Imagine being in the army and you’re on base. Imagine a tiki bar on this base. Think of the makeshift tiki bar on the TV show M.A.S.H. This is what Will Locksmith Hawkins created in the basement of his home and it’s so cool. I’ve been to many tiki bars but I’ve never seen anything like this!
Oh, did I forget to mention there’s an actually a wing from an airplane hanging about the bar?
What is the tiki scene like where you live?
Will-The Tiki scene here on Whidbey Island is pretty sparse… However, the craft cocktail game is pretty good. Now that the Tiki tourist is living just down the road I feel the tiki scene is getting bigger here. It has also been fun introducing people to tiki world with the bar.
What brought you into the tiki lifestyle and how long has it been part of your life?
Will- It was my uncle that introduced me to rum in the idea of a tiki drink. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area so visits to Trader Vic’s were a common occurrence growing up. But it was sitting around having tiki cocktails with my uncle when we thought “why don’t we build our own tiki bar here in the backyard” and it all started.
Can you give a little history of how it all came together?
Will- Like I mentioned, we enjoyed a good cocktail or tiki drink, and thought why not build our own tiki bar… And around 2014 is when the Lucky Star Tiki Bar was born.
Any story behind the name of your bar?
Will- We wanted to pay homage to how Tiki came to America… Soldiers fighting in WWII would build bars to help deal with the stresses of way. So, we thought we would theme the bar World War II South Pacific 1940s, as that’s kind of how tiki became popular after the war. The bar is modeled as the CO’s office in a Quonset hut. That is the maintenance hangar of an airfield. And the soldiers turned the office into a bar.
What is your favorite Tiki drink?
Will- The first fruitiki drink I ever had at a bar was at Trader Vic’s and it was the Mai Tai… But my favorite tiki drink is the Test Pilot and it’s become the house drink at the Lucky Star Tiki Bar.
What is your favorite Tiki bar? Not including your own!
Will- Trader Vic’s hands down, but that’s only for nostalgic reasons. Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are so many favorite tiki bars, Smugglers Cove, Forbidden Island, Last rites, the list goes on and on, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Trader Vic’s.
Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?
Will-Lighting it’s all about lighting. Well that’s one thing. But the best immersive environments are ones that tell a story everywhere you look what I mean by that is everything in the Tiki Bar has a story or adds to the story.
What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?
Will- I think the future of my tiki bar is to continue having great times with great people creating memories, laughs and fun. Tiki bars are never finished. Part of the fun is always working on it always improving always having fun.
AWESOMENESS! Thank you for introducing Will and Dawn to me. Great write up (and color me surprised being included in it as well… EEK!) CHEERS!