Burt Lee's Tahiti was demolished in the late '90s to make a drive-thru for the bank next door.

Compared to 2021 maps, it would have been located in the alley adjacent to Wild Pear Restaurant and Catering at 372 State St, Salem, OR 97301.

BEFORE:

When it originally opened (@2005-2006), this bar had a great cartoonish logo tiki (and matching mug) that were designed by Squid. However, the overall feel of the place had more of a dive college beer bar vibe -- accentuated by the televisions turned to sports shows, the Corona beer pennant banners strung around the white ceiling, and the neon bar signs for Pacifico beer. Vodka (much more than rum) took up a substantial portion of the back bar and while they did have a menu of tiki drinks, they skewed towards the sweet concoctions typical before the craft cocktail revolution. There was some bamboo on the pillar room supports and bar itself, but this was still more of a beach bar and grill with its yellow and light blue painted walls. In fact, their sign logo used to read "Hukilounge" but was changed to "Bar and Grill" which made more sense.

SIDE NOTE:

The original owner, Tom Davies (Tiki Tom), sold his share in 2006. That original owner then opened another Tiki Tom's in nearby Oakland in 2008 which subsequently burned down. The two restaurants were otherwise unconnected.

CURRENTLY:

The new logo is now an outrigger canoe as seen on the front entrance.

Tiki Tom's had a huge tiki makeover, courtesy of Bamboo Ben, and re-opened on August 24th, 2021. The interior decor is much improved and now several walls have been covered in nautical style planks (caulked with black pitch), the ceiling is festooned with amazing tiki lamps, nets, flotsam & jetsam, and select tiki artwork that can be seen in every nook and cranny. The interior is much darker and mysterious with multi-colored mood lighting as well.

The cocktail menu is also more in line with what discerning tikiphiles have come to appreciate from craft cocktail tiki bars.

Opened in 1987.

Coconut Joe's is a fast casual restaurant with an elaborate build-out that tilts more towards a surfing theme, but does have quite a bit of Hawaiian and tiki decor.

Known for their fish & chips and mesquite grilled chicken and beef.

They also have a rental banquet hall at 4000 Easton Drive and do catering as well.

In 1961, David Cohn, of Seattle, built a new South Seas-themed restaurant on Pier 51 in Seattle. He called it The Polynesia. The roofline resembled the long houses of the South Pacific islands. A few years later, he constructed an identical restaurant above the Spokane Falls and opened Spokane’s own Polynesia in 1965.

The open-air deck, with views of the Spokane River, the middle falls and the Washington Water Power Upper Falls generating plant, was just a few feet from the Great Northern railroad trestle that brought trains to the GN depot. Diners agreed the roar and rumble of the passing trains seemed to enhance the dining experience, rather than detract from it.

But the Polynesia wasn’t the hit Cohn thought it would be. A year after opening, he was forced to sell it off.

Today, and since 2004, the building is a seafood and steak restaurant called Anthony’s.

Opened December 5th, 1963.

This was located in the Bel Air East (now the Ramada Inn at the Arch). The front entrance showcased at least 3 large tiki carvings by Barney West.

Closed in 1985.

This Trader Vic's was in the Park Plaza Hotel (formerly the Statler Hilton from 1965-1976) and was closed when Hilton sold the hotel and it was re-named the Park Plaza in 1976.

A McCormick & Schmick's was later in this spot for many years but closed in 2015.

It is unclear what occupies the spot now (as of 2021), viewing the exterior, but the Park Plaza has done some renovations and opened two new venues inside, including Strega Italiano and Off The Common (neither of which are listed with the same address as the old Trader Vic's).

Opened in 1966.

This Don the Beachcomber's was in a Hilton Hotel. That hotel was renovated in 2015 and is now known as the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront.

Trader Dick's was located in the Nugget in Sparks, just outside Reno. Trader Dick's had been remodeled twice and even moved across the street once since its opening in 1958. The final incarnation of Trader Dick's featured a 6,000 gallon fish tank, and support columns for the highway ran right through the restaurant and tank. When it opened, an unamused Vic Bergeron (of Trader Vic's) sued for trademark infringement and lost. The original Trader Dick's decor, which didn't survive the remodeling, was done by Eli Hedley, grandfather of Bamboo Ben. Trader Dick's closed in February 2014, and the space became Gilley's, a "honky-tonk" themed restaurant.

The Polynesia cost $500,000 when it was built in 1961. Architect Raymond H. Peck designed the space for owner Dave Cohn. The Polynesia was situated on Pier 51 in downtown Seattle, overlooking Puget Sound; it must have had absolutely breathtaking views.

It closed twenty years later in 1981, when the government condemned the pier... they wanted more space to expand the ferry terminal (it's now part of the Colman Dock complex). The building with three A-frame roofs (minus interior fixtures & furnishings, which had been removed) was put onto a barge and moved to temporary site on the Duwamish River. Owner Cohn sought a new site for some time, and sadly, never found a suitable one. He eventually gave up, and allowed the Seattle Fire Department to burn the building down for practice(!).

Some of the furnishings for the Polynesia included banquettes carved by Witco, large carved posts (these posts were salvaged, uncarved, from the building that had existed on the pier before the Polynesia) by local artists Donald Keys and Donald Ingalls, and a life-size tiki carved from monkey pod from Manila.

There was also a sister restaurant in Spokane.

This Trader Vic's was located in the Shamrock Hilton from 1965-1986, at the southwest corner of Main Street and Bellaire Boulevard (West Holcombe Boulevard after 1963).

The Shamrock was a hotel constructed between 1946 and 1949 by wildcatter Glenn McCarthy southwest of downtown Houston, Texas next to the Texas Medical Center. It was the largest hotel built in the United States during the 1940s. The grand opening of the Shamrock is still cited as one of the biggest social events ever held in Houston. Sold to Hilton Hotels in 1955 and operated for over three decades as the Shamrock Hilton, the facility endured financial struggles throughout its history. In 1985, Hilton Hotels donated the building to the Texas Medical Center and the structure was demolished on June 1, 1987.

Opened in 1944.

Skipper Kent's had a sister restaurant, Zombie Village, across the bay in Oakland.

Open till at least June of 1964.

This location for Skipper Kent's is now Kennedy's, an Irish pub.

From its 1945 opening to its 1984 closure, this Décarie Boulevard institution was where Montreal went to see and be seen.

Ruby Foo’s was once a 6,000-square-foot spectacle where politicians rubbed shoulders with Broadway stars, where Maurice Richard slipped in through the back door, and where Pierre Elliott Trudeau ate duck à l’orange almost every Sunday.

This location was a mecca for the city’s business, social, sports, political and wise-guy elite —­ as well as a magnet for tourists who wanted to hobnob with the latter. Anyone who was anyone congregated there.

More than that, though, it happened to serve, in the minds of many, the best damned Cantonese cuisine this side of Canton. But what patrons remember most about the place isn’t necessarily the elaborate Cantonese main courses, or the roast beef served from that sparkling silver trolley, or even the drop-dead gorgeous cigarette girl sporting the sleekest Oriental-style dress years before such frocks were deemed acceptable in public places. No, it was the egg rolls and the garlic spareribs — ­ never really replicated.

The restaurant's Black Sheep Lounge also attracted a who’s who of performers, including Charles Aznavour.

Although this restaurant is gone, there is a "Hotel Ruby Foo's" at 7655 Decarie two blocks down. There is no Polynesian restaurant in the hotel.

The original restaurant structure was finally razed in 1988.