“I’m much more comfortable with a welder versus a router”
Scott Sheehan’s first love is hot rods. He’s been into traditional hot rods since 2004 and building them since 2007 but after visiting Don the Beachcomber he and his wife Chelsea discovered a new love, Tiki Bars! Scott and Chelsea started going to all the tiki events they could and after visiting over 20 tiki bars, they decided to build their own.
The name of Scott’s home tiki bar is Shore Leave Tiki Lounge and he has created the perfect getaway. In the service, a solider gets 24 hours shore leave, Scott and Chelsea gets all the time the wish…
What’s the tiki scene like where you live?
Scott- Well, it’s basically nonexistent. We live in mid-Michigan, near Bay City, Saginaw, and Midland. We’re surrounded on three sides by farm fields and it’s normal to see tractors and combines drive past our house in the spring and fall. The closest tiki bars are Mutiny Bar in Detroit and Max’s in Grand Rapids. They are the closest tiki bars and they’re both just over 100 miles away.
What brought you into the tiki lifestyle and how long has it been part of your life?
Scott- I think traditional hot rods and that whole scene brought me into the realm of tiki. I’ve been into traditional hot rods since 2004 and building them since 2007. several of my cars have been regulars in the basement at the Detroit Autorama. It seems like traditional hot rodders, rockabilly, and tiki people all travel in similar circles and there’s lots of crossover. I visited my first tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach back in 2018. My wife Chelsea and I are definitely tiki novices, but we’ve started attending tiki events and meeting people from the metro Detroit area.
Can you give a little history of how it all came together?
Scott- We bought our house two years ago. After visiting over 20 tiki bars from California to Paris I decided it would be great to have one of our own. I told Chelsea about my plans for one of the utility rooms in the basement. Knowing I’d probably lose interest and that I was much more comfortable with a welder versus a router she said okay. About ten months later we had our first guests.
Any story behind the name of your bar?
Scott- I’ve always liked history. My great grandfather was in the Navy during WWI, my grandfather served on a destroyer in the South Pacific during WWII and I had an uncle on a carrier during the Gulf War. Those guys saw some incredible places. I like to think about how exciting it must’ve been to have 24 hours of shore leave to blow off some steam in an exotic port somewhere overseas. That’s how the name Shore Leave was born.
How far have you driven for tiki items?
Scott- My wife drove down to Indiana for our bar stools, that was about four hours. Everything else has come from Detroit or online.
What is your favorite Tiki drink?
Scott- The Zombie is my favorite drink, either the 1950s or 60s versions. Close second is the Painkiller.
What is your favorite Tiki bar? Not including your own!
Scott- We’ve only been there once, but the Mai Kai in Ft Lauderdale is my favorite bar as well as my wife’s, but we Love Max’s too, and we hit up Mutiny every time we’re in Detroit.
Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?
Scott- I’m far from an expert, but I think lighting is extremely important. Personally, I like bars that are dark with little to no natural light. I’m still experimenting with our bar’s lighting but I’m getting close. Obviously, you have to have a nice sound system, and a common area away from the bar. We’ve just finished the build process and now we’re onto decorating. Finding something new that you’ve never noticed before each time you visit a bar is really cool too.
What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?
Scott- We’re already planning our expansion into the main part of the basement and we have only been up and running for a month and a half. I’d like to collect a few WWII items and display them in the bar. I’m not necessarily looking to build a military themed bar, but I’d like to create a space a sailor or airman may have stopped by while on leave. As far as Chelsea and I, we plan on attending more events, meeting more people, visiting more home bars, and hopefully having people visit our place as well.
Anything else you would like to add?
Scott- We’d like to thank Matt and Siobhan Strickland. We’ve purchased several pieces from Matt, and they were the first people we met in this world. Thanks to Ed Schroeder and the Detroit Friends of Tiki as well.
