Tiki Bars
Hukilau - San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States (Closed)
Hukilau was more modern-Hawaiian than retro-Poly Pop. They opened @ 2004 and closed in 2012.
There is another Hukilau in San Jose.
Aloha - Decatur
Decatur, Illinois, United States (Closed)
Aloha was a Hawaiian-Chinese restaurant that looked fairly old-school with some tiki masks and some lauhala matting.
Closed to dining permanently in mid May 2022.
Back Home in Lahaina
Carson, California, United States
Opened in 1998.
This restaurant serves Hawaiian style comfort food.
They do not serve tiki/tropical cocktails (beer & wine only) and the decor is minimal. They have some beach scene wallpaper murals and a small carved tiki at the front check-in stand which has a small thatched roof.
The focus is more on the food than the atmosphere, but the food appears to be very good and authentic Hawaiian style.
There was also a second version in Manhattan Beach, CA that ran from 2002-2013.
Hula Beach
San Clemente, California, United States (Closed)
Hula Beach was a store specializing in Hawaiian-style products and home furnishings. It closed in early 2010.
Zombie Hut - Sacramento
Sacramento, California, United States (Closed)
The Zombie Hut was a Hawaiian/Polynesian-themed restaurant, nightclub and Tiki bar located on Freeport Blvd. between Florin Road and Sutterville Road in Sacramento, California that originally opened in 1945 after the end of WWII and continuing for 45 years until its closing in 1990.
It was known for its dance entertainment, including the Samoan Fire Knife Dance and Slap Dance.
This location is now a strip mall.
Acqua Village Waterpark - Cecina
Cecina, Livorno, Italy
This is one of two Hawaiian-themed waterparks (Follonica and Cecina).
Aqua Village was founded in 2004 and in principle united the two parks Aqua Il Park in Cecina (from 1993) and Aqua Park in Follonica (from 1999).
Acqua Village Waterpark - Follonica
Follonica, Grosseto, Italy
This is one of two Hawaiian-themed waterparks (Follonica and Cecina).
Aqua Village was founded in 2004 and in principle united the two parks Aqua Il Park in Cecina (from 1993) and Aqua Park in Follonica (from 1999).
Malahini Motel - Whittier
Whittier, California, United States (Closed)
"Malahini" translates to "stranger" or "newcomer" in Hawaiian.
This 35-room-motel opened at least as early as 1969.
The motel is a 7 minute drive south of where Oceanic Arts used to be, so it is a good guess that the tikis shown in the postcard photo were acquired there.
By at least as early as 2011, the motel was converted to the "Friendly Hills Inn" and all previous signage and tiki decor was removed. However, the structure is still intact and remains much the same.
In 2019, the Whittier City Council passed a law that would force this motel and at least three others in the area to close in 20 years, by 2039.
Neighbors blame the small motels along this corridor for a proliferation of crime. So, the Friendly Hills Inn's days may be numbered...
Don The Beachcomber - at the International Market Place
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
The first incarnation of Don The Beachcomber's was across from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, at the Queen's Royal Gardens.
This first Don's lasted 10 years which is how long his original lease was for.
Don the Beachcomber moved to the International Market Place, a short distance away, around 1956, and this was on a new lease of 17 acres.
It was at Don the Beachcomber’s that Martin Denny got together with vibraphonist Arthur Lyman and bassist John Kramer to play jazz. The trio got a record contract in 1955, and bongo player Augie Colon joined the group the following year. Denny played at the International Market Place Don's on a regular basis.
This version of Don's had the famous Dagger Bar with walls covered in Don's collection of daggers he had picked up during his travels.
Adjacent was also Don's tree house, which was inspired by earlier tree houses that he had on his property in Encino, California.
This one was built on an existing large banyan tree on the property. This tree, planted in the mid-1800s by Henry and Eliza McFarlane served as the anchor point from which Donn lived and worked. It most popularly served as a private dining room which could be booked for up to 2 people to enjoy. For most of the week Donn hosted Tahitian performers below the treehouse and on Sundays he hosted a Luau which became a mainstay of the International Marketplace. As the years passed, Donn’s treehouse morphed into a radio studio, playing Hawaiian music live on the air eventually becoming a private office.
Today, Donn’s treehouse no longer exists however, a tribute treehouse has been built in its place to honor the history and legacy of Donn’s presence and impact on the landscape of Waikiki.
Duke Kahanamoku's moved into the Don The Beachcomber building at the International Marketplace on September 1, 1961 and Don moved to another nearby location, although this final location was named The Colonel's Plantation Beefsteak and Coffee House. This location burned in a fire in 1966, due to outdated and faulty wiring.
So, absent the original building, it is the tribute treehouse that remains as the most prominent feature on site today.
Don The Beachcomber's Final Resting Place
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Beach passed away in Honolulu, Hawaii, in June 1989, at the age of 81.
He is known for starting Don the Beachcomber during the 1930s in Hollywood, California, which was expanded to a chain of dozens of restaurants throughout the United States. He later built the International Market Place and additional establishments in what was then the Territory of Hawaii.
Beach is also generally credited with establishing the entire tiki drink genre. He created dozens of recipes such as the Zombie, the Cobra's Fang, Tahitian Rum Punch, Three Dots and a Dash, Navy Grog, and many others.
He was an Army colonel during WWII and is buried in buried in Section B Site 1-C of The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Don the Beachcomber - at The Queen's Royal Gardens
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States (Closed)
Ernest Beaumont-Gantt, who legally changed his name to "Donn Beach," opened this Waikiki version of his popular stateside restaurant chain in 1947 on Kalakaua Avenue after finishing his service in WWII. All other mainland Don the Beachcomber locations were actually owned by his ex-wife and business partner Sunny Lund, but this location was owned by Beach.
The designer, Paul Wimberly, built three main grass huts for Don, including The Crossroads Bazaar, The High Talking Chief's Hut, and The Tahitian Dining Hut -- all centered around the Queen's Royal Gardens.
This was across from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
This first Hawaii incarnation lasted 10 years which is how long his original lease was for.
Don the Beachcomber moved to the International Market Place, a short distance away, after it was built sometime in 1957, and this was on a new lease of 17 acres.
Duke Kahanamoku's moved into the Don The Beachcomber building at the International Marketplace at some point and Don moved to another nearby location (circa 1971), although this final location was named The Colonel's Plantation Beefsteak and Coffee House. This location burned in a fire in 1966, due to outdated and faulty wiring.
Don the Beachcomber - at the Royal Kona Resort
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States
Don the Beachcomber is located within the Royal Kona Resort, where it opened in 2005.
This location is not to be confused with the historic, long-gone Don the Beachcomber restaurants run by Donn Beach or his partner Sunny Sund, but rather was opened by someone who picked up the rights to the name here in the Hawaiian Islands. Mainland rights to the Don the Beachcomber name are currently held by the newer Don the Beachcomber chain (including Madeira Beach and others run by 23 Restaurant Services after they acquired the brand from Delia Snyder).
The bar and restaurant are open-air, overlooking the ocean, but sheltered by a large, round roof. The restaurant in particular is full of fantastic '70s-chic Tiki loveliness, thanks to architect George "Pete" Wimberly.
A vibraphonist can sometimes be found playing in the bar as the sun sets over the ocean.
Food is on the more upscale end of Kailua-Kona dining.
!!! Temporarily closed and scheduled to reopen on December 31, 2027. It appears the Don's Mai Tai Bar is still open, however.