Heather and John had a dream…
That dream was to build a tiki bar in their basement. There was just one problem, their home in Seattle didn’t have one. So, they moved to Tacoma, bought a house with a basement and got to work. I’ll let Heather and John take it from here…
What’s the tiki scene like where you live?
Heather: In November 2016, John and I moved from Seattle to Tacoma. Seattle has some nice spots to get delicious Tiki drinks; New Luck Toy, The Bar Shoppe and Rumba are a few, but it doesn’t have any amazing Tiki bars unless we want to count the North Shore Lagoon in Bothell. Tacoma has two: Tacoma Cabana and the new Devil’s Reef! I secretly think this is one of the reasons we chose Tacoma; to be closer to Tacoma Cabana. When we lived in Seattle, we took an overnight trip just to visit. We are really fortunate in the world of Tiki that these bars are so close to our home. Jason Alexander, owner and bartender designs some of the best Tiki cocktails I have ever had and his staff is amazing, warm and friendly. Even though we have a bar in our basement we still visit both locations quite regularly. Also, we are only two and a half hours to Portland where we can go to the vintage and grungy Alibi Room and another Tiki cocktail king pin; Hale Pele. Tacoma is just about perfect!
John: As Heather mentioned, we live in Tacoma – Home of one of the best tiki bartenders I have ever known – Jason Alexander. We very much enjoy visiting Tacoma Cabana and the new Devil’s Reef, not only to imbibe, but also to see the staff and catch up. Overall, the tiki culture in Tacoma is one of inclusion and the people are very friendly and inviting. Whenever we go out to the tiki bars or attend events, we always meet people who are friendly.
What brought you into the ‘Tiki lifestyle’ and how long has it been part of your life?
Heather: I have always loved the ocean, beach and palm trees, strange Americana, cryptoids, dirty taverns, neon signs, strange roadside attractions, lowbrow artists, slot machines, Jaws, mermaids, kitschy horror movies, 70s cinematography, mid century homes and furniture, lounge music, dark smoky environments and Las Vegas.
In June 2013, John, our friend, Dave and I were on one of many many trips to Las Vegas. We decided to adventure out, rent a car and tour vintage neighborhoods in Las Vegas. We drove around Glen Heather and Paradise Palms and ended up on Charleston Avenue where we saw a white square box with no windows and the name, “Frankie’s Tiki Room” in green neon. This interested us all. We dropped the car at our hotel and walked back in the blazing sun to Frankie’s. It was the middle of the afternoon and upon arrival, we opened the door to Frankie’s to find we couldn’t see a damn thing. It was so dark and smoky, we didn’t know what to think. We made our way blindly to the back right corner and found a sleek bamboo both, and sat down to wait until our vision adjusted to the darkness. As we slowly adjusted, everything became clear and we had found a mecca of all the things I loved. I saw some of my favorite artists showcased on the walls. There was a 25 cent vice meter in the corner, poker machines at the bar and Gilligan and Ginger on the flat screens. I saw a shark-chewed surfboard on the ceiling, vintage collectible mugs lining one wall and a shrunken head on another. What a perfect environment. That’s when our drinks arrived and we tasted the sweet concoctions. My first Tiki mug and drink were the Bearded Clam. She is by far still one of my favorite mugs, but my choice in Tiki cocktails has changed a bit.
Frankie’s was our gateway drug to Tiki and we have been getting more obsessed as the years go by. What a sweet progression. Thank you Las Vegas, we wouldn’t be where we are without you!
John:: I have always liked things that are a little outside the norm with this, tiki is perfect. Though I have been to many tiki bars in my life, the one that i thought was just going to be another dive bar, was Frankie’s in Vegas. I love the friendly atmosphere and the ambiance is quirky and just makes me smile. Tiki culture always makes me feel like I am on a mini vacation
What made you decide to build your own Tiki bar? Any story behind the name?
We have always wanted a basement bar but when we lived in Seattle, we didn’t have the space in our townhouse for one. When we made our decision to leave Seattle and move to Tacoma, one of the criteria for our new house would be to have room for a bar in the basement and we knew exactly what kind of bar it would be! Our bar is called The Drunken Flamingo Bar and Seabean Lounge.
The Drunken Flamingo was John’s idea. Last July, we went to Long Beach for a long weekend and while there went thrift shopping looking for decorations for the bar. Prior to the shopping there was a bit of drinking involved. We ended up in this little store that had tons and tons of fishing and boating items and I saw a mangy moldy broken yard flamingo nailed to the wall. That is what I wanted. I asked the owner how much it was and he said it was the only thing not for sale in the whole place and had been nailed there for 22 years. I said I understood and as we were about to leave, he pulled it off the wall and gave it to me. What a nice man! The pink flamingo is now nailed above our bar. The Sea Bean Lounge is a tiny play on words as our cat is named Princess Bean Head.
Can you give a little history of how it all came together?
Heather: We knew we wanted room in our new house for a basement bar so that was one of our qualifications. We found the perfect house with a built out basement room complete with a built in shelf, white walls and a mangy red shag carpet which I quickly dubbed, “murder carpet”. The room stayed empty until about May when I decided to paint a Tiki style mural on one of the walls. Later that month, John decided to sand and clean the beams on the ceiling. He removed layer upon layer of white and probably lead based paint then stained and shellacked the wood. After these two things were completed, production halted until early June 2017. I had just quit my job and was looking for new employment which meant a summer of freedom to do what I wanted and what I wanted was to build out the Tiki bar. The first thing I did was pull the murder carpet and the rest was history.
In three months The Drunken Flamingo and Sea Bean Lounge was complete. The only thing we didn’t build or construct ourselves is the bar, which is prefab. We did stain and resin it and added the Tiki mask fixtures. Everything was completed a week before I started my new job and we had our first guests that week!
John: As Heather mentions, we have always wanted a basement bar and tiki was the best fit for us. We lucked out and bought a house with a room that was easily adapted to a bar. The first and most serendipitous piece of furniture is a vintage wrap-around seating booth that fit perfectly into the room. From there, everything else just seemed to fall into place. I do have to give Heather most of the credit, though, without her OCD and eye for detail, the bar would still be in its early stages.
What is your favorite Tiki drink? Why?
Heather: It changes all the time. Currently, I am in love with a traditional Three Dots and a Dash and am trying to perfect it at home. I also love Painkillers but SHEESH those calories sneak up on you. We are working on a spin of a Painkiller called an Opioid Crisis with a splash of Amaretto and habanero syrup. John is also working on a signature cocktail called the Drunken Flamingo that is special to our bar. It calls for tea infused Cachaca. Both are works in progress.
John: Though I usually like drinks that are on the more painful side, my favorite tiki drink is the Polynesian Paralysis.
What is your favorite Tiki bar? Not including your own!
Heather: Frankie’s Tiki Hut will forever be my number one bar because it was my first tiki experience and I have such happy memories there from all of our visits. My second favorite is Devil’s Reef here in Tacoma. The team there is TOPS and so are their drinks!
John: I agree with Heather. I always love visiting Frankie’s, Devil’s Reef and Tacoma Cabana have better drinks and the staff are great.
Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?
Heather: The perfect Tiki environment should be dark but also well lit to set the mood. I love it when you have to peer into a dark corner to find whatever treasure has been displayed just so perfectly there to find. There must be music playing. I created a playlist of about 80 songs for our bar including classics like vintage lounge, Hawaiian ballads, cult surf bands and the ever loved and dreamy Martin Denny. I also really appreciate it when people dress up. It makes the Polynesian vibe so much more real. Whenever someone visits our bar for the first time, I demand some sort of tropical clothing and we like to provide a lei to all first time guests too!
John: I think that tiki is about inclusion and having fun. I used to work with Greg Clapp (Tiki Con) and we still stay in touch – When we started to build out our tiki bar, I reached out to him for ideas and he stated that with tiki, just do what you want to do and never stop adding. If it makes you happy, put it in, make the place your own and share your bar with people – This to me is tiki – make sure it makes you happy and look forward to sharing it with other people.
What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?
We hope to keep visiting Tiki bars all over the United States and the world and that we never stop adding on to our bar. We think a Tiki bar should be ever changing and evolving. Heather is hoping to add some sort of stone wall and water feature soon.
Anything else you would like to add?
Haven’t we babbled enough? We are just really happy we found this community where people are genuine and friendly and looking to have a goofy and fun time. Thanks for coming by and checking out our bar!
I’d like to thank Travis Bay for his pictures used for this post.
He’s the dude in the brown aloha shirt.