Merv Griffin plans to revive L.A.'s posh supper club scene.

Once upon a time, a night on the town in L.A. meant more than crowding into the Viper Room and making a post-club pitstop at Pink's. Back in the days before freeways and cable TV, the best way to spend an evening was to dine in a Hollywood supper club and dance till dawn.

Merv Griffin remembers those days - and plans to bring them back.

On Jan. 16, Griffin will open the Coconut Club in the Grand Ballroom of his Beverly Hilton Hotel as a throwback to the grand supper clubs of yore.

"We are not going to play rock 'n' roll," said Griffin, who began his entertainment career singing on the radio in the San Francisco area. "Swing and touch-dancing are on the upswing everywhere."

Griffin said the club is being designed "in the style of the great Hollywood supper clubs. like the old Macambo, Ciro's and the Cocoanut Grove."

Initially, Griffin will only open the Coconut Club on weekends. It will be the only dance club in the Beverly Hills area. Bandleader Jack Shelton will be featured the first week. News has already leaked out to Griffin's Hollywood pals, who, he said, are already phoning him for reservations for opening week.

"Dolores hope called and said. 'If I am not invited. I'll never forgive you,'" he said.

To capture the ambiance of the '40s and '50s, the new club will feature dance floor tables and oversized booths set in a tropical atmosphere. Griffin hired set decorator Bob Rang to create the new club at a cost of about $2 million.

The tri-level club, which can accommodate 600 guests, will have a VIP area, a separate cigar room for smokers and the dance floor.

"There will be some secret hideaways, too," Griffin said. "We were able to do all of this without breaking through any walls."

The club will have its canopied entrance on Wilshire Boulevard and will stay open until 2 a.m. During the week when the club is not open, Griffin's staff can reconfigure the ballroom and turn it back into a venue for events and meetings.

Griffin, who now lives in the penthouse of the Beverly Hilton when he is not in Palm Springs, began his big-band singing career with Freddy Martin at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard.

His first hit song was "Oh What A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts," the 1949 novelty song that he recorded with Martin. Griffin used a Coconut Ballroom theme in a TV special 10 years ago and hosted his New Year's Eve specials from a similar setting.

As to living in the Beverly Hilton, Griffin seems to be delighted.

"I keep my eye on everything," he said. "The guests love to see the owner on the property."

And soon, the dance floor.