Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #97 The Coconut Smuggler’s Lounge

I’ve known Robbie for a little while now and I remember her talking about building her own home tiki bar. I was excited to see what she would come up with. Not too long-ago Robbie finished her bar and called it The Coconut Smuggler’s Lounge. I saw some pictures posted on Facebook and I knew I needed to see Robbie’s bar in person. I happened to be down in Portland a couple weeks ago, so Heather and Don Waters and I paid The Coconut Smuggler’s Lounge a visit, and I was blown away…

What is the tiki scene like where you live?

Robbie- I’m very lucky to be in Portland Oregon where the tiki scene is very active. We have a dozen tiki bars within a couple of hours drive and the annual Tiki Kon event (RIP) every summer which brings people together from all over the country. But the people in the scene here are what makes it so special. As a relative newcomer, I can attest to how kind, welcoming, generous and just happy everyone is. I haven’t met another niche scene before where people just welcome you in and want to talk tiki.

I also got involved in the Aloha Caftan Society which has a lot of crossover with the local scene and recently started a Portland chapter with my friend Heather Waters. We just had our first meet up and had a great turnout of around 30 fabulous people from the area. We are hoping to have quarterly meetups where we facilitate a cool craft project or have a mini marketplace where people can show off their goods.

I just think the PNW is especially suited for the tiki scene. It rains about 9 months of the year, so we really need an escape and chance to dress in bright clothes and pretend we are somewhere tropical.

What brought you into the tiki lifestyle and how long has it been part of your life?

Robbie- I became a tropaholic very young when my family took me to Kauai when I was around four. It was love at first sight and we’ve returned almost every year of my life. It’s always been so special; we stay in the same neighborhood, have our beach and restaurant routine and made deep memories and friends on island. Shout out to the 3pm happy hour pool group. I also am a super avid vintage clothes collector and have been gathering vintage Hawaiian for decades.

So, Kauai and fashion where the gateways to my current obsession and I wanted to incorporate more of that feeling in to my everyday life. I honestly didn’t know there were so many people who shared this interest until I went to my first Tiki Kon and knew I had found my people.

Can you give a little history of how it all came together?

Robbie- Let me set the scene: 2021…hahah. I had an underutilized garage and travel was still pretty restricted so the idea came to me that I could create my own escape at my house.

Fast forward a year and I got started on updating what had been an uninsulated box. I upgraded the electrical from 1 fluorescent light to enough sockets to make the inspector think I was crazy. then I brought in some plumbing for a sink, insulated the walls, covered everything in 3/4″ plywood (which I strongly recommend) and was ready to start the fun part.

I covered the walls with bac bac and bamboo matting (from local shop Bamboo Craftsman) and camouflaged the garage door with fabric covered insulation and a large soffit. I was still unsure of the theme or era until I found a horseshoe beauty of a bar on FB marketplace, then the rest came together pretty quickly.

I’ve tried to stay true to all vintage so there was a lot of thrifting and great gifts from friends. Luckily i also had a few family items I could use, like recovering my grandma sofa and getting a ceramic surfing money from my father who works at the Surf Museum in San Diego.

It still needs a lot of layering, but I’m pretty happy with what I’ve done in less than nine months. And I’ve acquired power tools and become a badass with the staple gun!

Any story behind the name of your bar?

Robbie- Naming the bar may have been the hardest part, I had so many ideas. The Coconut Smuggler’s Lounge came from the actual vibe of the bar, basically an old lady bandit lounge. I imagine it as a hole in the wall spot where people would reconnect and talk story, and for some reason I picture those people as older female coconut smuggling bandits in the tropics. And even though I can find no proof on Urban Dictionary, ‘coconut smugglers’ just sounds like it should mean something cheeky.

What is your favorite Tiki drink?

Robbie- I openly admit that I’m not a rum connoisseur and am a little amateur in my tiki drink knowledge. If I’m making something for myself, I like a Navy Grog or a Jungle Bird as I like the more tart / bitter side. I also like to make quite a few NA drinks and am always on the hunt for new recipes. I’m a sucker for my mom’s Mai Tai, but it’s filled with fruit juice so not traditional at all. But when she whips up a pitcher and you walk to the beach, it’s pretty perfect.

Grace’s ‘Better Than the Nui’ Mai Tai

2oz pineapple juice

2oz POG

.5oz Grand Marnier

1oz Coconut rum

1oz Light Rum

Float Dark Rum

Squeeze of lime

What is your favorite Tiki bar? Not including your own!

Robbie- Well, I’m going to have to go with my first and still favorite tiki bar, the Tahiti Nui in Hanalei Bay Kauai. This family run business opened in 1963 and my parents used to refer to it as the bar at the end of the universe from Star Wars. In my best memories, I’m looking at all of the photos on the walls of past patrons, drinking my favorite Hawaiian Mai Tai, listening to some amazing live music, dancing with a barfly and never wanting to leave. They have cleaned it up a little in the past few years, but once you have a couple of amazing drinks and squint, you can still see the history.

Now after that glowing review, I can’t omit Hale Pele, which is everything a tiki bar should be, and Smugglers Cove blew me away.

For home tiki bars, I want to see more! Please invite me over! From what I have seen, the Sandy Bottom from Justin and Greg and anything from Don and Heather Waters are my top picks. kudos.

Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?

Robbie- Since I really came to the drinks portion of tiki last (please stop booing), I’m much more invested in the other elements of the experience. I want a tiki bar to feel like a warm little escape, low ceilings, dark lighting, exotica on the stereo. it really needs to transport you to another world, where when you leave you are surprised that you are just in someone’s spare room.

I also love all of the personal touches and styles a person adds so really no two are the same. In my bar, I have a framed piece of paper that doesn’t look like much, but is someone chooses to explore it, they’ll find it’s an original typed list my grandmother made of all the trips her and my grandfather took from 1966-2005, some to countries that no longer exist. It’s those little hidden details that all tiki bars have that make me want to check out as many as I can.

What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?

Robbie- 9Oh gosh, the list never gets shorter does it. I think I need much more layering, but that is really something that will just come with time. I also want a cooler entrance, thinking a wooden walkway and at least an overhang. Then there is the fact that the garage door opens so i really want to further incorporate the exterior space, so more planting and decorating out there. I am part of the Master Gardeners program here so love playing with plants and added a “will survive in Portland” tropical plant area last year that I want to continue to evolve and expand.

I want to continue to have monthly VHS movie nights on the projector, have more casual get-togethers and meet more home bar owners so we can swap stories and drinks.