a Hawaiian bar and restaurant. The "On the Road Again" artist has simple habits. Nelson eats oatmeal for breakfast. He likes the classic retro breakfast duo, comprised of bacon and eggs, which he eats in the evening, and his favorite Southern meal of all is chicken-fried steak. But this Texas-born musician also has an affinity for Hawaii, maintaining a home in Paia, on the island of Maui, where he frequented Charley's Saloon and Restaurant up until its closure in 2021. 

Charley's Saloon and Restaurant was known for its French toast and pancakes, country music, and its drinks. Its door opened in 1969, and the establishment was named after owner Jim Fuller's Great Dane. Charley's was initially a fresh fruit juice stand. It quickly evolved into a place for breakfast, fresh fish, Maui beef burgers, and late-night music jams. Willie Nelson even played at Charley's with his son Lukas, making it a family affair.

Willie Nelson wasn't the only celebrity who liked Charley's. David Crosby and  Roy Rogers were also among its patrons. Rachael Ray even paid a visit to this eatery for an episode of her Food Network series "$40 a Day." Charley's was a happening place until Covid hit, and like so many other restaurants, it couldn't recover and had to close its doors.  

Today, Nelson enjoys cooking with his wife Annie. The two penned a cookbook, "Willie and Annie Nelson's Cannabis Cookbook: Mouthwatering Recipes and the High-Flying Stories Behind Them," in which Willie Nelson revealed that his wife makes him waffles just about every day. In addition to eating them with chicken-fried steak and gravy, he said he also eats them with ice cream and maple syrup. But of all the waffles, the Belgian waffle holds a special place in his heart. While he was touring overseas, he played at a venue in Belgium. Nelson revealed that he ate Belgian waffles with berry preserves for two straight days and considers them the best in the world.