Tiki Bars
Kon Tiki - Temple City
Temple City, California, United States (Closed)
Served "Authentic Cantonese Food". Also offered "Dining, Dancing, and Cocktails".
This location is now apparently Temple Liquor.
The Reef - Boise
Boise, Idaho, United States
Opened in 2004, the Reef is a tropical restaurant in downtown Boise, with Latin, Caribbean and Polynesian cuisines mixed together, and furnishings from Indonesia. The restaurant has a huge outdoor patio with lots of round thatched huts, a stage for live music, and at least one tiki. They also have several prints on the wall that celebrate tiki bartending history (one for Don the Beachcomber, one for Trader Vic, one for Ray Buhen, etc...). In addition to their house tiki mug which premiered several years ago and was an adaptation of an older Tiki Farm "Warrior" design by Squid, they sometimes have promotional tie-ins like the more recent Zafra Rum tiki mug available.
Whanga Rei Bar & Grill
Turlock, California, United States (Closed)
New Zealand Maori-inspired restaurant and bar, next door to the Best Western Orchard Inn just off of Highway 99, appealed to the early-20s set of Turlock. Whanga Rei featured an outdoor patio with a sand volleyball court and a mechanical bull, but there were tiki touches inside, with a few large carvings, and an interesting seating area with a wave overhead. Whanga Rei opened in July 2004 but, by mid-2005, it was converted to a sports bar, and the tikis were removed.
Waitiki - Orlando
Orlando, Florida, United States (Closed)
This was a two-story tiki bar and Polynesian restaurant in Orlando's Wall Street Plaza, owned by a developer who owned six other clubs in the complex.
Waitiki opened in August of 2004, and featured a downstairs bar made of antique ironwood, outdoor balconies, many wood carvings and teak flooring.
It was not an immersive tiki environment, but there was much artwork from modern-day tiki artists like Flounder, Joe & Donella Vitale and local tiki carver Wayne Coombs (Mai Tiki).
Tropical cocktails were available, and the food was a more modern take on Polynesian cuisine, with a focus on seafood.
Upstairs bar was the "Monkey Bar" with the expected theme reflected in the decor.
On December 26th, 2024, the bar re-opened as "Warped Pour". Anything tiki-related was gutted and the new interior is themed around the Vans Warped Tour traveling rock music festival.
Munktiki
Astoria, Oregon, United States
This listing is describing a physical location for the Munktiki business.
Munktiki is a father-son outfit that started in early 2000, and their specialty is crafting beautiful, high-quality tiki mugs. Paul Nielsen (the Dad) has been selling his ceramic crafts since he was in high school in the '60s; his son Miles "Stuckie" Nielsen has similarly been dabbling in clay since he was a child. Paul made his first tiki mug in 1997.
Most Munktiki mugs are of their own design; each mug has a character name on the back, and a number and date on the bottom. Many Munktiki mugs are fiercely collected limited editions, notably the "Shecky" mug based on the Tiki Central mascot designed by Tikifish.
There is also a Munktiki Imports line with their designs crafted in China and then imported to the United States. These are more commonly used with large wholesale orders. These are marked as such on the bottom and are less expensive than the pieces crafted in-house.
Additionally, there are non-tiki lines affiliated with Munktiki, including Münkstein and Yakimon.
Munktiki's original location was in Pacific Grove, California (near Monterey), at 561 Junipero Ave. In 2009, Munktiki moved to Portland, Oregon. In 2017, the business again moved to Astoria, Oregon.
Munktiki also owns and operates Dead Man's Isle, a tiki/nautical bar in Astoria that opened July 14th, 2022.
Munktiki items can be purchased through the Munktiki website, eBay, and a limited number of retailers.
Camelot Resort
Corbeil, Ontario, Canada (Closed)
Opened in 1974. Camelot Resort, with its unpromising name and remote location (four hours north of Toronto), unexpectedly featured some truly lush tiki theming. This small resort had just four self-contained suites in one large house, and was situated on the shores of Lake Nosbonsing. The suites were not themed, and the dining room was themed in a somewhat-medieval style (hence the Camelot moniker).
The attraction for the tikiphile was the indoor pool area, complete with a 5ft. moai waterfall, tiki bar with hanging rattan seats, waterslide, and all the appropriate clutter one would want in a proper tiki grotto. There was also a sauna and hot tub. The bar was not staffed and had no supplies -- it was a BYOB operation.
The resort was created by a now-deceased tikiphile, Dr. Agnew, a chiropractor. Dr. Agnew hired Skilbuilders, Ltd., a local company still in existence, to build the tiki area of the resort. Toward the end, the resort was run by Dr. Agnew's widow Doris, until she retired and re-located. The resort was left to her son and family who thereafter used it as a private residence.
Closed around 2005.
Tiki Tanning
Clive, Iowa, United States (Closed)
Opened in early February 2004.
Tiki Tanning was, as the name cannily suggests, a tanning salon.
It was located in the strip mall behind the Anglo building. Tiki had nine tanning beds and a high-pressure bed where you could tan in 12 minutes.
The owners were Wendy Burr and Jason Fielder. Wendy's mother, Ann Burr, was the manager.
Outrigger Restaurant - Whitsundays
Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia (Closed)
The Outrigger Restaurant was an older fine dining establishment on Hamilton Island, a small resort island between the Queensland coast and the Great Barrier Reef. The decor was Polynesian, but the food was described as Australian. It is not clear just how Polynesian the decor was, and if there were any tikis. However, at some point the restaurant was apparently converted into a multipurpose wedding and event reception area which it currently serves as -- at least as of 2021.
Kon-Tiki - Zihuatanejo
Playa la Ropa, Zihuatanejo, Mexico (Closed)
This long-lived restaurant was a local hangout, known mostly for its pizzas, which were available for local delivery.
Looks to have gone out of business around 2005 or so...
Tiki Lodge
Spokane, Washington, United States
Built in 1966 by architect Max Kevin.
This A-frame motel had a few changes in 2014 with new signage out front and the roof changed from blue to more of an orange (closer to its original color) by owner Tim Rice.
Rice said there was no intent to bring back the pool. Also, apparently, the rooms themselves were never Hawaiian themed, so beyond the structure itself, the sign, and the name, there is nothing more to see on the grounds -- no artwork or standing tikis.
This area has been somewhat depressed for several years, but has seen recent improvements.
It's not certain if there are more tiki upgrades in the Lodge's future, however. In May 2021 the signage was changed to a bland white and gray corporate logo with the only hint of tiki being the name...
Cacao Coffee House
Los Angeles, California, United States (Closed)
During the '90s and into the early 2000s, Cacao was a retro-themed coffee house decorated with a variety of kitschy items with a Hawaiian & tiki emphasis, combined with sci-fi. Cacao had a typical laid-back coffeehouse atmosphere, serving high-quality coffee beverages. Being a coffeehouse, there were no alcoholic beverages, and the food menu was limited. Cacao provided free wireless internet access, and periodically featured musicians and poetry nights.
Cacao was opened in 1990, but didn't get its sci-fi/tiki theme until new owners Bobby Green and Alastair Newbery took over in 1993. Bobby Green went on to own The Lucky Tiki in Mission Hills, and a thriving group of beautifully themed bars throughout the Los Angeles area. Jeremy Bell, a longtime Cacao patron, took over ownership of Cacao in 2000. Some time around the end of 2017 or in 2018 the name was changed to Good People Coffee Co.
Today, no tiki theming remains.
Bali-Hai - Las Condes, Chile
Las Condes, Chile
Bali Hai opened in 1980. The restaurant has a thatched roof, and is guarded by a row of five large moai at the entrance. Inside, the ceiling has cascades of strung shells, there are wood carvings representing Polynesia and also South and Central America, and a dramatic white coral wall is pegged with stone tikis. There is a floor show featuring dances from both Chile and the South Pacific.