The Islands was a Polynesian restaurant just south of Camelback Road in Phoenix, operating from July 4th, 1958 through at least the '70s. It had four rooms: the Tapa Bar, the Tiki Room, the Cannibal Room, and the Waterfall Room, which was available for private events when it wasn't used for live music and dancing,

The building had two swooping A-frames, facing in opposite directions, covered in thatch, and two cone-shaped thatched huts to the left of the main building. The exterior sides of the restaurant were decorated with oversized, graphic tapa-style designs. The restaurant was fronted by two large rootball tikis that were sometimes used as logos for the restaurant.

From 1977 onward, it was known as Tommy Wong's Island Restaurant after being purchased by Wong, who had worked at the Chicago Don the Beachcomber and at the Aku Aku in Las Vegas before becoming a successful restaurateur in his own right. Tommy Wong also had an Island Restaurant (or "Islands Restaurant" depending on the advertisement) in Colorado Springs and Denver, Colorado.

Some time in the '80s, The Islands/Island Restaurant building in Phoenix was razed. The rest of the chain in Colorado also went under in the 80s.

This Kona Kai was part of a chain of restaurants that included locations in Chicago and Philadelphia. This location was at the Plaza Inn (later the Hilton Plaza Inn), just a block from The Castaways.

There was also a second Kona Kai location at the Plaza Inn International by the airport that opened in June 1975 -- now the Hilton Kansas City Airport Hotel.

Both Kansas City locations closed in the 80s and both locations featured "signature" 8-foot tall tikis carved by Oceanic Arts in Whittier, California (the tiki at this location has somewhat wider nostrils -- a shorthand to tell them apart -- see last photo below). These tikis now reside in a private collection.

Most recently, this location had been the Holiday Inn Country Club Plaza Hotel, but it was bought and scheduled for demolition in late 2020.

The Sahara itself opened in 1952 and has long been considered a classic of the early Las Vegas "Strip" casinos. This Don the Beachcomber opened there December 1st, 1962, in the third floor of the Sahara, and featured decor by Eli Hedley, who also created the large signature tikis for the nearby Aku Aku. Dining and cocktail capacity was set at 300 persons. The facility featured a sky room with dancing, cocktail lounge, a huge waterfall and individual Polynesian style huts suspended over flowing water for the comfort of diners. The menu featured over 40 varieties of dishes. The Sahara Don the Beachcomber’s first female hostess in 1963 was Ruth Maestas, who recalled that prominent local residents who were regular customers used chopsticks that were stored in their personalized bamboo containers at the restaurant. She and her late husband, Louie “the Blade,” would later own the hotel barbershop and claim among their clients singer Robert Goulet, comedian Buddy Hackett and jazz drummer Buddy Rich. The Sahara closed on May 16th, 2011.

Don the Beachcomber's Chicago location was a legendary hotspot on the Chicago restaurant scene for decades. It opened on May 1st, 1940, and was open at least until the late '60s, probably later. It was in Chicago's Magnificent Mile neighborhood, about where the Four Seasons Hotel is today.

The building had a simple entrance, with a large neon sign in the trademark Don the Beachcomber driftwood sign shape. Inside, the restaurant had several rooms: the Tahitian Room and the Zombie Room were dining rooms, and the Cannibal Room was the bar. The bar had striking black posts carved with a stacked trio of Tahitian cannibal tikis. The whole restaurant was thoroughly encrusted with bamboo, and float lamps and beachcomber lamps were everywhere.

One of the key bartenders at the Chicago Don the Beachcomber, Mariano Licudine, eventually went on to lead the bar program at the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, bringing drinks in the Don the Beachcomber style with him that can still be tasted there today.

Tiki Cove was once part of the Mecca Bar in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Wally Burnett opened the Mecca Bar in 1946, and in 1958 he added Tiki Cove in the basement. The bar featured an original mural with trees and a mountain range, some tapa cloth designs and fish net. The tikis were bolted to the floor to keep them safe from thieves. It’s been said that you could enjoy the cocktails and Chinese food in the privacy of a rickshaw table. The bar also featured a clamshell phone booth.

Tiki Cove relocated out of the basement of the Mecca Bar in 1977 into the top floor of the Polaris Hotel where it didn’t last long.

Mecca Bar is still open...

This 2-story, 118 room motel was built in 1961. Designed by Armet and Davis.

Originally it had a bar/lounge called the "Tropics Room", now gone.

Formerly run as a Days Inn and as a Knights Inn, it was recently called the Clarion Pointe Fresno (as of 2021-2024). As of 2025, its future remains uncertain.

You can still see some rock tiki faces built into the rock wall in front and the signature wood tikis out by the pool area (as part of a bench). The interior appears to have been completely gutted and redesigned, however.

Tiki Bowling Lanes opened in 1962 on what was then known as Krouse Road (and was later renamed "Tiki Lane" in honor of the business). A Lancaster Eagle-Gazette article on November 29, 1962 described the 32-lane alley as one of the most beautiful, well-equipped bowling lanes in Ohio.

Tiki Bowling Lanes was once much more Tiki, with a cocktail lounge furnished with thatched huts, but today the interior has been stripped down to a more generic bowling alley. The site underwent a major renovation that included the addition of 10 lanes in 1972. The exterior, however, has two gorgeous, large tile mosaics of tikis and torches.

Opened June 22nd, 1971, two weeks after the grand opening of the Sheraton-Waikiki hotel of which it was a part.

Guests could take a twisting orchid staircase or glass elevator ride beside the flowing waterfall up to the Hanohano Room (second floor dining room).

This restaurant was part of the Kon-Tiki chain owned by Steve Crane.

After the Kon-Tiki closed in 1993, its tikis were purchased by the nearby La Mariana.

Opened September 26th, 1959.

This restaurant was part of the Kon-Tiki chain owned by Steve Crane. It was in the Sheraton-Motor Inn, later called the Sheraton-Portland, in Lloyd Center, and featured three waterfalls. The site is now a Doubletree Hotel.

Closed in 1980 or 1981.

Some of the tikis from the Kon-Tiki wound up at the Jasmine Tree restaurant, including three large cannibal tikis. When the Jasmine Tree closed in late 2006, the tikis and other decor headed to another tiki bar in the area, Thatch, which later became Hale Pele.

A newer dance club, above the Have a Nice Day Cafe. Less Tiki Bob's, more Tiki Bob's Cantina. Only not as nice. In photos, the only tikis are painted on the walls, and look strangely like flower pots.

As of 2021, this space is home to Elektricity Nightclub.

Kahuna Grill was a small fast-casual restaurant in the food court of an outdoor shopping center. The menu was mostly burgers, salads, and sandwiches. They served beer in bottles. There was a fish tank inside and the walls were decorated with surf boards and surfing photos and memorabilia. A television played continuous surfing videos. The tikiness was limited to one or two free-standing carved tikis.

Closed in February 2019. Today the location is home to Mesa Burger.

*NOTE: Kahuna Grill had also opened a second location at the Paseo Nuevo mall in downtown Santa Barbara but it closed in 2014 -- 12 De la Guerra Place, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, United States.

The Islands Restaurant was situated in the former Hanalei Hotel, now called the Crowne Plaza. This once-elaborate mid-century Polynesian restaurant was designed by George Nakashima along with Hendrick & Mock Architects, starting in 1964. It had an A-frame entrance from the hotel's courtyard, elaborate water features and lush surrounding landscaping, and was thoroughly and richly decorated inside. The restaurant featured lovely carved railings throughout, large glass float lights, and dramatic clam shell fountains. Some of the tikis here were salvaged from Steve Crane's Luau in Beverly Hills.

Over the years, remodels of the restaurant (and surrounding hotel) gradually stripped the restaurant of its defining features. In November 2006, a six-month renovation of the restaurant began, which removed many of the waterfalls, fountains and other water features, along with nearly all of the tiki artifacts. The end result was a fairly generic hotel restaurant, though some decor in the hallway outside remained intact for some time after.

In the beginning of the Covid pandemic the hotel was contracted by the city to house homeless Covid victims and this restaurant was closed since @2020 to the public. Fences and security were put up and those not registered to stay were turned away. Then, another remodeling was completed and the hotel opened back up in 2024 to show that all traces of Tiki decor had been removed from the premises, save some lava rock on some of the walls and some tiki railings.

So, although you can visit the hotel now, as of 2024, it is essentially finished as a tiki point of interest, save for the memories.