Owned by local restaurant moguls “Jake” and “Mama Jo” Tavenner, the Kahlua Hut was operated by Bernie Atkins and Bob McGeehan from spring 1967 until 1973.

Located in a former ice cream shop at Riggs Road and East-West Highway (built in 1955), its décor was “that of a South Pacific hut—thatched roofs, hurricane lights, can-like fixtures and, at least once a week, a hula band.” It seated up to 140 patrons, leaving floor space for seven-nights-a-week dancing. The Kahlua Hut’s pan-Asian and “continental” cuisine was initially prepared by Chef Yee M. Kiang. The restaurant staff fielded a team of duckpin bowlers competitive locally and nationally.

Featured on its drinks menu was the “Kahlua Tiki Tumbler,” offered in such a mug: “an exotic mixture of the finest rums and passion fruits, gin and vermouth.” For $2.15 total, the mug was yours to take.

After 1973, this location became The Outrigger, presumably with the same Pop Polynesian theme intact.

Today, as of 2023, this original 1955 building is still intact and house three businesses (Dry Cleaners, Bakery, and Pizza Bolis).

Thatch opened in northeast Portland in January 2007.

It featured a sunken bar, booths rescued from a nearby original Armet & Davis Denny's, lots of bamboo, and of course, thatch. Some of the tiki decor came from the nearby Jasmine Tree, which in turn got its decor from the Portland Kon-Tiki when it closed.

Thatch closed in late spring 2012, and reopened in late August 2012 under new ownership as Hale Pele.

Originally a 50-room hotel when it was built to greet the modern-era’s first visitors in 1965, island developers Elliott, Robert and Frank Mackle Jr. would go on to expand the property to 100 rooms in 1967.

By 1971 the brothers and their company, the Deltona Corp., spent a then-staggering sum of $18 million to further improve their beachfront showplace. A new 10-story tower — the first of two — 400 beautifully appointed rooms, much-needed convention space, and Quinn’s restaurant on the beach ushered in a new era for the Mackles and their fledgling island paradise.

Once opened, the hotel became the largest on Florida’s entire west coast. More than 400 employees were hired. Each and every guest enjoyed a Gulf view.

Marriott purchased the property in 1979 and soon built a second tower.

The work was not yet completed, however.

Beginning in 2016, Marriott began a 3-year and $320 million transformation project, to bring us what we currently see today (as of 2021) -- a completely modern and no expenses spared adults only resort.

This gulfside resort may not be Polynesian themed (despite the name of the new "Lanai" tower), but they do have a Kane Tiki Bar & Grill which serves cocktails in tiki mugs.

Opened around 1958.

The Hawaiian Room was in the Emerson Hotel, until the hotel was demolished in 1971.

The space in the hotel that housed the Hawaiian Room had previously been a rather posh barbershop.

Their logo on menus and other printed items was taken directly from Ren Clark's Polynesian Village -- the Milan Guanko Tiki.

Built in 1961, this is one of five Polynesian-themed Tropics motels once owned by Ken Kimes. The most elaborate of the chain was in Palm Springs, now called the Caliente Tropics Resort.

This motel was previously connected to the next door Tiki Cocktail Lounge. Further down was a Sambo's restaurant (which now houses Modesto Car Toys).

Most recently, the Tropics Motel has been renamed the Tiki Lodge. The pool area is fenced off and is opened seasonally only. The four tikis carved by Ed Crissman around the parking lot now have lighting on their chests/foreheads and solar powered batteries on their heads.

There is now a fence between the motel and the next door Tiki Cocktail Lounge which has separate owners and has branded itself as a gay bar.

Opened on August 25th, 1957 and closed due to fire on February 16th, 1959. Refurbished and re-opened in 1960 to run for 4 more years before being sold in 1964.

It was festooned with tiki idols, torches and artifacts, lots of palms and other exotic flora to frame diners enjoying authentic Polynesian cuisine. They even had a miniature volcano and waterfall built in the tropical garden, which also featured an ornate bridge.

The unusual Polynesian Kava and Tiki bowls in their old menu have fueled many expeditions for these "crypto mugs", and it is thought they must have been available for only a brief time as they are not shown in the later menu version.

In 1964 the Polynesian briefly became Jamaica West (a youth-oriented dancing and nightclub spot) for a year or so, and was then purchased by Hop Louie who re-opened it as Latitude 20 in 1966. Latitude 20 ran through 1980 before being sold to developers who decided to stray from the Polynesian theme and go Country. It was a Waco's and then a Calamity's before the structure was finally leveled in 1984.

The site is now a strip mall.

Opened January 29th, 2018.

Little Nickel is a neighborhood restaurant. The cuisine could best be described as "tropical diner"- a splash of coastal flair & spirited twists on mid-century American classics alongside thoughtful & funky cocktails.

The main bar definitely feels like a classic diner counter, but there are other mid-century and tropical nods. Tretchikoff's Green Lady hangs adjacent the bar. Palm leaf wallpaper abounds. The hanging lamps are made of cane/rattan materials. Repeated round brass mirrors have a nautical porthole vibe. Some seating areas are shaded by palapa thatched overhangs. What is missing are actual tiki carvings to truly make this a "Tiki Bar" and, without carvings or more tiki-themed art, the decor hovers ambiguously in the middle of "Diner" or "Fern Bar".

They do not attempt to call themselves a "Tiki Bar", but rather, call themselves a "Tropical Diner". But if you are in the area and looking for good tropical cocktails, this looks like it may be the spot!

Opened in November 2023, next to the Orinda Theatre. The bar is the brainchild of the cinema’s manager, Derek Zemrak, who previously managed a wine bar in the Boo Loo Lounge’s location. The wine bar had been closed since the COVID-19 outbreak, during which time Zemrak received a full liquor license from the county and decided to rethink the potential of the intimate space.

The venue is small; there’s room for just over 20 inside with additional seating on the patio.

Decor is dark and classic tiki with heavy nods to Pirate and Creature from the Black Lagoon themes as well.

Boo Loo’s GM is Maxton Kennedy (Tiki Tolteca, Kon-Tiki, Forbidden Island), and reports so far are that the drinks are top notch.

Opened May 20th, 2021.

This modern interior may look a bit spartan next to old school Trader Vic's style venues with their intensely layered and darkened interiors packed with carvings and artwork. Instead, the Ark Royal has lots of white wall space behind the bar and another brick wall painted in white as well -- both reflecting light from high-ceilinged windows in the day time.

However, at night, with swag lamps and other ambient lighting, the interior is moodier, and if it is available, one can always retreat to their "Taboo Room" with its couches, swag carpet, and lauhala matting on the ceiling for a more intimate visit.

The Ark Royal's Mission Statement:

"The Ark Royal is a modern Tiki lounge in Downtown Raleigh, though our name comes from an old ship commissioned in 1586 by Sir Walter Raleigh.

Raleigh, the man, was a scholar, an explorer, and truthfully, he was a pirate. Much of his later life was spent hunting for the fabled City of Gold; El Dorado.

Raleigh theorized, studied, searched and struggled to that mythical city, though the poor bastard was beheaded by King James before he could discover it.

Our lounge is not an ode to Sir Walter Raleigh, rather it is an ode to exploration, adventure and discovery. Our exotic cocktails feature ingredients from many cultures from many regions around the world. This blend of spices, spirits, sweeteners and liqueurs offers fascinating insight into a whole world of history, tradition and flavor.

The style of cocktails we offer are known as Tiki, but originally, they were known as exotic drinks, or as Don the Beachcomber called them; 'Rhum Rhapsodies.'

Tiki is exploration. It is adventure. It is discovery. It is The Ark Royal."

Built in 1964.

Not to be confused with the Exotic Isle Apartments in Paramount, California at 8600 Rosecrans Avenue that were built in 1963.

This Alhambra location was lush and populated with tiki carvings, tropical plantings, and water features in its heyday.

The carvings became overgrown and were removed and the name was eventually changed to Jade Gardens, but the A-frame and basic architecture of the site remains intact.

Older photos of this location can be found in Sven Kirsten's Book of Tiki (page 220).

Open at least as early as 1967 but might have been built earlier, closer to 1960.

This huge A-Frame store carried all sorts of exotic goods, including gifts, sportswear, and gourmet food from all over the globe.

It had a statue of the trader himself on the roofline below the peak of the A-frame.

Mentioned in the book, Tiki Pop, by Sven Kirsten -- page 102 -- as having multiple locations. One other location, perhaps the best recognized, was in Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

This restaurant offered Polynesian and Chinese food.

The decor, from postcards, shows they used tons of bamboo and natural materials, and that one entire wall was devoted to a Chinese dragon mural.

The ceiling was a framework of bamboo poles with pufferfish lights and other hangings.

Tiki table lanterns and a ton of flower leis were used to decorate the walls.

The decor was low on actual tiki carvings, although it looks as though they had some tiki poles at the front lobby entrance when visitors entered.

As of 2022, this site is home to Design Memorial Stone, a cemetery stone engraving service.