I have a thing for small tiki bars…
Tiki Ti and Hale Pele are at the top of my list and I really love the intimacy that a smaller tiki bar gives. When Julian and his wife Katie decided to turn a backyard shed into an tiki bar, they truly created a tiki experience that is cozy and tiki cool! It doesn’t take much to fill up a smaller tiki space but the Lujan Lagoon is filled top to bottom with incredible tiki décor. Here is how the Lujan Lagoon came to be…
What is the tiki scene like where you live?
Julian- Living in the Bay Area we have so many tiki options to explore. With San Francisco roughly forty minutes away and Oakland about twenty minutes away we have tons of places available to us. We get a great mix of iconic tiki bars and new ones that pop up. With the tiki community being so established around us it’s easy to find inspiration all over.
What brought you into the tiki lifestyle and how long has it been part of your life?
Julian- The tiki lifestyle has been in my life as long as I can remember. With my father being a tattoo shop owner, he always had lots of tiki decor and an outdoor section of the shop that was tiki/pirate themed. We actually got several pieces of decor he donated to our project. For Katie and I we both always loved explore tiki bars even before we came together. Over the last couple of years, we started exploring more tiki bars all over the country and that is what motivated us to really dive into the culture.
Can you give a little history of how it all came together?
Julian- We decided to add our home tiki bar during a backyard remodel of our house. We already had converted the garage into a sports bar and wanted to add an outdoor bar to the house as well. We love the tiki theme and knew that was our starting point. Originally, we started with the idea of just a simple outdoor bar in the back of the yard. We had bought a new tough shed to replace a couple old ones we had and looked at that thinking the size was probably big enough for the bar to go in it. Turning the tough shed into the bar to keep it accessible year round and we’d have a ton more room to add all the decor we wanted. We got it placed under three redwood trees since it was a place that already had incredibly positive energy, was cool during the summer from the shade, and faced the entire yard when the doors would be open.
We built out the shed and began the decor phase. After looking through different vendors in the tiki community and using all the different items we had already collected we were off to a great start. We continued to look at other people’s tiki bars and continued to visit tiki bars in the community to gain further inspiration. We love Disneyland and Trader Sam’s too so a lot of the ideas for our new decor came from there and Disney themed stuff in general. We also added lots of memorabilia that brings the old 50’s-70’s theme really to life.
Any story behind the name of your bar?
Julian- The name came from just using my last name and finding something that fit with it. The Lujan Lagoon seemed to fit with some of the Bayou feel of things we had added. Between the pirate decor, our love for pirates of the Caribbean from Disney and alliteration of my last name it seemed to fit perfect
What is your favorite Tiki drink?
Julian- Shrunken Skull is definitely at the top of my list for drinks. It’s just sweet enough to be easy to drink but with the high-octane rum it has it gives the kick I look for in a good tiki cocktail. Another favorite of mine, although not so tiki, is an Espresso Martini. I’m always a fun of mixing a couple of those in throughout the night.
What is your favorite Tiki bar? Not including your own!
Julian- It’s so hard to pick just one! I’d have to say my personal favorite if I had to pick just one would be Smugglers Cove in San Francisco. The packed decor in there mixed with all the amazing drinks and multiple bars in the venue make it the top of my list. Anyone who hasn’t taken the time to visit the Cove should absolutely add it to the list. My fiancé loves Zombie Village which is also at the top of my list and False Idol in San Diego rounds out the top three for me.
Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?
Julian- In my opinion keeping the vintage feel is a huge part of transporting someone into the tiki feels. The lighting and feel of the space should make you forget about everything else going on and bring you right to the loose free flow feel of tiki. When you’re able to just be in the moment and enjoy everything around you and feel like you’re in a port city somewhere letting loose is what it’s all about.
What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?
Julian- We hope to continue to collect items from the community and all our travels for as long as we live. We’d love to make it a lifelong collection of tiki and be something our kids can continue to enjoy long after we’re gone decades from now. Tiki is never ending and something that will continue to live on and we hope our bar will do the same. We hope to look back years from now and have the Lagoon be one big collection of our life travels and be a place that will transport us back to those great times for ever.
We feel very fortunate to be a part of this community and look forward to exploring more and continuing to see what other cool spots are out there. Thank you all for allowing us to be a part of this great tradition and hopefully we meet so many more of all of you tiki connoisseur’s and lovers!
