Tiki Bars
Jade East - Towson
Towson, Maryland, United States (Closed)
Jade East operated from sometime in the early 1960s until 1975. From the outside, it looked like a fairly standard Chinese restaurant of the day, but inside it was the full Polynesian restaurant experience. The restaurant seems to have particularly delighted in serving tableside flaming spectacle dishes and drinks. The tropical drink menu featured tropical standards like the Scorpion and Suffering Bastard, served with fanciful garnish. A green buddha mug with a yellow interior, marked Jade East, was a take-home souvenir.
In 1975, the bar had been sold to Bobby Boyd of the Baltimore Colts, who turned it into Hooligan's. As of 2021, the site of Jade East is occupied by Nacho Mama's, a Tex-Mex restaurant that has a particular affinity for Elvis.
Liki Tiki
Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States (Closed)
Liki Tiki was a small juice bar/refreshment stand inside the Colorado Springs Bike Shop. The stand served lemonade, smoothies, and other light refreshments. The bike shop has been operating since 1973, but the small tikified stand was a newer addition, having inherited a large tiki from The Castaways in nearby Manitou Springs. The bike shop is easily spotted with its front lighthouse facade.
Liki Tiki was closed in 2019 in anticipation of the relocation of the Cerberus Brewing Company. Since 2016, Cerberus had run a brewpub on the corner opposite the bike shop (702 W. Colorado Ave.), and its popularity triggered the need for expansion. However, as of summer 2021, it appears Cerberus has remained where it is and the bike shop is still operating.
Timexpo
Waterbury, Connecticut, United States (Closed)
Timexpo was a museum dedicated to the Timex company; one of the company's predecessors was the Waterbury Clock Company, founded in the town in 1854. The Timex company helped fund the expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl, and this museum housed exhibits dedicated to his work. A large moai statue stood outside the museum. The museum opened in 2001, but closed in 2015 due to low attendance.
Follynesia
Folly Beach, South Carolina, United States (Closed)
Opened in 2012, Follynesia was a beach condo in Folly Beach, just outside of Charleston.
It was owned by Tim "Swanky" Glazner and his wife Stephanie Romer (their home tiki bar is the Hapa Haole Hideaway in Knoxville, Tennessee). This vacation condo was available for rental. The condo was just a block from the Atlantic Ocean, right on Center Street, the main drag of Folly Beach, above a beachwear store. The condo was completely decorated in Polynesian Pop style, with Papua New Guinea, Maori, Hawaiian and mid-century carving styles represented. The one bedroom, one bath condo had a kitchen and could sleep up to four thanks to two queen size beds.
Closed November 26th, 2022.
The Shameful Tiki Room - Toronto
Old Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Shameful Tiki Room opened on November 17, 2015, and is in the Parkdale neighborhood of Toronto. It is the sister location of The Shameful Tiki Room in Vancouver, B.C., which opened in 2013. Both locations are owned by Rod Moore.
The bar has a capacity of 70 people, and has a semi-secluded raised "Christian's Hut" area, in tribute to the historic Christian's Hut in Southern California in the 1930s. Classic exotic cocktails and pu-pu platter items are available, prepared and presented in the traditional style. The soundtrack is a mix of Exotica and surf.
*NOTE: On April 25th, 2025 The Shameful Tiki Room announced through social media that they will be changing locations. Their final night at 1378 Queen Street West will be May 27th, 2025. They will be reopening just down the road at 777 Queen Street West on June 9th, 2025!
Saturn Room
Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Saturn Room opened in Tulsa, Oklahoma in April 2015, in the Brady Arts District, a bit north of downtown.
The bar is owned by Noah Bush, John Gaberino and Jeremy Reed, a team that has experience with craft cocktail bars.
They've dived into tiki in a big way, with a space that's full of tikis, thatch-covered booths, and float lights.
The drinks are served in tiki mugs, including a Chairman Mao mug with their logo. Their logo also shows up on a blue swizzle stick.
Kreepy Tiki Tattoos & Boutique
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Kreepy Tiki Tattoos & Boutique was opened in 2006 by Jackson Valiente. This tattoo parlor is filled with wonderful vintage Tiki and Polynesian knick-knacks, and some good-size carved tikis. In 2014, the operation expanded to include an adjacent tiki bar, Kreepy Tiki Bar & Lounge (although this bar/lounge closed in 2017 and was replaced with Old Ghosts Odditorium).
Kreepy Tiki Bar & Lounge
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States (Closed)
Kreepy Tiki Bar & Lounge opened in October 2014, as an extension of Kreepy Tiki Tattoos & Boutique which has been operating next door since 2006.
Kreepy Tiki announced the bar closing on April 1, 2017. The tattoo shop remained open but the bar was replaced with Old Ghosts Odditorium, an antique and oddities store.
Tikitiki Bowling Bar
New Territories, Hong Kong SAR China (Closed)
Tikitiki Bowling Alley opened on October 15, 2015 in Sai Kung, in Hong Kong's New Territories. It was a large attraction, with three bars, a restaurant and a live music venue in addition to the bowling lanes.
The Krakatoa Lanes were ten bowling lanes, topped with a massive video screen with tropical and party scenes. Light fixtures were lava inspired, and the pins and balls were fluorescent colors and lit with black light.
Sea Dogs & Mermaids was the main bar, a large bar shaped like a ship and built of rustic wood, decorated in a nautical style. A row of tikis faced into the bar area. The bar served classic tropical drink recipes a la Beachbum Berry, and a selection of their own creations, in tiki mugs.
Beach Bums & Cannibals was a fine dining restaurant. The room was ringed with carved tiki panels on eggplant purple walls, with matching purple shag throw rugs under each rustic wooden table. Candelabras and chandeliers provided the lighting.
Other areas included the Octopus's Garden, with live music acts performing in front of tiki masks; and Island of the Gods, an outdoor dining area overlooking the hills of Sai Kung, backed with a row of tall tikis.
Closed @April 2024.
The S.O.S.
Decatur, Georgia, United States
The S.O.S. opened on November 5, 2015, in a space that had previously held Paper Plane. Like its predecessor, it is a sister to the neighboring Victory restaurant. The look of the small space is upscale tropical, with dim lights providing the bulk of the mood, and an assist from a few small hula girl lamps and strategically placed orchids. The emphasis here is on the drinks: a full menu of classics and originals. Many drinks on the menu are offered in scaled-up versions for sharing. There is a small menu of tiki-appropriate food available, like spare ribs and coconut shrimp.
Shrunken Head Tropic Lounge
Jefferson City, Missouri, United States (Closed)
Shrunken Head Tropic Lounge was a modern tiki bar combining elements of mid-century Polynesian pop culture with Caribbean and general tropical influences. The bar was opened by California transplant Jonny VerPlanck in 2013. The decor was simple, with large shrunken heads and the bar's name painted on the walls, and a lauhala-fronted bar. Carved tiki poles flanked the back bar.
Tiffany and Conrad Hildebrand bought Shrunken Head from Jonny VerPlanck in 2015.
While the bar’s customer base dwindled over the following years, Hildebrand said, Shrunken Head’s catering business flourished, offering bar service at events throughout Mid-Missouri like weddings, corporate parties and concerts — including downtown Jefferson City’s Angiepalooza and The Millbottom’s Fourth of July party, for example.
“Instead of just closing down everything, we’re going to just close down the bar and focus on the catering,” she said.
The bar closed on February 23, 2019.
More information about Shrunken Head’s catering is available on its Facebook page or by calling Hildebrand at 573-338-5455. Their business is now called Shrunken Head's Mobile Bar & Tropical Drinks.
Concrete Jungle
San Antonio, Texas, United States (Closed)
Concrete Jungle opened a bit south of San Antonio's downtown in December 2014. Its look was a bit rough-and-tumble, recalling the graffiti-meets-tiki vibe of NYC's Painkiller. Like that bar, the focus here was on creating high-quality tiki cocktails, a mix of classics and their own modern recipes, led by beverage director Rene Trevino. There was a small menu of bar food available (including Avocado Crab Rangoon); bar owner Rudolfo Martinez made his name with a popular food truck. Concrete Jungle closed in August 2016.