The Chi Chi opened in 1936 as the Desert Grill. Eventually, Jack Freeman sold his financial interest in the profitable eatery to his business partner, Irwin Schuman, who revamped it as a fancy Polynesian-style restaurant and bar.

Schuman christened his new venture Chi Chi Grill Cocktail Lounge in 1938 — inspired by an exotic portrait of a topless Hawaiian girl painted by Edgar Leeteg he’d seen in an art gallery on a trip to Honolulu.

Credit for the club’s name also has been attributed to Palm Springs artist Jack Church, who reportedly dubbed the painting “the Chi Chi girl” because of her sexy expression. For good luck, Schuman displayed a copy of Leeteg’s portrait, Hina Rapa, on the wall of his cocktail lounge. Onlookers found the image of the smiling native girl so captivating that Schuman blithely had it reprinted on cocktail napkins, dishware, glasses, matchbooks, swizzle sticks, menus, and playing cards. These dinner-table items quickly became prized souvenirs.

“I did not give Chi Chi permission to use my Hina Rapa to reproduce in any way,” complained Leeteg in an angry letter from his home in Tahiti. “The least they could do is to give me a credit line, but that is too much to expect from a Hollywood gin mill.”

The unexpected controversy helped publicize the tropical-themed restaurant; and Schuman opened a second Chi Chi bar in 1946 on Santa Catalina Island. More locations followed in Riverside, Hollywood, Long Beach, and San Diego.

The media described this giant supper club as “The second biggest nightclub west of the Mississippi,” where some of the brightest names in showbiz gathered for more than 25 years.

Practically any New York and Las Vegas headliner that ever took a bow performed at the Chi Chi in its heyday: song and dance pioneers such as Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker, Rudy Vallee, the Ritz Brothers, Lena Horne, and Mickey Rooney, along with virtuoso performers such as Tony Martin, Jane Russell, Hoagy Carmichael, Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mathis, and Peggy Lee.

The Chi Chi lasted until 1977 when it was torn down and replaced by The Desert Fashion Plaza.

Port O' Three was a very short-lived restaurant that lasted only a couple of years. It opened in 1971. The facility was big, seating approximately 500 people and with 140 workers/crew with 3 different themed dining rooms...a Polynesian Room, Japanese Room and a Ship/Nautical Room that had a 19th century schooner ship inside. The Ship Room was designed to give the feeling of being on a top deck of a sailing vessel. In-between the main dining rooms was a tiki bar with hand painted (black light) murals on the walls. The property, a site of the former landmark, Devon Gables, was acquired by Marvin Chin, (CHIN TIKI) Dr. Walter Thom, and Rourke Haas in May of 1971 and they re-opened it as Port O' Three in September of that same year. Since Marvin Chin, owner of the Chin Tiki, was also co-owner of Port O' Three, its menu, swizzles, and signage used many of the same graphics (and same drink list) as the Chin Tiki.

Opened in June 2019 right next to the Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay. This small bar and grill offers great views as well as food and drinks.

Canlis Charcoal Broiler Restaurant was opened in 1954 by owner Peter Canlis and architect George Pete Wimberly. It is known for its high-end architectural and interior design as well as the kimono-clad waitresses. It also had a large 15' tiki in the main banquet hall whose design is repeated on their logo menu art. This tiki was carved by Edward "Mick" Brownlee (a non native who was also acknowledged as a master woodcarver and became known as the "Waikiki Wood Carver". Brownlee also carved for The Waikikian, The Tahitian Lanai, The International Marketplace and the Aku Aku in Las Vegas. His story is documented in the book, Waikiki Tiki, by Phillip S. Roberts. A second Canlis' Restaurant was later opened in Seattle, Washington. The original Canlis' was razed in 1998.

This location opened in 1959 as a tiki themed coffee shop belonging to the Spencecliff Corporation which owned many classic tiki themed unique architectural sites. Today it is Flamingo. There were at least two other Tops locations, one in Waikiki and one in Waipahu.

From their website: "Black Hat bar is a Caribbean pub with tropical cocktails by Dima Sokolov, island cuisine and an oceanfront hut interior. 100 kinds of rum!" They have a tiki mascot for their logo and use tiki mugs, but many of them are the pop culture variety. There appears to be at least one large tiki carving in the main bar area. Most of the decor is beach shack style with a little bit of pub thrown in. This bar appears to have inherited the Aloha Bar Facebook page, as all the most recent posts from that now closed venue are directing traffic to Black Hat.

The renovated B Ocean resort hotel was built in 1956 and was originally known as the Yankee Clipper. Under new ownership, it has some new additions, like the Naked Crab restaurant on one end of the lobby. But across from the restaurant, the Wreck Bar remains pretty much unchanged. With its nautical flair, stained glass and rope elements, it's fashioned to look like a Spanish Galleon ship that didn't make it quite to shore -- hence the name.

Although technically a nautical bar and not a tiki bar, The Wreck does incorporate some Indonesian style tiki masks in its main room.

Above the bar, six large portholes offer views into one of the retro hotel's swimming pools. From 1956 until 1965, the Yankee Clipper hosted swim shows, incorporating the portholes.

Marina Anderson started MeduSirena (an underwater spectacle featuring a team of figure swimmers, the Aquaticats) at Wreck Bar in 2006 as an homage to that past.

Marina herself, became a headlining personality at many tiki events and the Wreck Bar became almost synonymous with her and the Aquaticats -- at least until May 2024 when the bar suddenly fired her and her group (16 mermaids & mermen) after 18 years of entertainment -- replacing them with a separate mermaid group.

Opened in February of 2018.

From their website:

"Hades Hula House is Adelaide's Premier tiki bar and restaurant. Exotic flavours and liquid libations await those who dare!

Owned by entrepreneur and powerhouse Abby Roennfeldt 'Just Abby', Hades Hula House was birthed to life from her love of tiki culture and good drinks. Never one to shy away from the limelight Abby and her team of hospitality guns have been pushing this small bar from strength to strength. This beachside hideout boasts impressive breakfast and dinner menus, as well as an in-house cocktail list featuring over 20 boutique classic and modern takes on tiki, with some Hades exclusives thrown in.

From the decor to the drinks, meals, music, and service, this slice of new-built history has something for everyone. People come to Hades to get away. If only for a few hours they can be anywhere their Polynesian dreams desire. The bar is warm and littered with palm trees, carvings, bamboo and vintage trinkets."

*NOTE: This location for Hades Hula House closed its doors for good on Saturday May 28th, 2022. They re-opened on Friday, August 12, 2022 with an opening luau at their new home at 128 Hindley Street, Adelaide 5000.

From their website:

"The team that brought us Pagan Idol was inspired to create another tiki bar - one that would pay honor and homage to the late, great Skipper Kent and his dream of a place where his guests would enjoy wonderful drinks and receive extraordinary island hospitality. In 2019, The Zombie Village opened in San Francisco's Tenderloin District shocking those who couldn't believe that the Bay Area would come to have another tiki bar, and delighting everyone who has walked through its doors.

The bar's design not only includes tiki elements reminiscent of the South Pacific, but it also celebrates the spirit of the Caribbean, a region synonymous with fine rums and hospitable, fun-lovin people. A team of renowned tiki artists was assembled in order to create a real, authentic tropical paradise. Ivan Mora, Bamboo Ben Bassham, Crazy Al Evans, Woody Miller, Bosko Hrnjak, and Mikel "MP" Parton all contributed custom works for the bar. The beverage program, designed by Doc Parks, boasts an array of exotic flavors and unique spirit blends. It takes inspiration from Skipper Kent's Zombie Village cocktail menu and includes drink names originated by the Skipper himself."

Strong Water Anaheim is a tropical, nautical bar with Asian inspired food and a small hidden room full of wonder based on the mid-1800s mysterious shipwreck of the vessel Clementine. Brought to you by the owners of Blind Rabbit, this Packing House-adjacent bar has a whole back bar dedicated just to gin and also serves up tropical libations and Asian-Hawaiian inspired appetizers and entrees. It does have some tikis throughout, a fountain shaped like a giant moss-covered skull, and a tiki mug cabinet with several shelves of mugs -- vintage and from other establishments and events.

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.

Dallas's newest Tiki bar had their grand opening November 4th, 2020.

From their website:

"Swizzle has been bringing Tiki cocktails and a welcomed escape from the ordinary since 2016.

We're proud to be the producers of Dallas Tiki Week, the artist showcase The Waipuna Tiki Flea, and other Pop-Ups around DFW.

Now with our own establishment on Greenville Ave, we are ready to serve up unique culinary offerings and complex libations.

Why can't we live in a world where mermaids exist and volcanos have rum at the bottom of them?

At Swizzle, you can."