Tiki Bars
Tiki & Co.
Kralendijk, Caribbean Netherlands (Closed)
Opened in 2020.
Offers tropical drinks and food with a Creole twist.
From their site:
"Sir Eddy Trenidad is an island man. Last year he returned to Bonaire, where he grew up, to open a brand new cocktail bar: Tiki & Co. An unforeseen but exciting adventure that allows the ‘master of tailor-made drinks’ to pursue his ultimate goal, enter the top 100 best bars in the world, and educate a new generation of bartenders."
Closed @ 2023.
Tiki Motel - Vernal
Vernal, Utah, United States (Closed)
Opened in 1964.
Tom Snyder, owner, renamed this motel, formerly known as The Rest Haven. He installed the "Tiki Motel" sign.
Later postcards attribute ownership to Wilford and Glenna Adams.
In addition to the sign was a large (probably concrete) moai head resembling a decanter that was created by M. H. Strikow for Kahlua liqueurs.
Today there is no sign of anything tiki related.
It appears the original structure was razed and re-built around 1980 as an Econo Lodge.
Most recently, @2021, it was re-branded as the Patriot Stay Motel.
Tiki Chick
New York, New York, United States
Opened in January 2020.
This is a very sparsely decorated location without the large carvings and layers that you would expect from old school locations like Trader Vics. They do have some jungle monkey and hula girl wallpapered accent walls, some rattan furniture, and a few rattan ceiling fans. However, the peach-painted exterior, poured concrete bartop, and simple white globe lights in the front windows could call to mind any of hundreds of other differently themed gastropubs around the country.
Drinks are served in appropriate glassware or in generic tiki mugs and their drink menu offers an equal distribution of classics, signature cocktails, and machine-blended slushie drinks. They also have an extensive catalogue of rums and other spirits.
Their food menu offers fried chicken sandwiches, spam, and hots dogs among other things.
By all accounts their food and drinks are on point (and although the Pickle Painkiller is questionable, the restaurant's owner is Jacob Hadjigeorgis, the man behind Upper West Side’s wildly popular southern comfort food restaurant Jacob’s Pickles, so it gets a pass). Despite the interior theming leaving a bit to be desired, it's still a very pleasant place to spend an hour or two in the city.
Tiki Docks - St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
Opened July 28th, 2020.
Tiki Docks Bar and Grill has three locations currently: Riverview, Port Orange, and St. Petersburg, FL.
This St. Petersburg location is a 5,000-square-foot spot and includes an indoor dining area with retractable doors leading out to a large outdoor space that consists of two sprawling patios and a bar overlooking the marina.
Tiki Docks - Riverview
Riverview, Florida, United States
Opened September 10, 2020.
Tiki Docks Bar and Grill has three locations currently: Riverview, Port Orange, and St. Petersburg, FL.
The Riverview location is 15,000 square feet and has tiki murals on the exterior. The interior is a huge open space with blue painted support beams and blue floors, a large central bar with lots of televisions stacked upwards, and several Bosko carved masks behind the host area in front. The bathroom hall features a mural of an octopus that extends into both the men's and women's restrooms.
Tiki House Key West
Key West, Florida, United States
Opened in August 2017 in the location formerly occupied by Rumor lounge.
This two-story white-painted structure may resemble a large fraternity house made over for a luau weekend on the outside, with its brightly painted tiki masks and Corona beer ads and banners/pennants strung across the balconies, but on the inside they appear to have something for everyone.
The bar offers classic and house cocktails in tiki mugs. They also have two full pages in their menu devoted to rum tasting notes on their large selection should you prefer to sip your spirits neat.
Additionally, they have a large selection of vodka, tequila, and beers on tap.
Tiki Hotel -- Surfers Paradise
Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Originally named Tiki Village, the Tiki Hotel is an iconic Apartment Hotel located on the banks of the Nerang River at the end of Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise, Australia.
Built by Bernie Elsey (around 1965), who also built the Surfrider Hotel and the Surfers Paradise Beachcomber. Bernie's in-house entertainments were legendary. The pyjama parties and Hawaiian nights pushed the edges of the law, filling national papers with copy and his establishments with patrons. He also famously introduced the Surfers Paradise Meter Maids, clad in gold bikinis and armed with sixpences employed to rescue motorists from expired parking meters. They became internationally famous and still operate, nearly fifty years later.
Tiki Village was the first purpose built Timeshare Resort in Australasia and ran as such from 1982 until December 2018 when it was relaunched as a Full Service Hotel and renamed the Tiki Hotel Surfers Paradise.
Tiki Bar - Grau i Platja
Grau i Platja, Spain
Opened in 2010, this is a tiki-themed bar and nightclub in Gandia, Spain.
Tiki Rock - Boston
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Opened January 2018.
“Tiki’s all about escapism,” says owner and general manager Christopher Straub. “We really want people to feel like, when they come in the door, this is a portal to a new world.”
Inside the dining room, there are bright blue vinyl-seated rattan bar stools and orange-tufted vinyl banquettes, hand-painted scenes by Boston artist Joanna Ciampa, tiki masks on the walls, and a wall of scallop shells—culled by Straub’s mother in Chatham—near the restrooms.
One lounge area features several Design Toscano tiki head tables (one of which is a design based on the signature tiki from the Crown Plaza/Hanalei Hotel in San Diego, California).
The kitchen serves Polynesian-inspired food like sushi, Crab Rangoon, and barbecue skewers, with classic and proprietary tiki cocktails made with fresh juices, homemade syrups and eccentric garnishes.
Live music acts play here on occasion.
Tiki Motel - Tucson
Tucson, Arizona, United States (Closed)
This simplified 20-unit pueblo deco complex opened in 1947 and featured exposed red brick buildings and attached carports. The original art deco sign was discarded in the mid-20th century when the property was renamed the Tiki Motel. It was replaced with a sign in the shape of a Polynesian war shield and mask outlined with neon.
In the years since its heyday, the front pool was filled in with dirt and fenced off. The red brick was covered in stucco and most of the side windows covered over (many fitted with window a/c), leaving only the front and back windows for each unit. Industrial spike-out fencing lined the exterior and only a couple of palms were left.
Although the exterior paint on the buildings and the roofs had been maintained and it presented as a maintained motel, reviews warned that the low daily room prices attracted an unsavory clientele.
As of February 2021 the motel was listed for sale on loop.net for $900K.
The sign was the only thing tiki about this otherwise dated and bottom-tier motel. However, in November 2021, the Tiki Motel sign came down and was donated to Tucson Historic Preservation, thus ending this site's current interest to tikiphiles, but preserving the history.
Tiki Beat Bar & Club
Regensburg, Germany
Opened in 2013.
The venue has a raised stage at the back and is known for its live music. The large main room can have tables and chairs moved to easily accommodate a large crowd.
Each tiki flanking the main bar weighs an estimated 500 kilograms and was specially designed for the occasion by the Regensburg Tiki artist Kai Sarnes (alias Haikai). This artist friend is also responsible for their house tiki mugs.