Bob Brooks 7 Seas night club was a pre-tiki establishment (although they did have both physical tikis and tiki graphics in their menu and advertising...so a case could be made they they were full-blown tiki earlier than many think), originally opened at 6904 Hollywood Boulevard by Ray Haller in 1935. Capitalizing on the popularity of the South Pacific as a dream vacation destination, Haller borrowed ideas from the popular Don the Beachcomber club a few blocks away and decorated the 7 Seas with a collection of tropical plants, nautical items, lava rocks, and other items of decor that fit the Polynesian theme. The most notable feature was a corrugated tin roof upon which nightly tropical rain storms--complete with thunder and lightning effects--rattled with considerable realism. Don the Beachcomber "borrowed" this idea.

When Bob Brooks took the club over a few years later (before 1951, since that year he was indicted for tax evasion), he upped the ante by stealing some of Don the Beachcomber's bartenders (including Ray Buhen of Tiki-Ti fame) along with their recipes for exotic rum drinks for an extra $10 a week which was a lot back then. Brooks also added an authentic Polynesian floor show, which was unique among South Pacific-themed clubs at the time. Another factor adding to the 7 Seas' popularity was its proximity to Grauman's Chinese Theater. Movie-goers had only to cross Hollywood Boulevard for an exotic climax to their evening on the town.

Another highlight of the 7 Seas was that Bob Brooks had several Edgar Leeteg paintings hanging up from his visits to Tahiti. These were removed in the 1950s after Leeteg's death when their value suddenly skyrocketed. However, he hired a Leeteg protege to make duplicate replacements.

Under new ownership in the 1960s with the notorious Eddie Nash, the popular night spot became the Seven Seas Supper Club. By the 1970s, however, the 7 Seas was declining into nothing more than a seedy bar. To make matters even worse in the early 1980s, Nash was tried with porn star John Holmes for the "Wonderland" killings and for drug trafficking through his nightclubs, including the 7 Seas.

Toward the 1980s, the restaurant evolved into a dance club, which added Scream nightclub in 1986, (and replaced the Seven Seas name with 'Club Hollywood' a year later).

Eddie Nash plead guilty to racketeering in 2001, and sold the place in 2007.

The 1921 building was sold again in 2013 to a Maryland real estate investment firm.

Today there is nothing left of this one-time Polynesian paradise but picture postcards, matchbook covers, and memories.

*NOTE: Bob Brooks had a second Seven Seas location in Las Vegas at the Nevada Biltmore, but it was short-lived, lasting just from 1942-1944.

There are two Haleiwa Joe's still open on Oahu: one in Haleiwa and another in Kaneohe.

This location in Rancho Mirage opened in June 2003, in what used to be a Chart House restaurant, in a very unique building.

The building (built in 1978) made clever use of a difficult site and was a spectacular example of “organic modernism.” Designed by architect Kendrick Bangs Kellogg, the low, scalloped and laminated roof combined with incredibly deep eaves and gave the building the appearance of a giant sea creature washed up on some ancient shore. The building won numerous awards and was designated a historic landmark by the city of Rancho Mirage.

After 2009 it became Ocean's 111 and later GG's Island.

In January 2012 a fire broke out and the building was gutted. It was demolished in 2013.

Opened in 2003.

A Polynesian "concept restaurant" with two locations, this one and another in Chino.

Closed in 2007.

A Polynesian "concept restaurant" with two locations, this one and another in Corona. It opened in 2003, operated briefly as Kealoha's in 2012, and closed in 2013.

The Kon Tiki in Shreveport was opened in 1970 by Check Wing Joe, who operated it until it closed after 38 years of business, in August 2008.

The location is now Trejo's Mexican Restaurant.

Opened in 2002 (even though later signage says they were "established in 2004").

Tiki sports bar in Kirkland, just down the street from Mambo. It was a hodge-podge of Polynesian tiki & Margaritaville tiki, with some mod-Shag thrown in. Had karaoke nights, loud music, and TVs. Drinks were available in tiki mugs for regular customers.

Closed in 2015.

Spa Tiki was a large full-service spa. The spa took up two floors, and had tikis by Bosko sprinkled throughout the place. It felt very much like a modern, upscale spa, with relaxing music and dim lighting. There was a shop near the front counter with beauty supplies and soaps with a Hawaiian bent.

The investors in Spa Tiki were also investors in nearby Mister Tiki's Mai Tai Lounge. Spa Tiki opened in 2003, and closed in late 2009.

Opened in 2003, this restaurant focused more on vintage Hawaiiana than a true tiki bar experience, and felt airy, elegant and upscale.

In 2008, owner Thoa Nguyen changed the concept from Hawaiian to Vietnamese, and it became Thoa's Restaurant and Lounge.

From August 2018 onward, this location appears to be corporate office space.

Opened in 1964.

The red-and-tan interior boasted some Witco décor, Tiki masks, faux-tapa designs on paper, lots of bamboo, and hanging floats and lanterns. A 1964 Denver Post review praised the food and the “suffering things” (you can guess which cocktail the reviewer was hesitant to name). Ernie Menehune provided entertainment—when he wasn’t busy is Las Vegas. Ernie still played gigs in Arizona well into his 80’s.

Two waitresses (Elizabeth Madrid and Judith Finchum, both 23) were arrested on January 19, 1966, for waiting tables in lingerie, a gimmick that had been used in the Tiki Kai in Albuquerque for some time. Madrid was fined $100; owner Harry Jew said that business had doubled in the single week that the two girls had been working there. A former waitress named Pat tells us: “(in 1966) Harry was the owner, Gordon the manager, Lou the maître D, Linda the hostess, Mike the bartender, Speedy the backup bartender, Tommy Jung the chef. I left Tiki Kai when I married Tommy.”

In December 1969, the Tiki Kai became the China Town Restaurant. In 1971, the Denver-based Vegas show-band the Glass Menagerie purchased the building and renamed it the Islander. The Islander lasted until 1975, and then it became Herb Wong's New China restaurant (which still served Polynesian drinks in their Kahuna Cocktail Lounge) until being demolished in 1992.

Today this location is the SafeSplash Swim School.

There was another Tiki Kai Supper Club in Albuquerque.

*NOTE: The Islander at this location is not to be confused with the Tommy Wong's Island (circa. 1977 -1983) which was about 11 minutes South of this location. That Tommy Wong's location now appears (as of 2025) to be a parking lot adjacent a kosher deli.

Opened in 1965.

The Tiki Kai's main claim to fame (or infamy, depending on your perspective) was its lunchtime lingerie shows, where the voluptuous waitresses would wear only see-through negligees while serving customers.

The Tiki Kai eventually burned down.

There was another Tiki Kai Supper Club in Denver.

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.”

The first location was at 4541 Broadway in Chicago.

Not long after opening, the bar made a short move and re-opened in 1952 at its final location at 804 W. Wilson.

Years before, this location on W. Wilson was the Barrel O' Fun Tavern, John Dillinger's favorite hangout.

This new incarnation was quite different: “There were fresh pineapples on the tables, paper leis and ti leaves hanging all around”.

Harry even imported tikis from Hawaii (see 1955 photo below with Harry, a fern tiki -- the Goddess Hina, and a hula dancer)

By 1959, the bar began touting itself as an “authentic Hawaiian theatre restaurant.”

Newspapers show the bar celebrated a 10 Year Anniversary in 1962.

It appears in later years before it closed (after 1962) that the name was shortened to "Club Waikiki".

Today, the site is home to The Covington Luxury Apartments, which were built in 1965, so Harry's must have closed some time between 1962 and 1965.

This Chinatown restaurant was opened in 1951 by Bob Lee, a native of Canton, China, and called Bob Lee's Lantern House until 1960, when it was remodeled into a Polynesian paradise.

The visuals were over-the-top, with high-contrast, Technicolor carpeting and ceiling coverings, to create an effect that can only be described as "trippy."

Appears to have closed in 1977 after running afoul of health code violations over which Lee sued and offered an open door invitation for anyone to inspect his kitchen and restaurant. However, the damage appeared to be already done.

Big Fish Seafood Restaurant was in this location from @2006-2013. Jade Garden is in this location as of 2022.