Tiki Bars
Mai Tai Lounge - Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States (Closed)
Mai Tai Lounge, like Kona Kai, was in the O'Hare Marriott Hotel, and continued to operate for a short time after Kona Kai closed in 1998. It is now gone.
China Doll Restaurant
Harvey, Louisiana, United States
China Doll Restaurant is an older Chinese restaurant that has a few tiki touches, including several outstanding Orchids of Hawaii dodecahedron (12-faced) and beachcomber swag lamps.
They have a small selection of a dozen cocktails and serve some of them in tiki mugs. They also look to have an amazing Pu Pu Platter.
Kona Kai - Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States (Closed)
Opened @ 1973.
Located in the O'Hare Marriott, the Kona Kai had seating for 456 in the dining area, plus 127 in a multilevel cocktail lounge. Despite its size, the dining area was broken up in a way that achieved a warm and comfortable and relaxing air for diners, a mood set by a hospitable maitre d' and pretty hostesses. There was no feeling of being crowded.
Tables were well-spaced for privacy. South Sea Island props were in abundance -- hand carved outriggers, tiki gods, clam shell and fish float fixtures diffusing soft lighting, polished wood tables with straw mats, a high waterfall dripping down among artificial tropical trees and plants and foot bridges spanning streams of water.
The doors to the Kona Kai closed in 1998, but until 2011 it was still there. For a short time after 1998, the Mai Tai Lounge continued to operate, but it is now closed, too.
During its time in shuttered state, the Marriott periodically rented it out for events, such as the Exotica tour in 2003. In 2011, the room was finally repurposed, and the contents were purchased by The Banana Hut in Eureka, WA. The Banana Hut subsequently closed and put the interior decor up for sale -- much of which was originally sourced from Oceanic Arts.
This used to be part of a larger chain of Kona Kai restaurants, with other locations in Philadelphia and Kansas City.
Trader Vic's - at the Palmer House Hilton - Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States (Closed)
Opened March 26th, 1957.
Located in the lower level of the Palmer House Hilton. Was originally called "The Traders." New ownership at the Palmer House ousted Trader Vic's in December 2005 after nearly 50 years in its location.
After a three-year hiatus, Trader Vic's reopened in a new Chicago location in late 2008.
Trader Vic's - Cairo
Cairo, Egypt (Closed)
Opened in 2000 and closed in 2006.
This location was in the Sheraton Royal Gardens Hotel.
Smorgy's - Burwood
Burwood, Victoria, Australia (Closed)
Created by Eric Schwaiger, Smorgy's was a chain that was started in the mid 1980s, expanded in the 1990s with more elaborate build-outs, and closed in the early 2000s. The food was all-you-can-eat buffet style and the decor featured some animatronics and many had Disney-esque style volcano entrances or waterfalls surrounded by jungle style shrubbery.
Smorgy's - Bundoora
Bundoora, Victoria, Australia (Closed)
Created by Eric Schwaiger, Smorgy's was a chain that was started in the mid 1980s, expanded in the 1990s with more elaborate build-outs, and closed in the early 2000s. The food was all-you-can-eat buffet style and the decor featured some animatronics and many had Disney-esque style volcano entrances or waterfalls surrounded by jungle style shrubbery.
The remains of this Smorgy's location were destroyed in a fire on September 8, 2013.
Zombie Hut - Brooklyn
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Zombie Hut opened in Brooklyn in 2002.
It is a small neighborhood bar with tiki-lite decor, very dim lighting and an outdoor patio.
Among other decorations, they have an interior mural of the menu cover art from the now long-closed Zombie Village in Oakland, California.
They also have a selection of board games.
The bar is particularly well-known for serving strong, cheap tropical drinks. Lots of frozen slushy drinks, but they also do flaming scorpion bowls and other cocktails as well. Cash only.
Tropics Motor Hotel - Blythe
Blythe, California, United States (Closed)
The Tropics Motel in Blythe was built by Ken Kimes, and was a sister property to what is now the Caliente Tropics Resort in Palm Springs. This location had 60 units and a Sambo's restaurant adjacent to it.
Today, the hotel has been stripped of anything even remotely tiki, and became part of the bland Vagabond Inn chain, and was then re-branded several more times.
Jade Tiki
Bloomfield Township, Michigan, United States (Closed)
Jade Tiki opened in August 1977, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
By the 2000s, it had only a few tikis out front, and some tropical drinks served in tiki mugs.
This location closed in October 2011; the restaurant moved to another location in Utica, MI, but any traces of tiki (beyond the name) are now gone.
Trader Vic's - Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California, United States (Closed)
Opened August 11th, 1955.
This Trader Vic's was located in the Beverly Hilton and until 2004 was owned by Merv Griffin -- the hallway between the hotel and the restaurant was lined with blown-up black & white photos of Griffin with various celebrities from the 70s and 80s. It was originally called The Traders. Its location at the edge of Beverly Hills attracted some of the vintage set of celebrities.
The Beverly Hills Trader Vic's last day of business was on April 29, 2007. After 50-plus years of operation, this Los Angeles institution was closed, to make way for the development of a tower of condos or hotel rooms.
A few bits of the restaurant were moved to a bar near the pool area, which was called Trader Vic's Lounge, and served Trader Vic's drinks. However, Trader Vic's Lounge closed at the end of January 2017.
Trader Vic's - Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon (Closed)
This Trader Vic's location operated from 2000 to 2006. It was located in the Gefinor Rotana Hotel.