When you start collecting Tiki mugs, one turns into two, then two turns into three, and pretty soon you have an army of Tiki mugs trying to take over your house! What can you do? You build a home Tiki bar to display them! Rhonda and Bill Reedy did just that. They converted their basement into the Porthole and Tiki mugs are proudly displayed on shelf after shelf that spans its length. Here is Rhonda and Bill’s story…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #20 The Porthole Portland, OR”
Back in the ’50s and ’60s, Tiki was big, I mean really big! Large Tiki establishments like the Mai Kai and Trader Vic’s were in every town. Many of the Mid-Century homes had bars and tons of those were being converted into home Tiki bars.
Polynesian pop was so popular that Tiki-themed hotels and motels started popping up. Taking things one step further, Tiki apartment complexes were built! Imagine walking out your front door and having a large Tiki to greet you every morning as you go off to work. Many Tiki apartments were built across the country, but by the ’70s, most of those apartments were torn down or converted to some other theme. I did find one survivor in Tacoma, WA. It’s named—yep, you guessed it—the Tiki Apartments.
“Hey man! Next time you are planning a trip to Oregon, let us know. We would love to include you in one of our YouTube videos.”
And with this message, the start of an awesome day of Tiki in Portland OR began!
I’ll never the forget the first time I set foot in Tacoma Cabana.
Standing behind the bar was this dude wearing an Aloha shirt and fez on his head. I didn’t know anything about this guy, but he had a presence to him that made him really stand out. Without saying a word, the message was clear: I’m here to make Tiki cocktails and trust me, they will blow you away. This man was and is Jason Alexander. He is the owner of Tacoma Cabana. Let’s get to know Jason a little bit more…
Continue reading “Tiki VIP #17 Jason Alexander (Tacoma Cabana)”
Hey, this used to be Barmacy!
When I first walked into Otto’s Shrunken Head, I felt like I’d been there before. I lived in New York back in the early 2000s and before Otto’s was Otto’s, it used to be Barmacy. Barmacy was a bar that was supposed to be a pharmacy that turned into a bar. Pretty interesting idea, but a Tiki bar is so much cooler!
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #28 Otto’s Shrunken Head, NYC”
Fun fact: Calgary is known as Cowtown! Even though Calgary is in the heart of Alberta, Canada, it has a cowboy/country feel to it. They even have a rodeo called the Calgary Stampede. You wouldn’t expect to see denim, daisy dukes, and cowboy hats in a metropolitan Canadian city. You kniow what else you wouldn’t expect to see? An awesome home Tiki bar! It’s called the Kanaloa Lounge and the man behind it is Aubrey Hallis. Here is his story…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #19 The Kanaloa Lounge Calgary Alberta, CA”
“You wanted the best and you got them! The hottest band in the land: KISS!”
Back in the ’70s, KISS ruled the school. They were huge! There were KISS toys, KISS comic books, KISS, well, pretty much anything Gene Simmons could think of! KISS was so big that the band even had it’s own army, the KISS Army!
Why was KISS so big and why were they so successful? One reason: seeing KISS live was a breathtaking, rocking spectacle that couldn’t be duplicated!
Why?
Clee Sobieski: pronounced SEE-lee SOH-bee-ES-kee
When I first saw Clee’s work at Tiki Kon 2016, I knew I wanted to do a post about this talented fellow. Clee’s art pulls from Tiki, Mid-Century, and everything in between. The thing I love most about Clee’s work is that it’s totally unique and timeless. When you see a painting by Clee, you know it’s his. And now you know how to pronounce his name correctly! Let’s get to know Clee a little better…
Rockabilly.
Hot rods.
Burlesque.
And Tiki.
All these subcultures go hand-in-hand and sometimes overlap. Is the connection a love of the Mid-Century culture? Maybe, but I dig it all because I love eye candy and it’s just so damn cool!
Duke and Lola feel the same way! To show the “squares” what they’re missing, Duke and Lola created their own Vlog called “BossaNova Life.” I’ll let them tell you what it’s all about…
Continue reading “BossaNova Life (Duke And Lola) Rockabilly, Hot Rod, Burlesque, Tiki Vlog”
Every painting starts with one brush stroke. Each stroke that follows can make the painting better or worse.
The same thing is true with building a Tiki bar. The possibilities are only limited to your imagination, or to how much you care about building something special. I don’t want to say there’s a right or wrong way to build a Tiki bar, but as they say, “The proof is the pudding.” There are definite reasons why certain Tiki bars have lines outside the door and why others close a couple months after opening. Forbidden Island in Alameda, CA is not the later! Forbidden Island is one of the oldest of the new Tiki bars, opening its doors a decade ago in 2006.
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #27 Forbidden Island Alameda, CA”
