Opened in 2018.

The restaurant and bar was from Charleston restaurateur Karalee Fallert, who is also behind Taco Boy, The Park Cafe, and The Royal American, and her business partner April Bennett.

Executive Chef Jason DuPree created a menu that offered slow-cooked meats accompanied by sides including rice, macaroni salad, greens, and starchy root vegetables.

Dishes included the grilled kona kampachi, a variety of poke bowls, a pu-pu platter, Southern-fried coconut shrimp, and Spam sliders.

Wiki Wiki Sandbar resided in a 6,500-square foot space that incorporated local artists’ work that embodied the facets of tiki culture.

The four dining rooms had different themes including: the Octopus Bar featuring the work of Jeff Kopish; the Sunset Room featuring a sunset mural by Suzanne Allen; the Wave Room featuring a massive sculpture made of Japanese glass floats by KHA; and a traditional tiki bar that resided on the top floor with views of the Atlantic Ocean and dioramas by artist Hirona Matsuda.

Fallert recruited her partner from the Park Cafe, Xan McLaughlin, to develop the cocktail program with help from national rum connoisseur Daniel Parks of San Francisco’s Pagan Idol.

Long-time Charleston resident Roderick Groetzinger added his touch as bar manager.

In September of 2020 Wiki Wiki Sandbar announced they were swapping locations with the Folly Beach Taco Boy and re-opened at that new address -- 15 Center Street in November of that year. This was short-lived, however.

The bar closed on December 31st, 2022. In its place at 15 Center Street, they opened Bounty Bar which has a ceiling covered in fish floats but whose decor skews pirate/nautical as opposed to traditional Pop Polynesian/Tiki.

Bob Loo's was located in a former Howard Johnson's which was built in 1962 and closed around 1972. A steak house moved in almost immediately, but closed within a year. Then, in 1972, came Bob Loo’s, Salem’s first Chinese/Polynesian restaurant. In typical fashion, the top portion of the Howard Johnson’s cupola was removed. Likewise, the orange tile roof was replaced with a standard asphalt roof, and the trapezoid sign was taken down. Aside from these surface changes though, the building retained most of its visual lines and remained largely recognizable as a former Howard Johnson's. Bob Loo’s continued a successful operation here until late 1998, when the owners decided to retire and close the business for good.

They produced at least three collectible glasses -- a hi ball with a moai on front to serve their house Fog Cutter cocktail in, a hi ball with a Fu Manchu to serve the Dr. Funk Cocktail, and a hi ball with a Tiki Leilani on it to serve "Volcano Acid".

Robert N. Loo (Bob) passed away in 2010. He was known for this restaurant as well as the highly successful Silver Dragon Restaurant in Methuen which was started around 1962 and burned down in March of 1985.

Manchester Lola Lo opened its doors on Thursday 12th December, 2013. It was one of several in a chain of Lola Lo bar/restaurants (including Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, and Reading) but only Bristol and Reading remain as of late 2025.

From their website:

"A tiki-tavern where raucous parties reign supreme, Lola Lo is brimming with luscious cocktails, late night artisans and party hearty dance floors. A 560 capacity venue containing three levels: a lower ground floor, a ground floor and a mezzanine, creating a multiple-tiered tiki paradise. With DJs playing in the evenings and through the night, exotic, beach-themed drinks and live entertainment, Lola Lo breathes a fresh vibrancy into the Deansgate Locks scene. Additional unique features such as a fancy dress box and a casual dining operation, serving delicious artisan savoury and dessert pizzas and tasty beer cocktails. "

As of 2021-2022, this location was light on tiki decor with only one Moai statue in sight and some tropical leaf wallpaper. Several large television screens playing football did little to convey the island vibe either.

A side-by-side with an earlier 2013 photo of Cheeky Tiki's decoration when they first opened the bar shows that they originally had more of a tiki theme.

They did still carry several imprinted tiki mugs by CheekyTiki for the mug enthusiast.

Closed January 19th, 2024.

The Polynesian was an upscale modern restaurant in midtown Manhattan, near Times Square. It was located on the third floor of The Pod Hotel 42, and opened in May 2018. The space was sleek and airy, with more subtle nods to Polynesian art and culture. Seating dividers were made from sticks, clearly inspired by traditional Oceanic sailing maps; graphic repeating patterns on the floor and behind the bar appeared to be very-abstracted echoes of tapa or quilt designs of the Pacific. The dominant colors in the space were warm wood and ocean blue, and select pieces of Oceanic art were on display.

The restaurant was created by New York's Major Food Group, with help from bartender Brian Miller, who had been hosting regular tiki drink nights around New York for several years. Miller's menu included not just nods to drinks from the history of tiki bars, but incorporated nods to actual Polynesian history. The food menu was limited and tended toward the snack end, with some classic fare like Crab Rangoon.

Signature mugs by Tiki Diablo from this location were highly coveted.

The bar closed temporarily in 2020 as a consequence of COVID shutdowns and never re-opened.

The Luau was first opened by the Dinkler family, who owned a chain of hotels. They opened this restaurant sometime in the mid-1950s (it was open by 1957), and operated it as "Dinkler Luau" or "Luau, a Dinkler presentation." The restaurant was stylish, with a dramatically pointed roof over a porte cochere entrance, and was designed by Curtis and Davis Architects of New Orleans. The interior featured waterway and bridges, and a cabinet with bamboo cases holding regulars' chopsticks, just like at the original Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood. There was at least one tiki carved by Barney West.

Soon after it opened (1959?), the Dinklers sold the restaurant to the Dobbs family, who changed the name to "Dobb's Luau" or "Dobbs House Luau (1960?)." The Dobbs House Luau chain swiftly spread to other cities around the south, including Memphis, Birmingham, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, Orlando, Lexington, Houston, and Louisville. In 1962, the name was changed to "Dobbs House Tiki." The building was later demolished.

Pagan Idol opened in San Francisco's Financial District on February 24th, 2016. The bar is owned by the Future Bars group, which owns a variety of craft cocktail bars around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Pagan Idol has a front bar, which is designed to look like the inside of a wooden ship, complete with porthole views of swimming fish, and blown glass tentacle light fixtures.

Red-lit stairs lead to the back bar, which is where the full-on Polynesian Pop experience can be found. A second bar is lined with zebrawood and backed by lava windows. Overlooking the bar is a massive tiki carved by Crazy Al Evans, and a large outrigger canoe hangs overhead. A tangle of ropes and fishing floats decorates the bar. The walls are lined with Tongan tapa cloth designs.

Just beyond, the room opens up, and a night sky of twinkling stars hangs overhead, with a volcano waterfall and two cozy booths. Looming over this room is a second large tiki, this one carved by Ivan Lee Mora. Periodically, the volcano "erupts" and a fog creeps along the starry sky, adding to the moodiness of the room.

The soundtrack is all Exotica and hapa-haole music. The drink menu is all original tropical drinks, but a full array of classic tiki drinks can be ordered off-menu.

In the 1950s, this same location held Tiki Bob's Mainland Rendezvous.

Mai Kai Lounge is the bar of the Tecumseh Inn (built in 1964), on the west edge of town. The bar opened in 1971 and remained mostly untouched, until 2018-2021 when it was closed and then given a makeover.

The bar originally had carved Witco tiki barstools, and two tall tiki poles. The table and bar surfaces were covered with a tapa design, and the circular booths were upholstered in '70s vinyl colors: orange, avocado, aqua, blue. The backs and toe-kick areas of the booths were upholstered in green astroturf, and were surrounded by bamboo curtains and faux bamboo plants. There were two hanging rattan chairs suspended from the ceiling, with orange cushions. The lighting was dim and moody, provided by float lamps, beachcomber lamps, and white and red string lights. The building's exterior was simple, but the white walls had modern abstract shapes in relief.

Despite the ideal tiki bar setting, and the full bar, there was no menu of tropical cocktails.

As of April 2009, the bar was temporarily closed, but the owner of the bar assured that none of the decor was being removed. However, as of 2018, it was reported by area residents that the place had been gutted and tiki furnishings were now gone.

This was partly/temporarily true, but the bar did re-open in 2021 with brand-new brightly painted wall murals and much of the interior decor still intact. The floor plan seems more open with removal of some of the fake foliage and bamboo curtains. The Witco barstools are noticeably absent in new photos, so they may be sold or in the process of being restored. All of this refurbishment was part of sprucing up the property for re-sale in 2021. It was listed on loopnet.com for $895,000, and with the assertion that it has new management in place.

The "Jacuzzi Room" did have an Orchids of Hawaii hanging shell lamp and a few other pieces of tiki decor even after the initial refurbishment...but it might have been removed as part of their re-theming to a boathouse/lodge/western look for the overall site by the new owners.

As of 2024, they still advertise the "Tiki Bar" as a BYOB adult hangout that can be reserved. Their website shows a group drinking beer and eating pizza around a small table in a brightly lit room...

This Polynesian paradise consisted of the Kapu-Kai Coffee Shop with an attached bowling alley. The bowling alley also boasted an Outrigger cocktail lounge and Tahitian Fire Room. The complex stood on the corner of Foothill and Vineyard and was active from 1962 to 1969.

What shut the Kapu-Kai down was the Great Inland Empire Storm & Flood of 1969, which by the storm's end had caused over $500 million in damage, killed 60 people, and damaged and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

The ruined buildings of the Kapu-Kai held on until 1994, after which they were bulldozed, according to Charles Phoenix’s “Cruising the Pomona Valley.”

Nobody could figure out an economical way to salvage the unique structure.

The name "Kapu-Kai", Phoenix says, translates to "Forbidden Sea" which is appropriate when one considers the flood of water that brought its demise.

That corner is now famous for having two Starbucks outlets, one at the edge of the parking lot and a small one inside the Albertsons.

Years later, Bosko was able to trade for one of the salvaged interior tiki support poles from the Kapu-Kai which he installed at his home bar (The Kapu Tiki Room) and was actually married beneath in a ceremony conducted by noted mixologist Beachbum Berry.

Hawaii Kai was the grand dame of New York Polynesian restaurants. The location, over the historic Winter Garden Theatre, already had a place in Polynesian Pop history: it was the location of Monte Proser's Beachcomber, a Don the Beachcomber rip-off, in the early '40s.

The dramatic space opened initially as a partnership between Monte Proser and Joe Kipness as Lanai in 1961, but by November of 1962 it had morphed into Hawaii Kai with Joe Kipness now partnered with Art Schindler, who had owned the nearby Luau 400.

The dramatic interiors were created by Frederick Fox, a scenic designer for Broadway productions. The entry was at street level, and had lush greenery, waterfalls and capuchin monkeys. After receiving a lei greeting, visitors ascended a rattan staircase to the upper level, with three rooms:

The Okole Maluna Bar (Bottoms Up Bar) had a diorama of Diamond Head at Waikiki that constantly shifted from daytime to nighttime.

Adjacent to the bar was The Lounge of the Seven Pleasures -- this room had entertainment nightly, playing until 3 a.m.

The main dining room was where the nightly luau and Polynesian revue was held, variably called Hula Wei, Place of Meeting, or The Island Huts of Oahu. The space was large, with a stage, and thatch-covered booth "huts" along the edge of the room.

Hawaii Kai had a flair for flowery naming: beyond the colorful names for the rooms and of course the drinks, they were always coming up with new exotic-sounding titles for special giveaway items. The competition for tourist dollars was likely steep in Times Square, and in order to keep up there was a steady stream of creative bonus items one could acquire: A tiki teapot set titled "Ipo Aloha Lovers Tea Set", a skull mug titled "Goddess of Love", even a simple standard bucket mug became a "Royal Ali'i Goblet". Tiki lighters, lanterns, salt and pepper shakers, and of course good old tiki mugs: they couldn't give them away fast enough. Today the items are heavily collected, and often can be found still in the box they were sent home in.

Hawaii Kai's popularity waned, but it held on through the 1980s, and through the damage of a fire. It made appearances in a couple of Hollywood films (most famously a scene from Goodfellas takes place here). Hawaii Kai finally closed sometime during or shortly after 1989.

*NOTE: Cocktail menus below show that earlier drinkware included Spurlin/Beauce designed bowls and unmarked glassware but they later converted to Otagiri designed ceramic ware and marked glassware.

Opened in 1960. A charming tiki restaurant, where employees and customers alike are treated like family. The Omni Hut's creator, Jim Walls, started the Omni Hut after taking up cooking as a hobby and second job while stationed in Honolulu as a pilot before World War II. The military took him all over the world, and he picked up culinary tricks wherever he went, and it when it came time to retire, he decided to open a restaurant. He chose this location in Smyrna, near Ft. Stuart, and opened a restaurant called "Chinese Cuisine," which soon became the Omni Hut. Walls also owned the nearby Mahi Mahi for a short time. The Omni Hut suffered a fire in 2000, but luckily the restaurant was able to reopen with the decor largely intact.

The Omni Hut did not have a liquor license, but customers were encouraged to spike their own drinks - the Omni Hut had a "Hawaiian Tea" drink that was perfect with a little rum added. They served a Fiery Pu-Pu Platter, and a Volcano ice cream dessert which arrived on fire.

To celebrate 50 years in business, the Omni Hut had two special souvenir mugs created by Tiki Farm.

The Omni Hut closed its doors for good on Friday October 12th, 2018.

Opened in 1954 and closed in 2020.

Minnie's was a Polynesian restaurant with immense charm, and was deservedly beloved by many. The Chinese food was typically dressed-up (for instance, the appetizers were labelled "tidbits of delight"), but the shocker here was that the food was actually fairly good. The restaurant featured carvings and artwork throughout, most notably a large number of beautiful oil and black velvet paintings by the Leeteg-esque artist Tyree.

There were two bars at Minnie's: a vast outdoor patio bar, and a dimly lit indoor bar encrusted with dollar bills and business cards all over the walls and ceiling, left by patrons over the years. The tropical cocktails at Minnie's left something to be desired, but it was about as good as you were likely to find in Modesto anyhow.

Parking was free in the lot at the rear of the restaurant. After dinner service closed, the front door to Minnie's was locked, and you entered the bar using the rear parking lot entrance (there was no sign at the front to let you know this, unfortunately).

Minnie's was just down the road from the Tropics Motel and Tiki Lounge.

The following is according to the Modesto Bee:

Sacramento-based owner TJ Bruce and his Splash Bar, Inc., took over from Stuart Mah at the start of 2018. Mah’s family had run Minnie’s as a Chinese restaurant and tiki bar since 1962, when they bought the business from original owners Hop Louie and his wife Minnie Woo — the spot’s namesake. Bruce ran Minnie's basically as it was for a year before closing the restaurant portion in 2019. In January 2020 he decided to close Minnie's and transform it into another of his Splash Bar dance club locations.

However, according to Bruce, the site’s tiki look will not be changing. Bruce said much of its existing theme fits in with the Splash Bar concept.

“We like that it’s kitschy, and tiki is a fun thing for bars,” he said.

So expect the large wooden tiki-head totems outside to remain in place, as will much of the interior and exterior look — save for some painting and needed updating. They plan to install a dedicated dance floor in the half-partitioned space in front of the bar area, as well as more video screens throughout.

The bar’s signature velvet paintings of nude Polynesian women were taken down after it was sold, as were its large fish tanks. But Bruce said he still has them and they may make a reappearance in the new Splash Bar.

But all those old dollar bills that have lined the bar’s walls for decades are coming down.

The new Splash Bar will have drag shows every Friday night as well as themed nights for karaoke, throwback nights and more. The weekends will have video DJs spinning music.

This Kahunaville was one location in a nationwide chain of restaurants.

It was located in the Rivertown Mall from @2002-2004.

Like the others in the chain, this restaurant featured a synchronized water fountain show, waterfalls, caves, talking idols, a sophisticated sound system, an arcade, and a variety of tropical drinks. Their eclectic food menu featured about 90 items, which included "Kahunaville-sized" sandwiches, salads and entrees with American, Mexican, Cajun and Asian influences.

The parent company of Kahunaville, Adventure Dining Inc., once operated nine nationwide locations, including homes in Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Tampa. The Las Vegas, Nevada "Party Bar" (2001-2016) was their last holdout before the chain folded.

This type of corporate chain typifies what many tikiphiles dislike most about corporatizing the Tiki aesthetic -- bending the decor more towards a Chucky Cheese buildout (or perhaps Rainforest Cafe if one is being kind) with cheaply molded and cartoony fiberglass and plastic decorations in primary colors, dumbing down the cocktails of Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic into chemical-tasting slushy boat drinks (but served with "flair"), offering a big scattershot food menu in hopes of appealing to every American tourist palate, and supplying loud video games and animatronics to entertain the kids. For those that grew up with these, there is some nostalgia, but they were not terribly mourned by fans of traditional tiki bars and restaurants.