Graffiti and Tiki, what a combination! Bobby Doran’s art, Graffitiki, combines elements of tiki with graffiti and a little bit of nostalgia thrown in for good measure. What makes Bobby’s art so special is that it pulls from the past, yet is still firmly planted in the present day. I could totally see Graffitiki painted on the sides of buildings just like Banksy work, but it’s tiki! Here is Bobby Doran’s story …
Back in the late 40’s, Thor Heyerdahl made his epic voyage across the Pacific Ocean on his balsa raft called the Kon Tiki. I’m guessing Thor Heyerdahl never thought about someone opening up a tiki bar based on his amazing journey, but in 2017, that’s exactly what happened! My good friend Kevin Crossman paid a visit to The Kon-Tiki and came back with this incredible write up. I’ll let Kevin take it from here …
Who would have thought that having asthma as a kid would be the first step on the road to building your own home tiki bar! For Scott Parker, this is the case and this is his story …
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #46 Comrade’s Grotto – Long Beach CA”
The Tiki scene is growing in Ventura California thanks to people like Josh Papuzza. He bartended at Ventiki and went on to build his own home tiki bar called Tapu Tiki. Here is Josh’s story…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #41 Tapu Tiki – Ventura CA”
Nothing lasts forever…
Continue reading “Reflecting On The Closing Of Don The Beachcomber, Huntington Beach CA”
It’s one thing to borrow the name of a tiki drink to use as your home tiki bar’s name but it’s even better when you were too drunk to remember the drink you wanted to name your bar after! This is the case of The Blue Ka-Tiki. Dwayne and his wife really enjoyed their drink at Trader Sam’s. The drink was so good that they couldn’t remember what it was called! I can tell you this, it wasn’t called a Blue Ka-Tiki…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #37 The Blue Ka-Tiki – Salida CA”
It can be hard sometimes to come up with a cool name for your home tiki bar…
Or you could just use your last name. Well, that’s what Bill Straw did. There isn’t any straw in the Straw Hut but there’s tons of thatch. Close enough! Here is a look at this incredible home tiki bar…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #34 The Straw Hut, Hercules CA”
Let’s go back in time to when it all began…
It’s the late ’50s and you’re a restaurant owner. The Tiki craze is in full swing and you want to open your own Polynesian paradise. Where do you go to buy the Tiki décor that will fill up your establishment? You go to Oceanic Arts!
Continue reading “Oceanic Arts Whittier, CA (Tropical and Polynesian décor warehouse)”
For a relationship to work, you need to have things in common. For Gen and Jim, their common interest is Tiki. Their love of Tiki Pop snowballed into one of the coolest Mid-Century home Tiki bars I’ve seen! Their place is called the Lime Lounge and it’s hidden in Gen and Jim’s apartment in Montreal, Canada. Here is their story…
Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #26 The Lime Lounge Montreal, CA”
This is the line to get into Smuggler’s Cove. The place hasn’t even opened yet!
You might be asking, “What’s so special about this place?”
Continue reading “Tiki Bar Review #34 Smuggler’s Cove San Francisco, CA”
