McMenamins Elks Temple – Tacoma WA

I will always remember driving to New York City from Pennsylvania, the first thing you would see was the twin towers of The World Trade Center. Those towers were tall! I wonder if it was just me, but there was always this weird optical illusion with the twin towers, the further away you were from them, the larger they appeared!

But when you were Downtown, near the WTC, they didn’t seem nearly so big.

The McMenamins Elks Temple in Tacoma Washington doesn’t look that big from the outside, but you have no idea just how huge this place is until you step inside …

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Guest Tiki Bar Review: Zombie Village – San Francisco, CA by Kevin Crossman (Ultimate Mai-Tai)

Zombie Village Huts

In the middle of the 19th century, the sailors of the British Navy were given citrus juice rations as a way to avoid scurvy. This in turn led to these sailors being regarded as some of the healthiest of their day. If that’s the case, the good people of San Francisco and surrounding locales must already be amongst the healthiest thanks to the plethora of exemplary Tiki Bars that dot the region. So, when the wind behind your sails is strong, and the rum and the lime are in plentiful supply, what do you do? Well, if you are the Future Bars team you take an underperforming bar and set your sights on creating another standout tiki destination: The Zombie Village!

Zombie Village Entrance

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Guest Tiki Bar Review: The Kon-Tiki – Oakland, CA by Kevin Crossman – Ultimate Mai-Tai

entrance Kon Tiki Kevin Crossman

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 …

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Tiki Bar Review #46 Kapu Hut – McMenamins North Bank Eugene, OR

Kapu Hut McMenamins North Bank

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you know about McMenamins.

McMenamins restores old, classic, historical buildings and turns them into brewpubs, movie theaters, restaurants, and music venues. They do a really great job of maintaining the integrity of the buildings and the food and drinks are great! But what you may not know is that they also build Tiki bars…

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