Chow's is a Chinese restaurant that has been in operation since at least the 1960s, but underwent a Polynesian transformation in 1984, when the owner ordered everything out of an Orchids of Hawaii catalog. They once served drinks, but no longer do, though they may have some old Orchids of Hawaii mugs for sale. The room is lined with matting and tapa, with carved clubs and masks on the walls, and Orchids of Hawaii lamps. The food is standard Chinese buffet fare.

Coco Palms Resort was a resort hotel in Wailuā, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, that was noted for its Hollywood connections, Hawaiian-themed weddings, torch lightings, destruction by a hurricane, and long-standing land disputes. The resort includes or is near to culturally significant spots and the sites of some of most important legends and historical events for Native Hawaiians.

The land is ancient Hawaiian royal property that has been in dispute since 1866.

Lyle Guslander leased the site of Coco Palms from the Territory of Hawaii in 1952; the resort opened in early 1953 with 24 rooms. The hotel manager, Grace Buscher, took control of marketing the hotel as a Hawaiian-style getaway for tourists.

Coco Palms was the location of the famous outrigger canoe wedding scene from Elvis Presley's Blue Hawaii, released in 1961, the resort was also used in many other films, such as South Pacific, Pagan Love Song, and the TV series "Fantasy Island”.

The hotel made a big business out of Hawaiian-style weddings for decades. Buscher started a tradition, still in use at hotels throughout the islands, known at the hotel as the torch-lighting ceremony. Buscher also initiated a tree-planting ceremony to replenish the old coconut grove and honor individuals of note.

It was the world's most famous Polynesian resort until Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai on September 11, 1992. The Coco Palms was severely damaged by Iniki and the resort was left to decay for decades. The costly repairs and insurance issues left the Coco Palms officially closed with no announced plans to reopen.

In 2016, Honolulu developers GreeneWaters LLC formed a partnership, Coco Palms Hui LLC, to restore the resort. Their intent was to reopen Coco Palms "as part of Hyatt's Unbound Collection." However, in 2019 the project collapsed.

Dates uncertain, but open at least as early as 1968 and appears to have been open into the mid 1990s.

This was one in a chain that also included Chan's Hawaii Inn in Mahwah and Chan's Dragon Inn in Ridgefield.

Chan's Waikiki had three dining rooms and a bar‐lounge separated by bamboo dividers to maintain an intimate atmosphere. The Polynesian decor included island masks on red walls, some chunk resin swag lamps, artificial flowers, stuffed birds, a fountain and a fish pool, and a background of soft Hawaiian music.

Now home to Chakra Restaurant.

Soft opening on October 11th, 2022.

From Lime In The Coconut:

"Lime in the Coconut takes you to a place of salty air and sandy toes. Time slows down and the island vibe transports you someplace tropical. Enjoy casual island fare from Hawaii, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and the Caribbean. The menu, designed by executive chef Jeremy Galapon (formerly of the Bali Hai, San Diego), features fish, pork, chicken, tofu, and vegetable sandwiches, salads noodles, and snacks.

Vacation vibes begin with craft cocktails designed by Snake Oil Cocktail Co. and made with fresh, hand-pressed juices and the finest rums, tequilas, gins, and liqueurs. Mocktails are equally tasty and tropical for those choosing to forgo alcohol.

You don’t have to travel to escape."

Opened in 2018.

Pacific fusion restaurant and tiki bar on the Oregon Coast featuring daily cocktail specials.

Originally a food truck called A Taste of Hawaii (2014), four years later owners Christian and Natasha Jakobsen opened The Hukilau brick and mortar alongside Highway 101 in Florence, OR.

They have indoor and outdoor seating.

Opened in 1954, this short-lived establishment was technically at the very beginning of the tiki era, but from all accounts was still very much a pre-tiki Hawaiiana bamboo and surf bar/restaurant.

The interior was decorated with bamboo, rattan, and natural materials, with some large sheets of tapa on the walls as well. However, no actual carved tikis or tiki mugs.

The cocktail menu, shown below, is basically lifted from Don the Beachcomber's, including some of the graphics.

An advert from 1955 describes Steve Romer's Surf Rider as “Tops in Hawaiian entertainment featuring George Kainapau, the Golden Voice of Hawaii." Customers could also dance to the music of the in-house band called The Surf Riders.

The restaurant served Cantonese and American food, had private banquet rooms and a fashion show luncheon was held every Wednesday.

According to newspaper reports, the restaurant went into receivership in 1957.

This location is not to be confused with the Bakersfield Surf Rider, opened a few years later, which epitomizes the over-the-top decoration in the Golden Era of Tiki.

There were many unrelated restaurants that used this name over the years, and it is worthwhile to note that the name and what it evoked reaches back to the pre-tiki era.

*NOTE: This location at 137 S. Lake Avenue would eventually become home, four years later, to The Tahitian, which fully embraced the Golden Era vision of Tiki.

Today, with the area having gone through several construction remodelings, there is no sign of the original building. As of 2024, it appears to have been in what is now a parking lot area adjacent to Fidelity Investments.

Open from 1972-1987.

This Chinese/Polynesian restaurant had fake palms in the parking lot and plastic flowers, masks, straw huts and a miniature outrigger in the dimly lighted dining room. All lit by Orchids of Hawaii swag lamps.

The dinner menu had extensive offerings of exotic Polynesian potables and main dishes, along with several Cantonese specialties, a half‐dozen Mandarin delights and some standard American fare.

This Don the Beachcomber opened at the former Trade Winds around 1976 or so. It operated for a few years and closed in the late '70s. In later years, this location briefly became Coconut Joe's Warehouse and Hawaiian Cowboy, and the building was demolished in 1984.

Opened in 1998 by Gail Stringer.

A medium-sized store in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood, which seems to be targeting the homesick among Seattle's Hawaiian community. It's not unusual to hear the lilting tones of pidgin english spoken here. There is a food section, and leis can be ordered straight from Hawai'i. Tiki Farm mugs and other tiki and party supplies can be found here.

They also run a travel agency out of the store as well.

Opened in 1987.

Coconut Joe's is a fast casual restaurant with an elaborate build-out that tilts more towards a surfing theme, but does have quite a bit of Hawaiian and tiki decor.

Known for their fish & chips and mesquite grilled chicken and beef.

They also have a rental banquet hall at 4000 Easton Drive and do catering as well.

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.

Beachbum Burt’s (owned by Burt Hixson) opened in March 1974, staffed by nearly 100 employees clad in Hawaiian shirts.

Its menu featured barbecued short ribs, ginger chicken, shrimp, and a variety of other seafood, teriyaki beef dishes and a distinctive peanut sauce created on site.

Hixson was also the owner of The Warehouse.

This location was known for its open-air courtyard space in the middle.

In 1977, the restaurant added a second retractable roof to the restaurant’s large open-air bar area, this one made of fiberglass.

For entertainment, Hixson hired various performers in keeping with the restaurant’s laid-back atmosphere. At first, he shied away from harder rock bands, preferring mellower folk rock and jazz sounds. When he somewhat reluctantly hired the John Brown Band in the late 1970s, though, the popular local group began attracting a younger and more raucous clientele to the restaurant. Weekend nights and Sunday brunches drew large and spirited crowds to hear Brown, the rock band Legend and other performers.

Hixson’s restaurant kept serving for more than a decade. The date of its closure is inexact; the last mention in print seems to be from a Sept. 19, 1985, Los Angeles Times event calendar listing.

After Hixson closed it, the Beachbum Burt’s building eventually was leveled and replaced with a Cheesecake Factory restaurant, which currently operates at the site. It opened in June 1988.