The Tiki Apartments were an example of dingbats -- boxy apartments, usually supported by stilts, with open stalls below for parking. (Their name is likely to have been coined by architect Francis Ventre while he was lecturing at UCLA in the early '70s.) Thousands of the inexpensive 16-unit structures were built in the late '50s and early '60s to accommodate the huge number of people moving to the West Coast. Dingbats are being demolished by the dozen to make way for multi-story complexes with underground parking, so they are doubly ephemeral when paired with a tiki theme and tiki imagery.

Other than the sign, there doesn't appear to have been any other tikis or tiki features about this property.

Permits were issued for demolition in 2019 to build a 6-story, 56-unit new complex called Lake City Apartments.

Mojave Oasis was opened in Spring 2011, in Newberry Springs, by Amy Boylan (Queen Kamehameha on Tiki Central).

The concept was definitely influenced by the 1960s Lake Loreen's Blue Lagoon (which was located in Newberry Springs and was also situated on a man-made lake and had a plane called "The Tiki Bird").

Newberry Springs is a very isolated area, located 20 mi (32 km) east of Barstow, approximately 40 mi (64 km) due west of the Mojave National Preserve, and approximately 100 mi (160 km) south of Death Valley National Park.

Mojave Oasis was a private campground centered around a small pond/lake with both tent and trailer camping.

In addition to vintage trailers which could be rented, the property had paddle boats for going out on the lake, a wrecked vintage plane (The Tiki Bird), dozens of vintage tikis (some from Benzart Davis and some from Ben Wilson who ran the old El Tiki) and new carvings (like the carved mermaids by Tiki Ray for instance), a clam shell roofed bar (The Mermaid Lounge) and a hut called The Rapa Nui Roost -- both created by Danny Gallardo (Tiki Diablo), and an A-frame stage for live music performances.

Camp spaces could be rented out by appointment and Amy also held an annual Mojave Oasis event.

Financial difficulties forced the closing and sale of the property in 2016.

Ben Wilson 7/7/1929-2/18/2021 was the owner of El Tiki. Ben opened El Tiki in 1962 on Highway 111 and Worthington Rd.

They served great Mexican food combined with exotic Hawaiian decor, and it was the site of many memorable birthdays, anniversaries, and prom dates. He carved all the Tikis himself, collected nets and shells and tropical curiosities, and decorated it in true beachcomber fashion. There was even a full whale rib in front of the restaurant. The booths were lined with bamboo and had thatched roofs, it was dark and mysterious. Ben was the consummate host and bartender, he always had a smile and a story for everyone.

He closed the restaurant around 1978 but converted the property into a house and lived there for many years. The building is still there. Many of the original Tikis proudly stand guard on the property to this day.

3 of the larger tikis were purchased by Amy Boylan (Queen Kamehameha on Tiki Central) for her Mojave Oasis location in the early 2000s.

This site is right next door to the Del Rosa Palms Apartments at 2640 Del Rosa Ave and they were probably two sides to the original complex which was envisioned as a sort of Hawaiian Village. They are often mentioned together or interchangeably in apartment listings or other posts.

Opened on May 3rd, 1964, the complex advertised itself as having 71 one, two, or three-bedroom and efficiency units, a putting green, badminton and shuffleboard court, and 2 swimming pools.

This was also the former home to 15 large tikis, some weighing up to 5000 pounds, by local tiki carver Ramar, but they are now long gone. Little is known of Ramar beyond this location.

The Del Rosa Palms has an A-frame entrance in front, but the Del Rosa Isle has an even more impressive A-frame building back by the pool, that is HUGE, with 10-12 original lucite swag lamps hanging from the rafters (the flower blossom variety in multiple colors). This A-Frame was probably meant to be more of an open entertainment area or pool house before, but today the lower half has been walled off to use as a laundry facility and there is a stairway leading up to the top which is a rather bare patio area.

This site is right next door to the Del Rosa Isle Apartments at 6262 Del Rosa Ave N and they were probably two sides to the original complex which was envisioned as a sort of Hawaiian Village. They are often mentioned together or interchangeably in apartment listings or other posts.

Opened on May 3rd, 1964, the complex advertised itself as having 71 one, two, or three-bedroom and efficiency units, a putting green, badminton and shuffleboard court, and 2 swimming pools.

This was also the former home to 15 large tikis, some weighing up to 5000 pounds, by local tiki carver Ramar, but they are now long gone. Little is known of Ramar beyond this location.

The Del Rosa Palms has an A-frame entrance in front, but the Del Rosa Isle has an even more impressive A-frame building back by the pool, that is HUGE, with 10-12 original lucite swag lamps hanging from the rafters (the flower blossom variety in multiple colors). This A-Frame was probably meant to be more of an open entertainment area or pool house before, but today the lower half has been walled off to use as a laundry facility and there is a stairway leading up to the top which is a rather bare patio area.

Open since 2013, just a year before the founder of Chick-fil-A, S. Truett Cathy, passed away.

It would seem like the kind of thing they might try out in the actual Hawaiian islands, but it's not. There are none in Hawaii as of 2021. However, if you are the founder, you can do whatever you want, and Truett decided toward the end of his life that it would be fun to have a Hawaiian-style version of one of his restaurants in Georgia.

This location is much larger and more resplendent than your typical Chick-fil-A but has a similar menu with the addition of some Hawaiian-themed foods like Kalua pork and Hawaiian-style bread pudding. They have Hawaiian-style drinks as well, like their Frosted Hawaiian shakes which are served in souvenir tiki glasses.

There are some tikis located throughout, Hawaiian art, tropical palm fans overhead, and koa wood (or local Georgian hardwood) tables. One seating section actually has booths with thatching and tiki poles.

They are fond of throwing luau parties for children, often featuring hula dancers.

Opened in 1988.

Andy's Place bills itself as an American Restaurant, and is sort of a Venn Diagram of 1950s diners, rockabilly, tiki, Rat Fink/Kustom Car Kulture, and other vintage pop culture influences.

Located in a very large two-story house, much of the restaurant has a 1950s diner vibe with a light blue ceiling, maroon vinyl chairs, and chrome/aluminum trimmed formica tables setting the tone. Large mascot statues hold prominence in several key locations, including Bob's Big Boy, the Sailor Jerry's Rum Hula Girl, and Universal's Frankenstein -- alongside some actual carved tikis.

There is a full-on tiki bar area trimmed in bamboo and they have produced at least two in-house signature tiki mugs as well.

Additionally, they host an annual Tiki Bash party with live music and other specials.

This mini golf course opened in 2020. It is the second location, the first having opened in Star City, Birmingham several years earlier.

The location at Star City closed on January 19th, 2023. However, this Stoke-On-Trent location remains (at least as of 2024).

The indoor course features lots of faux rock work, bamboo, artificial palm trees, and many tikis and moai. There is a "tiki bar" that serves light refreshments and a selection of bottled drinks.

Opened in December 2007, this is a tiki-themed dive bar owned by Billy McKelvy and JT Black.

They have a large moai lit up in the center of the back bar wearing a coconut bra to match the Sailor Jerry's liquor store hula girl statue next to it. Wayne Coombs Florida style tiki poles line the booths in back and are painted in bright day-glow colors.

When he opened the bar, Billy McKelvy explained: “If you go to any tiki bars, it’s bamboo-and-brown tikis. We didn’t want that same old tiki thing: We’re just more rock and roll. We have an artistic, lowbrow approach.”

Beachbum Berry stopped by their bar shortly before they made their grand opening. He had just moved there at the time -- before his move to open his own bar in New Orleans. They were honored to have him, but showed little interest in taking much of his freely dispensed cocktail advice.

They do use fresh key lime juice, though, which was Berry's biggest tip -- using fresh juice.

Their menu is not a medley of tiki cocktail classics. They do have a mai-tai on their "Specialty Tiki Drinks" menu but they also list a Bloody Mary and a cocktail named for Donald Trump as tiki drinks too...so yeah...be prepared.

Despite it all, they appear to have a loyal following and have been thriving for over a dozen years.

They do have a limited food menu with smoked meat sandwiches, nachos, tacos, tater tots, etc...

This thinly veiled speakeasy tiki bar was located within the Pagoda Chinese Restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida.

The restaurant had been open since 1975, but the newer edition of the Secret Tiki Temple came about in 2017 or so.

The exterior sign highlighted that there was a tiki lounge and the murals on the exterior showed frolicking pandas as well as tikis.

Inside, the space was exclusively a Chinese style restaurant until you reached the hidden lounge of the Secret Tiki Temple.

Once inside the temple, the interior was richly layered and had tikis, Elvis paintings, fish floats, fish traps, colored mood lighting and basically everything you would expect from a vintage style tiki bar.

Closed April 26th, 2024.

The Waikiki Tiki Room opened in 2019.

The build-out is very colorful with huge 1950s Hawaiian greeting card inspired mural wall graphics, plenty of tropical foliage wallpaper, reed matting on the ceilings, and an assortment of fish floats and basket style pendant lights hanging from the rafters.

The interior is light on actual tikis, however, with only a small tiki carving on the bar top and a couple of tiki masks on the back bar...

The emphasis is on their robust craft cocktail program, however, which appears to be on point and has drawn rave reviews with a respect for tiki classic cocktails and with an assortment of newer craft cocktails in rotation.

Wan-Q started out life in the 40's or 50's as a fairly average Chinese restaurant, but at some point in the 1960s (at least as early as 1962), owner Benny Eng was caught up in the Pop Polynesian movement and converted his restaurant into a unique tiki establishment with a full menu of tiki cocktails in addition to his already excellent Cantonese menu of food.

Benny outfitted his restaurant with rattan, bamboo, Tikis and waterfalls. And of course there was the exotic tinseled glory that was Wan-Q’s exterior which included a thatched A-frame roof, tapa cloth details, Chinese jade tiles and float lamps.

Wan-Q was replaced for a time by the Sugar Shack (live music venue circa 1994), which kept the exterior (including the sign) mostly intact. Several other restaurants also occupied the space since then. Today the location houses another Chinese restaurant called Fu’s Palace.