Dave Chaney has a love for punk rock, tiki and horror, especially The Creature From The Black Lagoon. I love when people combine the things they love into their home tiki bar. It really gives you a glimpse into someone’s passions why enjoying a Mai Tai or two. Dave’s home tiki bar is a perfect example of this and here is his story …
What is the tiki scene like where you live?
Dave- We are just outside of Portland in St Helens, Oregon (where the awful Halloween Town movie was filmed) There isn’t a tiki scene here, but we are only thirty minutes from our favorite tiki bars: Hale Pale and The Alibi.
What brought you into the tiki lifestyle and how long has it been part of your life?
Dave- I probably got into it from my friend Kevin, aka “The Kelvis”. He was throwing tiki luau parties up at his house in Seattle as long as I have been in the North West, so maybe 1996 or so for me. I started collecting mugs and various barware/ tiki art around that time. Also, prior to my current job I travelled overseas a ton for work, where I picked up things from all over the Philippines and Thailand.
Can you give a little history of how it all came together?
Dave- Heather and I wanted to have a place to get away, and I have two children, so it wasn’t always easy to just go travel somewhere We decided we could make our backyard into a tropical escape. Because it rains so much, we decided to make a covered outdoor bar and hot tub area and it just kind of went from there.
Any story behind the name of your bar?
Dave- We basically refer to it as “The Lagoon” as I am a huge Creature From The Black Lagoon fan and that is definitely part of the theme.
What is your favorite Tiki drink?
Dave- The sweeter the better for me! It depends where I am to be honest. Heather prefers the classic Mai Tai, where the more umbrellas and fruit and crazy stuff there is in a drink, the more I like it.
What is your favorite Tiki bar? Not including your own!
Dave- Hale Pale, Frankie’s Tiki Room or the Golden Tiki
Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?
For me, it is all about lighting and having subtle “artifacts” or things you need to look for. I love the small details. Our tiki bar is a bit unusual (as some purists would say “that is not tiki!”) as we have put in a lot of different things based on our interests and travels, for example, we both love horror, so there are skulls and creature from the black lagoon items etc., but I also was in the military, so there are camo nets, bombs, grenades, ammo cans etc. so it looks a lot like a pacific theater jungle island war site We also have some pirate items since we go to Florida to see my mom, and she lives in the island area where pirates used to sail.
What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?
Dave- We are always trying to improve it. My hope is to eventually have a bigger place where we can expand further and work in aquariums and more water features.
