The Polynesian Lounge opened in 1990, as a newly themed bar for the New Chinatown Restaurant. It was owned by Freddie and Jane Baker. Freddie "Kekaulike" Baker was born in Hawaii and moved to the mainland in 1949, he was an extra in Hollywood for some time, before forming a band. His band played hapa haole and other Polynesian-tinged tunes all over the country, including the Aku Aku in Las Vegas. He started headlining at the Tiki Kai Supper Club in the '60s, where he met Jane. The couple performed at the lounge regularly, along with a hula dancing friend, Evalani.

The New Chinatown was co-owned by the Ong family, and opened circa 1976. The restaurant was built using hundreds of green tiles which were brought over from China and are much coveted today (but these tiles were destroyed when the site was later leveled). When first opened, it advertised a Pagoda Bar and Kung-Pei Cocktail Lounge (one or both of these was probably coverted over to the "Polynesian Lounge"). It sat 400 people and they touted it as the finest Chinese restaurant in the Southwest.

When the New Chinatown Restaurant changed hands in 2003, the Polynesian Lounge was also sold, and the new owners turned it into a non-tiki, cabaret joint, and re-branded the restaurant as Mr K's Oriental Restaurant & Bar.

That was short-lived. This site has been re-developed (some time prior to 2015) and is now home to Labor Finders and Albuquerque Distilling (as of 2022) on the footprint of where the New Chinatown Restaurant used to be.

The Aku-Tiki Room was in the Andris Waunee Farm Restaurant, in a remote area just off Rural Route 2. Glen Andris purchased the farm in 1953, but didn't add on the tiki room until 1967 - inspired not by a trip to Hawaii, but instead by winter trips to Acapulco, and time spent in the Aku-Tiki restaurant there. The room was expanded in 1984.

It closed in January 2008, and there was an auction of the remains in June 2008.

Before becoming Honolulu Harry's Waikiki, this location was the Barrel O' Fun Tavern, John Dillinger's favorite hangout.

From its opening in 1949 (putting it squarely in the pre-tiki category), Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki provided “entertainment direct from Hawaii” and “dancing under Hawaiian skies.”

By 1959, its owner escalated the restaurant to an “authentic Hawaiian theatre restaurant.” Souvenir photos dated as late as 1960 have popped up (see below).

It stood on the corner of Clarendon and Wilson in uptown Chicago. “There were fresh pineapples on the tables, paper leis and ti leaves hanging all around”.

It appears in later years before it closed that the name might have just been shortened to "Club Waikiki". Matchbooks with the same address point in that direction. Alternately, it's possible this club was just a section of the larger complex like Don the Beachcomber's had its Dagger Bar, for instance.

Today, the site is home to The Covington Luxury Apartments, which were built in 1965, so Harry's must have closed some time between 1960 and 1965.

China Doll Restaurant is an older Chinese restaurant that has a few tiki touches, including several outstanding Orchids of Hawaii dodecahedron (12-faced) and beachcomber swag lamps.

They have a small selection of a dozen cocktails and serve some of them in tiki mugs. They also look to have an amazing Pu Pu Platter.

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.

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.

Hawaiian Paradise was a pre-tiki venue that opened at 7566 Melrose Avenue on April 7, 1937. The owners were Bill Calhoun, George Mason and Lorena “Rena” Rogers. Rogers was an ex-actress and, from 1916 to 1941, wife of actor-turned-director Frank Borzage. After giving up acting, Rena took many trips to Hawaii, and back in Hollywood would throw huge Polynesian-themed parties with singers and hula dancers to entertain.

The restaurant served both Continental and "Island" cuisine. As of 1937, they also boasted a new all-glass roof for "year round starlight dancing".

Hawaiian Paradise celebrated its 1-year anniversary on April 7, 1938. Later that year, Mason was out; Rena and Bill Calhoun remained owners. By 1939 Calhoun alone was the face of Hawaiian Paradise, now known as “Hawaiian Paradise Isle.” In February 1940, it became the Hawaiian Paradise Ballroom, a last gasp of the tropical theme.

Later that year, 7566 Melrose became the latest outlet of “Club 41” fronted by George Distel, and was closed by the courts for multiple violations of State liquor laws. In 1947 the building was remodeled as the Horton Dance Theater.

This location has been home to many businesses over the years.

The Drake Theatre was opened here on March 26, 1970, initially screening straight adult movies, it went over to gay male adult movies in around 1975/1976.

In 1977 the Drake Theatre was listed in the Bob Damron Address Book as operating as a gay male adult theatre. It was later known as the Aladdin Theatre, operating into the 1980’s.

After closing it became an adult bookstore & video store, which closed in early-2008.

Most recently, this spot was home to "Orange Bone" a dog salon and boutique store, which closed in 2023.

The previous restaurant had a bad fire in 1954, killing 2 employees, then another fire on January 28 1961, which destroyed the building during the end of a Polynesian themed remodel of the previous restaurant.

They kept going, however, with their original plans, and the Polynesian remodel was completed. Saxony South Seas opened in early September of 1961.

From an October 25th, 1961 review:

"The Saxony South Seas boasted authentic South Seas decoration, including 48 carvings of various sizes from exotic places such as Samoa, Tahiti and Hawaii. Behind the bar stood a massive 1300 pound Tiki idol, while the back bar was inlaid with mother of pearl - 3000 pieces - all hand inlaid, weighing 65 pounds. The manager Richard Tierney said the restaurant incorporates what the management considered the best elements of famous Polynesian restaurants throughout the country. 'We used native materials, imported trough a San Francisco agent, then refined the atmosphere to what we thought would be attractive to our Milwaukee patrons.' The restaurant sat 170.

Leon Garces was the Filipino chef who came from the Beachcomber's in Chicago. 'The forte of the bar, of course, is rum drinks. Most come in exotic containers, such as the Tonga, called a sorcerer's blend and served in a ceramic miniature Easter Island figure. The Volcano is served in a real coconut and consists of gin, brandy, rum and pineapple juice, garnished with an orchid.'"

This elaborate South Seas theme only lasted 3 years until 1964 when the restaurant changed back to serving "American" cuisine...

Today, as of 2023, this site appears to be home to The Shul Center, a synagogue.

Opened in 1974.

From the August 22, 1974 Chicago Tribune:

"A Polynesian restaurant tucked away in a little shopping center called White Plains. Unusually good food in the Chinese-Cantonese tradition accented with an occasional American touch such as steak with salad and french fries. Soft and soothing background taped music of Hawaii. Interior design, overall ambiance remindful of all the other Polynesian restaurants that you've visited in the States, including Hawaii. But why Northbrook for so many restaurants? Isn't there a satiation point? ECHOING comments of many other restaurateurs of the area was Wally Chin's emphatic 'This is a going community! New homes are going up; new industries coming in.' Mr. Chin, who is co-owner of Kahala Terrace with his brother, Bob Chin, points to a developing industrial park across the highway from the Kahala. Easy access to Northbrook via Edens Expressway, and elimination of parking problems also are positive factors. FARTHER NORTH at County Line and Lee Roads in Northbrook, a proposed courtyard of nationality restaurants in a prestigious shopping area that will include Neiman-Marcus and Lord and Taylor specialty stores and a Sears Roebuck department store, is scheduled for completion in the fall of 1975. Blueprints for the p r o j e c t Northbrook Court also call for parks, small lakes, and condominiums on the 130-acre property. Although many of the residents of the area are vehemently protesting the mammoth project, construction presently is continuing.

Owners of Kahala Terrace are not newcomers to the suburbs. After a year as maitre d' at Kon Tiki Ports in the Sheraton-Chicago. 505 N. Michigan Av., Wally Chin operated Chan's Tea House in Highland Park for 10 years. Bob Chin continues as owner of the House of Chan, a catering establishment in Wilmette, and now manages catering facilities for the Kahala also. Barmaids at the Kahala, which specializes in exotic mixed drinks, are Wally's daughter, Judy, and Bob's daughter, Marilyn, fresh from bartending school. Restauranteuring, in fact, is a way of life for the Chin family. Wally and Bob's brother, Henry, is proprietor of the House of Chinn, an excellent Cantonese restaurant at 6355 N. Western Av. A FOURTH brother, Howard, operates New Wilson Village, a surprisingly good restaurant in a shabby old block at 1120-22 Wilson Av., established by the brothers' parents some 40 years ago.

Evening specialty of the house is the Kahala version of a Polynesian Iuau at $7.50 per person, beginning with soup or juice and a platter of appetizers egg rolls, crab rangoon, shrimp, barbecued ribs, pineapple in chicken. Six main courses that change daily, always including beef, chicken, and seafood dishes, are arranged at an elaborate self-help buffet."

Despite this overall good opening review and the bonafides of Wally as a maitre d' at Kon Tiki Ports, the interior of the restaurant screams 70s tiki devolution with the lack of decor, the 70s flower print cushions on the rattan chairs, the exposed brickwork, and the cedar shingles in lieu of proper thatching.

Ads show that Kahala Terrace was open at least as late as 1983.

NOTES:

*Bob Chin lived to be 99 and died April 15th, 2022. His biggest and best known restaurant was Bob Chinn's Crab House in Chicago, which he started in 1982. It would be his 14th restaurant and the longest lasting. He served the same mai-tais there that he did at the Kahala Terrace location.

**As of 2022, the location of Kahala Terrace is now home to a FastSigns print shop.

Once the residence of Princess Pomare, daughter of the last King of Tahiti.

Hotel Tahiti was celebrated as the largest hotel in French Polynesia at the time it was built in 1960. The double bungalows provided 18 deluxe suites and two 2-story plantation type buildings, each with 24 veranda suites, provided a total of 66 units on 53 acres bordering a blue lagoon 1 mile from the capital, Papeete. The interior of the original Hotel Tahiti's cocktail lounge bar had many floor-to ceiling tiki poles, a wood canoe hanging from the ceiling, and a thatch roof over the bar with lots of bamboo and other decorations familiar to fans of Mid-Century Poly Pop. This hotel was demolished in 1997.

Some key dates in the property timeline:

May 1960, Inauguration of the Hotel Tahiti, owned by Spencer F. Weaver (of SpenceCliff Corporation, who did so much building in Hawaii especially)

1997, Demolition of Hotel Tahiti

July 1999, Opening of Outrigger Hotel, owned by Mr. and Ms. Wane

2000, Outrigger becomes Sheraton Hotel Tahiti

2009, Sheraton becomes Hilton Tahiti

July 2010, Closing of Hilton Tahiti

November 2021, Grand Opening of Hilton Tahiti Resort

Today, the Hotel Tahiti site is home to a luxury resort, just opened in 2021 by Hilton. Hilton’s extensive renovations have transformed the property, with an emphasis on open-air public spaces, natural light and ocean views. Design details feature light woods, a neutral color palette and a modern take on island-inspired decor. The re-imagined property offers 200 rooms, a boutique spa, the largest pool in Tahiti and three dining venues. Additional new features include cabanas and a poolside restaurant with views of Moorea Island. The hotel has two bars: the Heiva Lounge in the open-air lobby, offering spectacular ocean views and a bespoke collection of wine; and the Vaipuna poolside bar that offers unique, tropical libations as well as traditional cocktails. There are a few tikis on the grounds and some generic mugs used at the bars, but, Hilton, as one would expect, is more interested in offering a luxury resort experience than catering to Mid-Century Poly Pop fans.

Opened circa 2005.

This is a tiki interior-themed Dairy Queen. Otherwise the menu and exterior are the same as other Dairy Queens.

There is a big tiki god water fountain when you walk in. There are 3 large fish tanks, one is salt water and there is a thatched roof over them. Two of the corner booths are grass huts and the chairs are all bamboo. The walls have a bamboo wall paper with different Kahiki items, a 6-foot tiki god, nets, surf board, islands of Hawaii made by a Hawaiian friend of the owners, shells, etc.

The employees wear hawaiian shirts and leis.

Established in 1972.

They advertise both Chinese and Polynesian cuisine and have a large room for each -- the Oriental Room or the candle-lit Polynesian Room.

Stepping into this restaurant is like opening a time capsule. The interior of the Polynesian Room has thatching, amber-colored lauhala matting on the walls, tiki masks, several standing tikis, and many vintage Orchids of Hawaii style lamps.

They are especially proud of their egg rolls.

Their logo used to feature a tiki but was modernized to the current logo showing a silhouette of a couple eating.