Like many popular nightspots of the day, Leon and Eddie's began as a speakeasy. In its case it started in 1928, in the basement of a converted house at 18 West 52nd (for a $700 investment) and could take as many as 30 customers at a time.

They later moved across the street to 33 W. 52nd after the end of Prohibition in 1933. Their new quarters had a retractable roof, rising stage and room for 475 customers. This retractable roof allowed air flow in a time before air conditioning was common. Like many places that became sweltering hot in the summer, they advertised a "Summer Garden" with open air flow from the roof that made dancing a possibility without everyone fainting from heat exhaustion. It was this Summer Garden that offered a pre-tiki atmosphere complete with (fake) swaying coconut palms. Advertising materials also featured dancing girls made up like hula dancers -- offering the exotic veneer to their otherwise normal bump and grind burlesque.

One of the most famous burlesque performers to perform there was Sherry Britton, who performed regularly for at least 7 years.

Leon & Eddie's was one of the more reputable spots on this block known for hot jazz, strippers and mob-run clip joints. Unlike its fabled neighbor '21', Leon and Eddies did not cultivate celebrities and socialites through a policy of exclusivity. This was a rowdy joint patronized by local businessmen and out-of-towners who enjoyed the bawdy humor, singalongs, vaudeville-like revue and strippers the club featured. It was very well-known, being frequently mentioned in the press or in magazines.

The sign out front of the club said "Leon and Eddie" without the apostrophe s. Another sign at the door was a takeoff on the famous Earl Carroll slogan and read "Through these portals, the most beautiful girls in the world pass out!" A sign posted over the swinging kitchen doors stated “Through these portals pass the most beautiful waiters in the world!" The walls were covered with tongue-in-cheek murals. On either end of the back wall, Leon Enkin and Eddie Davis thumbed their noses at each other in caricature. The gravel-voiced Davis was the face of the place and frequently performed his repertoire of risque songs.

The club did not last long into the postwar period. Leon and Eddie dissolved their partnership in 1947. Charlie Davis kept it going until his retirement in 1953 when Toots Shor, who had been day manager, and some say part-time bouncer, at Leon and Eddie's in its early years, opened a restaurant at the site.

Opened January 21st, 2023.

Owner Michael Richardson is a longtime tiki bartender and co-author of the Frankie's Tiki Room (Las Vegas) cocktail book, “Liquid Vacation.” Chef Mike Lutz helms the kitchen, serving Hawaiian-inspired dishes.

Interior design was done by Bamboo Ben.

April 19th, 2025, the building was sold and rumors about the bar closing spread quickly. Still waiting on the final word to see if this bar will continue or shutter its doors for good.

Opened July 1st, 2022.

This is not what anyone would describe as your usual tiki bar.

The owners (Lexi Healy and Veronica Ramos) opened Hell or High Water Tiki a mere six months after opening their first bar (The Electric Cure in Edgewater, CO).

Lexi describes it as, "A gay pirate ship meets Land of the Lost with phallic and bird undertones."

You won't find any traditional tiki totems, however. "We don't do any tiki totems because we don't want to step on any other culture's toes, so we don't have masks and we don't have tiki mugs that are totems," Healy explains. "There are people in the tiki community that say if you don't have masks or totems, you're not tiki."

In response, Healy has commissioned a Las Vegas artist to make a "five-foot dick totem" for the new bar. "It's as tall as me," she notes.

The Reef Hotel was built in 1967.

Davy Jones Locker was a unique nautical lounge beneath the Reef Hotel on the beach at Waikiki. It had a pool view window of those swimming in the Reef Hotel pool.

Since 2007, with the creation of the Waikiki Beach Walk, this entire area has been redeveloped and the Reef is now known as The Outrigger Reef Waikiki beach resort.

The Davy Jones Locker bar is completely gone and remodeled, including pool viewing area.

Built in 1957, Coffee Dan's was designed by Architect William Krisel of the firm Palmer and Krisel.

Coffee Dan's was a chain located throughout Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

This location was special, though, because of its architecture and the inclusion of the Outrigger Room bar.

Today, as of 2023, the entire corner has been re-built and this location houses a Subway Sandwich shop.

This apartment community was built in 1957 and has 2 stories with 159 units.

The lush 10 acre estate in the heart of Sherman Oaks has 120 Palm Trees, Fountains, an 18 Hole Par 3 Golf Course, a recording studio, Health Spa, 4 Pools, Tennis Courts Singles, 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartment Homes Plus 15 Individual Family Homes.

They also have a party/banquet room, the Aloha Room, which can be rented for special events. The Aloha Room Rental Office can be reached at (818) 995-6827.

NOTE:

• First black & white photo is dated April 12, 1963 and is of Horace Heidt, owner-developer of the Magnolia Estates and new Hawaiian Village apartments and homes in Van Nuys showing actress Joan Huntington the entrance to his colorful new apartment complex.
• Fourth image attribution: Adsausage Archives - https://www.adsausage.com

Opened December 23rd, 2022.

Pōā Tiki Bar claims to be the first permanent bar in Ottawa to have a tropical Hawaiian atmosphere.

The entire space is filled with tiki and pirate-themed decor - with nautical ropes and flotsam & jetsam hanging from the ceiling -- all artfully lit with colored lighting.

Their cocktail menu features some unorthodox creations of their own and some unusual serving vessels, including their "Shokin Pirate" which is served in a clear glass bong with dry ice to provide a smoke effect in the chamber.

Located in the Royal Towers Motor Hotel in British Columbia, The Tapa Room was part of a rather impressive building. The hotel was constructed for $3,000,000 in 1961 and made quite the splash in Vancouver. The Royal Towers featured Canada’s first outdoor glass elevator, unparalleled views, a second floor pool, and huge convention space. It consisted of 8 stories with 135 suites.

The Tapa Room was a replica of an outdoor Tahitian courtyard, with an illuminated waterfall, palm trees and other tropicals, thatched roof caves, hand-carved tiki masks, and a ceiling painted like the sky with twinkling stars.

The hotel later became private residences in 2010 and underwent a complete renovation.

Open from around 1962 (or '63) to at least 1980.

It was housed in the former Haslett Warehouse, now known as 66 Franklin, which was originally constructed in 1926 for the Lawrence Company.

Around 1961 it became home to the Mikado restaurant on the ground floor, and a special glass elevator took guests up to the Castaway which opened in 1962-63, a Polynesian-theme restaurant in a new penthouse that was constructed on the roof.

Later the Castaway venue became home to the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant.

The Warehouse was again remodeled in 2006 to restore the appearance closer to the original design. It is now home to Forge Pizza and other restaurants on the ground floor.

This Castaway location had a sister restaurant at The Castaway - San Mateo - at Coyote Point Recreation Area.

Opened in December 2021.

Red Dwarf is owned and operated by Russell Gardner.

This is not a traditional tiki bar, but might be described as a punk rock dive bar with a splash of tiki, and an elevated beer list, that serves Detroit-style pizza.

It has a wall of vintage concert posters and an elevated stage that hosts live music—everything from blues and ska to soul and garage rock—and doubles as a makeshift living room with a couch and mismatched chairs.

A large wraparound bartop is full of angles to encourage conversation. Netting overhead holds fish floats, flotsam, and jetsam.

There is a side cubby that feels more "Tiki" than the rest of the space, but there are still scattered tiki touches throughout the entire area.

They have about a hundred rums and a short list of funky cocktails, including a few mashups on traditional tiki classics. See menu below.

The craft beer list rotates regularly. The one constant is the Dwarf Piss, a $4 house lager brewed in partnership with Astronomy Aleworks.

The bar's excellent Detroit-style pizza is made with an airy, chewy dough that's pan-proofed and fermented in-house for up to 72 hours.

They do have some branded mugs, some of which are standards by Tiki Farm, but they also have a mascot mug of the red devil (red dwarf?).

Opened in 1951 by George Lim and Joe Ho.

The Los Angeles Times gives several accounts of Kowloon in the 1960s. Joan Winchell and Lois Dwan wrote articles or snippets about different aspects of the popular Cantonese restaurant. The restaurant’s impact was clear, and impressive to many. Joan Winchell praised the restaurant for its reputation and appearance and suggests Kowloon is the best Cantonese food in California. Lois Dwan explains the origins of George Lim’s restaurant, and how he originally understood French cooking and went to China to learn Cantonese cuisine. Dwan explains how Lim originally owned Normandie but decided that French cuisine was not what he wanted to pursue in life.

Much of their background is, indeed, covered in their quite voluminous menus (almost like scrapbooks), which included newspaper clippings and certificates celebrating their time with the restaurant.

The restaurant also had an extensive tiki cocktail menu and offered a prix fixe "South Seas Supper" dinner menu that was served each evening from 10PM to close.

Appears to have lasted into the 1970s.

Opened in 2018, although the dance company was established several years before.

Polynesian Fire Luau is primarily a Luau Dinner Show that is held multiple times a week but they also have a tiki bar in their location.

Their team performed the Luau show at the Hawaiian Inn for 5 years and finally moved in to their own location in 2018. They also have a Luau show in Myrtle Beach.