This pre-tiki bar was located at the Southwest corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Newark Avenue in Niles, Illinois.

The John Calef Tavern opened here in 1903 and then became Joker Joe's in the mid 1940s.

There was also a second Joker Joe's location in Chicago, Il.

Joker Joe (Joe Siciliano?) was ubiquitous on advertising and apparently liked to throw on a hula skirt and then jump up on the bar and do impromptu dances.

The bar's name was probably inspired by the 1940 film, Typhoon, starring Dorothy Lamour.

This pre-tiki establishment had two locations -- this one in Chicago and a second one in Niles, Illinois. Joker Joe (Joe Siciliano?) is featured on all memorabilia, including matchbooks and postcards of that era and apparently liked to throw on a hula skirt and jump on top of the bar to do some impromptu dancing from time to time.

These locations were open as early as 1945, but exact opening and closing dates are unclear.

In addition to postcards, there are quite a few memento photos with printed paper sleeves that were sold by shutterbugs roaming through the bar at that time.

The bar's name was probably inspired by the 1940 film, Typhoon, starring Dorothy Lamour.

Opened October 2020.

From their website:

"Homecookin’ Hospitality Group, the team behind Foxhole, Drunken Dragon, and rácket, brings a trending, yet one-of-a-kind, concept to Little Havana. Casa Tiki bar and lounge is a Latin-style take on the traditional Polynesian culture, catering to an escapist longing for travel. Located in the heart of Calle Ocho, the hideaway haven allows guests to create their own tropical escape from reality. From the rum-making and shaking to the interactive personalized experiences, surrender all your worries and let Casa Tiki whisk you away."

Open since 2013, just a year before the founder of Chick-fil-A, S. Truett Cathy, passed away.

It would seem like the kind of thing they might try out in the actual Hawaiian islands, but it's not. There are none in Hawaii as of 2021. However, if you are the founder, you can do whatever you want, and Truett decided toward the end of his life that it would be fun to have a Hawaiian-style version of one of his restaurants in Georgia.

This location is much larger and more resplendent than your typical Chick-fil-A but has a similar menu with the addition of some Hawaiian-themed foods like Kalua pork and Hawaiian-style bread pudding. They have Hawaiian-style drinks as well, like their Frosted Hawaiian shakes which are served in souvenir tiki glasses.

There are some tikis located throughout, Hawaiian art, tropical palm fans overhead, and koa wood (or local Georgian hardwood) tables. One seating section actually has booths with thatching and tiki poles.

They are fond of throwing luau parties for children, often featuring hula dancers.

Opened January 2018.

“Tiki’s all about escapism,” says owner and general manager Christopher Straub. “We really want people to feel like, when they come in the door, this is a portal to a new world.”

Inside the dining room, there are bright blue vinyl-seated rattan bar stools and orange-tufted vinyl banquettes, hand-painted scenes by Boston artist Joanna Ciampa, tiki masks on the walls, and a wall of scallop shells—culled by Straub’s mother in Chatham—near the restrooms.

One lounge area features several Design Toscano tiki head tables (one of which is a design based on the signature tiki from the Crown Plaza/Hanalei Hotel in San Diego, California).

The kitchen serves Polynesian-inspired food like sushi, Crab Rangoon, and barbecue skewers, with classic and proprietary tiki cocktails made with fresh juices, homemade syrups and eccentric garnishes.

Live music acts play here on occasion.

Opened November 2018.

From their website: "Shore Leave is our interpretation of a tropical escape through the lens of our love for Boston's rich dining scene. Named after a sailor's leisure time on dry land, Shore Leave's tropical cocktails take you away from the hustle and bustle. We hope this space, music, and most importantly, our Shore Leave family, make every moment here feel like watching the sun go down with your feet in the sand. Tucked in off the main drag and just below the street in Boston's South End, Shore Leave is here to bring you along on our everyday vacation."

This bar and restaurant has received high praise for its cocktails and cuisine. However, if you are going there to check out tiki carvings, you will be disappointed. In one interview about building out the concept for the bar, Chef Lynch explains: We were really excited to work with them on figuring out how we can make tiki interesting in a basement without cultural appropriation. Trying to bend more towards the tropical and jungle themes and less towards the Polynesian idol themes was really important to us, and to not make it look like we just hung a bunch of knickknacks everywhere.

Despite this avoidance of idols, you may still have spotted some vintage tiki mugs on display if you looked carefully...although in May 2021 the bar announced a re-doubling of their efforts to stamp out anything that might be interpreted as cultural appropriation or insensitivity.

Opened in June 2020.

This is the first tiki bar in Fort Worth since Ren Clark's Polynesian Village closed in 1969.

Co-owned by Autumn Brackeen, who’s also co-owned The Boiled Owl on Magnolia Avenue since 2012. She and fellow co-owner Jason Alford worked together to bring forth this concept which combines classic tiki with nautical and a touch of the macabre.

This simplified 20-unit pueblo deco complex opened in 1947 and featured exposed red brick buildings and attached carports. The original art deco sign was discarded in the mid-20th century when the property was renamed the Tiki Motel. It was replaced with a sign in the shape of a Polynesian war shield and mask outlined with neon.

In the years since its heyday, the front pool was filled in with dirt and fenced off. The red brick was covered in stucco and most of the side windows covered over (many fitted with window a/c), leaving only the front and back windows for each unit. Industrial spike-out fencing lined the exterior and only a couple of palms were left.

Although the exterior paint on the buildings and the roofs had been maintained and it presented as a maintained motel, reviews warned that the low daily room prices attracted an unsavory clientele.

As of February 2021 the motel was listed for sale on loop.net for $900K.

The sign was the only thing tiki about this otherwise dated and bottom-tier motel. However, in November 2021, the Tiki Motel sign came down and was donated to Tucson Historic Preservation, thus ending this site's current interest to tikiphiles, but preserving the history.

Opened February, 2020.

The interior is notable for two large moai statues on the way to the front bar where hanging basket lights provide a warm glow. Rattan seating throughout. At least a couple of different seating areas in back, including one with bright leaf print wallpaper in peach and tan beachy tones and another with a tiki fountain and blue-painted walls with a chandelier made from netting, a puffer fish, and glass fish floats.

The name Water Witch is an homage to the Navy’s USS Water Witch that was taken by the Confederates during the Civil War. Eventually, the Water Witch was burned to prevent recapture and still remains underwater off the Savannah coast.

The bar serves classic and original tiki cocktails and does have a small food menu also, including a pupu platter.

Opened in 1967.

The restaurant was started by Cuban immigrant Julian Lopez and was renowned for its high-end dinner entrees, which included pork chops, steak and prime rib, salmon, lobster, and other fresh seafood.

The building had a distinctive A-frame structure in front attached to a much larger building.

The interior had room for a dance floor in addition to the dining space and the back wall, past the central bar area, had a long Hawaiian mural beach scene.

Brightly colored tropical masks decorated some of the other walls.

Closed in 2012.

Opened March 28th, 2019, The Drunk Munk is located on the corner of 6th Avenue and Stetson Drive, in the building occupied for 21 years by Cowboy Ciao.

Greg Donnally, who owns Drunk Munk with partners Andrew Nam and Scott Hane, brings a decade of experience operating a tiki bar in Scottsdale to the new project.

From 2002 to 2012 Donnally operated Drift Lounge, once located on the other end of Stetson Drive in the current home of Boondocks Patio and Grill.

Drunk Munk utilizes some of the decor from Drift, including a large Moai head on their back bar but was not intended to re-create the old venue.

They have integrated several new features. One lounge area in the restaurant, for instance, looks very similar to that first introduced by the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood, CA -- cozy low bench seating with cushions and pillows, stools, and dark-stained wood walls with a Witco outrigger wall hanging next to a 1960s Malm freestanding cone-shaped fireplace.

The 4,600-square-foot restaurant seats 150 in the dining area, along with 50 spots on the patio.

The Tropics was a pre-tiki bar located on the ground level of the Hotel Chicagoan in Chicago, Illinois.

The 21-story Hotel Chicagoan opened in 1937 with a 450 room unit that had previously been part of the Morrison Hotel complex.

The Hotel Chicagoan was sold in 1953 to the First National Bank of Chicago. They re-connected it to the old Morrison Hotel and it became re-absorbed into the original complex.

The Morrison Hotel building was razed in 1965 to make way for the 60-story One First National Plaza which was built in 1969-- now known as the Chase Tower.

It is uncertain if The Tropics opened and closed on the same dates as the Hotel Chicagoan, but according to newspaper ads it was open from at least 1940-1950.