Home Tiki Bars
The Hele Lau
Sebastian, Florida, United States
The Hele Lau is the home tiki bar of Christina Jordan, "Miss Hele Lau." It is located in Micco, part of Sebastian, in Brevard County on the Atlantic coast of Florida. It started in July 2009, and has moved several times sincethe name means "traveling leaf" and Leaf is Jordan's mother's maiden name. It is decorated in a trader/beachcomber style, serving as a scrapbook of Jordan's tiki and travel history, with ticket stubs, postcards, and even buried treasure found on the beach.
The bar itself is a vintage stacked bamboo bar that has spent its 50 year life entirely in Brevard County; Jordan likes to imagine that some of the first Astronauts had a cocktail at the bar. The bar is used for tiki parties, enjoyment of classic tiki drinks and experimentation with new cocktails for her work with the Straw Hat Barmen, and when she's working on her cocktail writing gigs.
Jordan claims that the Hele Lau is the oldest and most authentic tiki bar in Micco, FL. She says all guests are welcome if they know the secret knock for admittance. Trading and bartering are gladly accepted for tiki drinks made by the lovely "bartendress."
The Sneaki Tiki Lounge
Port Aransas, Texas, United States
The Sneaki Tiki Lounge is the (hopefully) final iteration of the home tiki bar of Jerry & Amber Martin. Originally created in their dining room in Amarillo, TX, the Sneaki Tiki Lounge has been moved from those small beginnings to a new 20’x30’ building on their five acres near Port Aransas & Corpus Christi, TX. The Sneaki Tiki is used for parties, an annual luau every August, and for relaxing and daydreaming about Hawaii.
A full bar with kegerator, mug shelves and lots of kitsch with accent lighting make it the perfect spot to retreat and beat the Texas Gulf Coast heat.
Haole Roller's Tiki Room
Carbondale, Illinois, United States
The Haole Roller's Tiki Room is the home tiki bar of Andrew Staff, built in May 2015 in Carbondale, in southern Illinois. The bar is located in the front room, a converted front porch, of his 1920 bungalow. Staff is a pastor, and a non-Hawaiian, and a lover of puns, which inspired the bar's name. Staff was heavily influenced by Foundation Tiki Bar in Milwaukee, and a Polynesian-Chinese restaurant from his childhood, Aloha in Dale City, Virginia.
The tiki room houses a collection of new and vintage tiki mugs, lights and lots of artwork. There is also some artwork from Lake Tiki Woodcrafts, vintage pieces, and pieces created by Staff himself. Staff plays lots of vintage Exotica records in the Tiki Room, and the room gets used by friends and family for hanging out and relaxing. Staff's children love the room, and he hopes they feel the same way that Aloha made him feel as a child.
Lime Lounge
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The Lime Lounge is the home tiki bar of AtomicLady and her boyfriend, Jim. Their first home tiki bar began in 2012 in their previous apartment, and the current incarnation started when they moved in 2015.
The bar is in a rented apartment, meaning they've had to get creative with how they decorate the space. The room began when the couple found a bar and stools in a neighborhood antique store and decided to build around it. To lower the ceiling and make the space more cozy, they built a hanging bamboo frame and a little thatch roof. It occupies half of the apartment's living room, and keeps growing, including the recent addition of a shelving unit for souvenir mugs from their travels. The decor includes art from El Gato Gomez, Shag and Witco. The couple entertains in the space often, with music and drinks.
The Exotica
Glendale, Arizona, United States
The Exotica is the home tiki bar of set designer Jim Hyte. The Exotica has a thatched roof, pufferfish, netting, and one whole "living" wall is a fish tank. Jim's background in theater has helped him add some unique elements, including dramatic tropical storm effects complete with surround sound thunder and strobe light lightning. True to its name, the sound track for The Exotica has plenty of Martin Denny. A waterfall feature was removed to make way for a growing collection of artifacts from Papua New Guinea.
Taki Tiki Room
Lake Bluff, Illinois, United States
Taki Tiki Room is the home tiki bar of Gary Lawrence, in Lake Bluff, just north of Chicago.
Monsterjoes Lounge
Vancouver, Washington, United States
Monsterjoes Lounge is the home tiki bar of Vancouver, WA tikiphiles Randy and Sandra Grover. They have developed their own drink menu of classic tiki cocktails, and originals named for their friends and family.
The 'Ohana Be Gonna Lounge
Columbus, Ohio, United States
The 'Ohana Be Gonna Lounge is the home bar of Tikiskip, a major collector of items and knowledge about the dear, departed Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus. The 'Ohana Be Gonna Lounge has many items formerly in the Kahiki, and also many items (especially lighting) created by Tikiskip in the style of vintage pieces.
Brunstiki
Ohio, United States
Brunstiki is the home tiki bar of Victor Guinto in Brunswick Hills, Ohio. Since its inception in 2006, the bar has expanded to 1,000 square feet of tiki obsession. The bar houses a large collection of souvenir coconut monkeys procured from the Virgin Islands, Mexico, Hawaii, the Bahamas, Honduras, Florida and North Carolina.
Castaway Clemens' Paradise Cove Tiki Lounge
Los Angeles, California, United States
Paradise Cove is the bedroom of Castaway Clemens. The Cove has an emphasis on decorative clutter and detailed lighting design, which serve as effective camouflage of the room's main restriction: it is in fact a temporary-by-necessity installation in a rented apartment, limiting the construction possibilities. Despite the limitations, Castaway Clemens has created a thoroughly enveloping tiki environment.
Reynols Galley
Portland, Oregon, United States
Captain Reynols Galley was the home tiki bar of Blair Reynolds, a.k.a. Trader Tiki, a cocktail enthusiast, and the creator of the B.G. Reynolds line of tiki drink syrups. Naturally, the drinks served in the Galley were top-notch and in perfect keeping with the tradition of Polynesian Pop imbibing. The theme of the bar was a mix of tiki and nautical, and was in a cozy, windowless room, contributing to the loss of one's sense of time and place while in the Galley.
Blair is also notable for opening a tiki bar in Northeast Portland, Hale Pele.
The Kona Luanii
Denver, Colorado, United States
The Kona Luanii is the home tiki bar of Denver tikiphile ZuluMagoo. It has a nautical/tiki theme, and is designed to look like a tiki cargo-bearing ship that has wrecked.