Opened in 1954 and closed in 2020.

Minnie's was a Polynesian restaurant with immense charm, and was deservedly beloved by many. The Chinese food was typically dressed-up (for instance, the appetizers were labelled "tidbits of delight"), but the shocker here was that the food was actually fairly good. The restaurant featured carvings and artwork throughout, most notably a large number of beautiful oil and black velvet paintings by the Leeteg-esque artist Tyree.

There were two bars at Minnie's: a vast outdoor patio bar, and a dimly lit indoor bar encrusted with dollar bills and business cards all over the walls and ceiling, left by patrons over the years. The tropical cocktails at Minnie's left something to be desired, but it was about as good as you were likely to find in Modesto anyhow.

Parking was free in the lot at the rear of the restaurant. After dinner service closed, the front door to Minnie's was locked, and you entered the bar using the rear parking lot entrance (there was no sign at the front to let you know this, unfortunately).

Minnie's was just down the road from the Tropics Motel and Tiki Lounge.

The following is according to the Modesto Bee:

Sacramento-based owner TJ Bruce and his Splash Bar, Inc., took over from Stuart Mah at the start of 2018. Mah’s family had run Minnie’s as a Chinese restaurant and tiki bar since 1962, when they bought the business from original owners Hop Louie and his wife Minnie Woo — the spot’s namesake. Bruce ran Minnie's basically as it was for a year before closing the restaurant portion in 2019. In January 2020 he decided to close Minnie's and transform it into another of his Splash Bar dance club locations.

However, according to Bruce, the site’s tiki look will not be changing. Bruce said much of its existing theme fits in with the Splash Bar concept.

“We like that it’s kitschy, and tiki is a fun thing for bars,” he said.

So expect the large wooden tiki-head totems outside to remain in place, as will much of the interior and exterior look — save for some painting and needed updating. They plan to install a dedicated dance floor in the half-partitioned space in front of the bar area, as well as more video screens throughout.

The bar’s signature velvet paintings of nude Polynesian women were taken down after it was sold, as were its large fish tanks. But Bruce said he still has them and they may make a reappearance in the new Splash Bar.

But all those old dollar bills that have lined the bar’s walls for decades are coming down.

The new Splash Bar will have drag shows every Friday night as well as themed nights for karaoke, throwback nights and more. The weekends will have video DJs spinning music.

The Tiki Cocktail Lounge is situated essentially in the parking lot for the Tropics Motel (now re-named Tiki Lodge), the Modesto entry in the midcentury Kimes Tropics Motels chain. The Tiki Cocktail Lounge has fared a bit better than the barely-operational motel--and while it's more of a beer joint (despite its full bar), it has managed to retain some of its tiki charm.

They did a remodel in recent years and removed the bamboo and thatched roofed booths inside. Probably to open the space up -- it's often packed-out for dancing.

There still appears to be some bamboo behind the back bar, a sometimes-lit pit fireplace and a small outdoor patio with a smattering of tikis.

The old velvet paintings may or may not have made it through the remodel and there was talk of a tiki mural in back...

In recent years, the Tiki Lounge has become a LGBTQ focused site, and they state on their Facebook page that: "We feature an open lifestyle environment where people of all sexualities and genders can feel free to get together, have a few good cocktails and have a great time. Gay, Straight, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered all are welcomed at the Tiki!"

The Tiki Lounge is just down the road from Minnie's Restaurant (not walking distance, unfortunately).

Opened in 1972 and closed in 2011.

This Chinese restaurant with a Polynesian theme and cocktail menu was family run for 39 years by Paul Soo Hoo, alongside brother Chester and business partner Florence Lee.

Now home to Hickey's Wine and Spirits.

Opened around 1975.

Hawaii Fountain was a Chinese/Polynesian restaurant with the typical New England-style painted tikis. It served tropical drinks in tiki mugs and served the classic "Polynesian" dishes, including a Pupu Platter.

In mid-2006 the restaurant's interior was gutted, and reopened as the non-Polynesian You You.

Despite this, they decided to leave the exterior standing tiki and a couple of side-support tikis in front. The tikis now share space with a couple of Foo Lion additions, but they are still there as of 2021.

And while the interior may have been redesigned entirely, You You has a number of tiki cocktails on their bar menu, still served by the same bartenders that worked for the previous owners, and they serve them in tiki mugs, so you can still sample a bit of that Hawaii Fountain magic after all.

Miami Beach's Luau was created in 1955 by owner Jerry Brooks, who hired nightclub designer Franklyn Hughes (sometimes spelled Franklin Hughes) to create a space full of Polynesian spectacle. The entry to the restaurant was a thatched hut with an exaggerated pointed peak, and the sign was a towering rock wall with large blue letters vertically spelling LUAU. The front landscaping was dense with palm trees, and in the '60s also included stylized white moai by Lewis Van Dercar. Van Dercar also sculpted some unusual pieces inside the restaurant, including a dayglo-painted shipwreck scene behind the bar, with elaborate lighting to transition the scene from daytime to nighttime. By the '60s, Luau was owned and run by "Trader Syd" Mass. Each table had a large rattan queen chair at its head. Luau served a full menu of glorious tropical drinks and "Polynesian" cuisine typical to the era.

There was a sister location, "Luau II" at the nearby Marco Polo Hotel. After the demise of Luau, its name changed to "Gold Coin."

Luau closed around 1974, and the location is now an empty lot.

Established in 1997.

Outre Gallery is a modern, low-brow art gallery that has a history of showing tiki art, including Derek Yaniger, Mark Ryden, Bosko, and Shag.

Shag designed a mug for Outre that was produced by Munktiki.

This 1940s pre-tiki establishment featured "Drinks From The Romantic Tropics".

Now home to Aurora Environmental Services in a newer brick building as of 2021.

Opened in 1997.

Located in La Alcazaba, a resort/luxury apartment complex in Marbella, Spain. It changed from Trader Vic's to simply "Polynesians" in 2009, and operated under that name until 2013. It is now closed.

Opened in 1998.

This restaurant serves Hawaiian style comfort food.

They do not serve tiki/tropical cocktails (beer & wine only) and the decor is minimal. They have some beach scene wallpaper murals and a small carved tiki at the front check-in stand which has a small thatched roof.

The focus is more on the food than the atmosphere, but the food appears to be very good and authentic Hawaiian style.

There was also a second version in Manhattan Beach, CA that ran from 2002-2013.

Opened in 1999 at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain Hotel & Spa.

In Santa Ana Square, the unassuming front doors of Mauna Loa Bar Hawaiiano lead to exotic decor that stretches across three floors of the venue.

The front bar has a large bird cage on one end with several live birds. Bartenders are happy to prepare drinks in the ornate porcelain tiki vessels found in Spain.

The successive grotto-like floors below are mostly taken up by small intimate booths, some sporting fish aquariums. It is common for couples to come here and share a tiki bowl -- perhaps a dry ice smoking volcano as pictured in their logo.

To be warned, some tiki purists used to traditional Don The Beachcomber or Trader Vic's recipes may not find the cocktails to their liking, but as with many tiki bars in Spain, the focus is less on craft cocktails than the ambience, and this bar is a true classic time capsule that is not to be missed.

Lee's Hawaiian Islander is a Chinese restaurant that opened in 1974 (building was built in 1962). There are tiki masks mounted on rock-lined walls with a weeping water effect, an outrigger canoe hangs from the ceiling, and there is a special hut booth. An upper balcony holds more tables with bamboo framing. Drinks are served in mugs, and there is a flaming pu-pu platter. Mr. Lee can be found there often, happily playing host and greeting patrons.

There is another Lee's Hawaiian Islander location in Clifton, but it closed due to a fire in 2003.

In 2023, the property with liquor license was put up for sale. However, as of late 2024, there have been no takers and the restaurant is still open.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/768-Stuyvesant-Ave-Lyndhurst-NJ/31574898/