Opened around 1952 by a Portuguese man, named Johnny Quaresma (known as "Johnny Christmas" by those who couldn't pronounce his last name and it stuck as a nickname) - the same person who started the Zombie Hut.

The Hawaiian Hut in West Sacramento was a well-established night club restaurant that was very popular in the Sacramento area. When you entered the night club, patrons were greeted by a glass-encased shrunken head. The restaurant was known for an activity in which patrons would race across the dance floor on three legged rocking horses. The senior Johnny Christmas sold the Hawaiian Hut to the Stathos Bros. and the club continued for several years at the same location. The shrunken head was part of the sale.

The famous publishing magnate, William Randolph Hearst, is associated with the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. However, there is another famous piece of property that was associated with the Hearst family and this was originally purchased by Hearst's father, the miner turned millionaire, George Hearst. This other property was located forty miles east of San Francisco where George had a hunting lodge. After his death in 1891, his widow, Phoebe, added to the property and turned it into one of her homes. When she passed in 1919, William kept the place, but then moved many of the antiques to his home at the Hearst Castle. William then sold the property in 1924.

Around 1940, the 500 acre property was remade as a dude ranch, called the Old Hearst Ranch. It was always full and even had its own radio show called "The Dude Ranch Breakfast".

Most people think of dude ranches as a phenomenon where city folks from back East would travel to Western ranches on vacation where they could dress up and play cowboy. At these ranches, Easterners could participate in horseback riding, fly fishing, wilderness pack trips, hunting and helping with ranch activities alongside career cowboys.

However, at the peak of the dude ranch craze, many of these locations were far more than just ranches and were, in fact, multi-themed resorts that offered a variety of different vacation entertainments. This helped to provide something for spouses or family members that weren't as interested in traditional ranch activities and made for a more diverse vacation destination. The Old Hearst Ranch really promoted the tropical vacation aspect of vacation life and held regular luaus with tropically themed live entertainment and lavish dinners. They also had a huge swimming pool and visitors could spend their entire vacation going back and forth from the pool, to the Hawaiian Room, then partake of luaus held on the "Palm Patio", before heading back to their guest rooms -- all without ever going near a horse stable.

The Old Hearst Ranch's pre-tiki Hawaiian Dining Room was as well-appointed as any Hawaiian themed location in the mainland USA at the time. They usually served evening meals and were known for live entertainment and a hors d'oeuvre buffet line (or "relish" bar) that served various snacks and appetizers in wood Hawaiian monkey-pod dishes -- luau style. In postcards and photos, there can also be seen a large bamboo framed print of Frank Macintosh's "The Fruit Harvest" (1938) with its beautiful watercolor hula girls, which is commonly associated with cruise ship menu covers from that era. Brochures show they had Hawaiian themed murals done by Diego Rivera, depicting luaus as well.

Sold again, in 1952, the Old Hearst Ranch went through a few more owners but is today a country club, known as The Club at Castlewood.

This was an early pre-tiki bar, restaurant, and nightclub.

Frank Champagne's Tropic Room, at 1306 Strand in Hermosa Beach, was open at least as early as 1948. Frank also appears to have run the bath house right next door.

Additionally, Frank (who was born in 1898 and 50 years old at the time) was president of the aquaplane race association in Hermosa beach, which seems to have been an annual event drawing thousands of spectators each year.

So, Frank was a prominent businessman and personality in the community. Third photo below shows Frank with arms outspread in front of the bath house at 1307 Strand.

At some point shortly thereafter, however, Frank Champagne's Tropic Room appears to have underwent a name change to the Hermosa Tropics.

It is unclear when the establishment closed.

Today, as of 2026, the location is occupied by condos.

Opened in February 2024.

In 2020, branding & design specialist John-Patrick approached Shag with the concept of The Shag House. They would find a Midcentury home in need of rescue and transform it into a Palm Springs experience like no one has ever seen before. Shag would design the look of the house and its furnishings, and JP would connect all the dots, pulling together a dream team of Makers and supply partners.

The wheels began turning in Shag’s mind, and he immediately said he was in. Initial sketches were soon underway, and JP set off in search of a property where they could execute their ambitious vision.

JP and realtor Morgan Janney found what they were looking for in a tired but much-loved house perched on the edge of Prescott Preserve—a recently established 120-acre nature preserve on the site of the former Mesquite Golf Course.

The residence we now know as The Shag House was constructed in the Little Beverly Hills neighborhood of Palm Springs in 1958. It was designed by midcentury modern “starchitects” Palmer & Krisel, and built by the famed Alexander Construction Company.

The house appeared on the real estate market in spring of 2021. Prompted by Shag and JP, Palm Springs businessman and philanthropist Brandon McBurney purchased the property and renovation work began in earnest shortly after.

From the very beginning, the artist Shag had one charge: to wildly reimagine the 1958 home so that future visitors would feel as though they’ve climbed into a life-size version of one of his paintings.

He went to work creating illustrations for every area of the property, making sure that each room and outdoor space was a distinctive work of art. As the Creative Director and Lead Designer of The Shag House, he made all the design decisions. Colors, textures, tiles, furnishings, fixtures… from top to bottom, the property’s aesthetic is totally Shag!

With its bold midcentury design, vibrant ambiance, and commitment to community, The Shag House has quickly become one of Palm Springs' most distinctive and sought-after event venues.

This stunning 4-bedroom, 3-bath midcentury modern estate was built for entertaining. The thoughtfully planned layout includes: a symposium courtyard, poolside bar and grill, interior service bar, deluxe catering alley for seamless hospitality, and an all-tiki themed bedroom.

Opened March 17th, 1955 by John J. Allen.

The Blomberg Center was a mixed-use space with offices and shops that faced out on a central court.

The Lanai later became Danny's Garden Restaurant @ 1963.

At some point the Blomberg Center was renamed "The Lanai Shops" and the restaurant space housed a successive variety of other restaurants, including Ming Garden, World Seafood & Sushi Buffet, and lastly, The Hong Kong Islander which had an arson fire in 2023 which has seemingly closed the location indefinitely.

"Malahini" translates to "stranger" or "newcomer" in Hawaiian.

This 35-room-motel opened at least as early as 1969.

The motel is a 7 minute drive south of where Oceanic Arts used to be, so it is a good guess that the tikis shown in the postcard photo were acquired there.

By at least as early as 2011, the motel was converted to the "Friendly Hills Inn" and all previous signage and tiki decor was removed. However, the structure is still intact and remains much the same.

In 2019, the Whittier City Council passed a law that would force this motel and at least three others in the area to close in 20 years, by 2039.

Neighbors blame the small motels along this corridor for a proliferation of crime. So, the Friendly Hills Inn's days may be numbered...

Opened in 1962 in Orange, CA.

These rental houses with outrigger beams and thatched roofs created a very Pop Polynesian looking neighborhood.

Eventually the thatching and other touches were removed and the rental housing complex was re-named the "Pinewood Villas".

Newspaper advertisements show this business ran from 1964 - 1981, first selling nautical and Polynesian goods and in later years becoming a night club.

They initially opened in 1964 at 4042 Lincoln Boulevard and then moved to 4110 Lincoln Boulevard @1969.

However, 1970s era matchbooks using the same logo advertise that this location was a nite club that offered dining and dancing as well.

They made the transition to a night club in 1971, operated by Rudy Onderwyzer, former manager of 'Shelly's Manne Hole' in Hollywood (a renowned jazz club).

A cheesecake photo from the Marina Del Rey Historical Society marked "1972" (background and below) shows a girl in cut-off jean shorts on a bamboo bridge with mounds of glass fish gloats piled to the side, a shell swag lamp and other lamps above her head with sales tags, and, in the shadows beyond it looks like band equipment and a tapa cloth hanging on the wall.

The question remains as to whether this was a store that became a night club or a store that moonlighted as a night club. With the piles of tagged merch, it doesn't look as though this was the cleanest transition...

This location later became Hop Singh's in 1981 (and ran until 1987).

Today, as of 2026, there is nothing left save some storage facilities behind industrial fencing.

Soft opening was on February 7th, 2026.

Official general opening was February 11th, 2026.

Owned by Jamie McBride.

This tiki bar is a labor of love, named after the 1958 song by Andy Williams. The lyrics go "It's a made of sticks, Sticks and bricks, But you can get your kicks, In the house of bamboo." However, this build-out took far more than just sticks and bricks. They couldn’t start until after city and county approvals, removing the concrete floor to run gas, water, electrical, drains, framing of walls, HVAC, wiring for sound and special effects, pouring a new concrete floor, purchasing new bar and kitchen equipment and more. Because they added on to the back of the building, they were required to install a fire sprinkler system.

Many hands have had a part in its development, including Ron Ferrell who came onto the project early-on to give guidance, Darrell Clark the bar manager, Notch Gonzalez who led the final build-out, and Kirby Fleming who added many signature touches like tiki sconces and table lamps.

The final result is a bar that is over-the-top in all the best ways possible and that also honors history -- especially the Old Trade Winds bar in Oxnard that ran during the 60s and was operated by Martin "Bud" Smith. Lots of details and a few original pieces came straight from this early precursor.

The building itself was a perfect choice with its iconic mid-century zig zag roof (often termed a "folded plate" or "accordion" roof). Colored fish float lamps accentuate this roofline and large Marquesan Tikis by the legendary Tiki Diablo (passed away in 2026) flank the front entrance. Black lava rock trims the front entrance and wraps around the base of the building.

Beyond the exterior and the front entrance is like entering another realm entirely...

For those who have seen Notch's other finished bars (like The Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco, or Max's South Seas in Grand Rapids) they will recognize and appreciate the detail of his craftsmanship which executes the concept of classic tiki bar design perfectly. The interior has more lauhala matting and thatching than you can shake a stick at, along with routered and carved trims and panels to complete tha "native hut" look. In the seating area, more carved tikis guard each of the booths which also have Chinese jade tile screen dividers. And, the bar itself is lit by old fashioned Orchids of Hawaii style shell swag lamps and stocked with a plethora of rums.

But this is only the beginning. Animatronic bamboo spikes with impaled skulls menace customers and immersive sound effects lend an air of danger and mystery -- making patrons feel like they have entered an Indiana Jones adventure, rather than just stopping to get a quick drink...

And, if you are in the area for the day and want to check out all the tiki sights, two blocks away is 999 Tiki Bar. House of Bamboo had setbacks during the construction phase (see the city and county approvals listed above) and even though Jamie McBride's project was started much earlier, 999 Tiki Bar was a relatively easier build-out and seized the title of "Camarillo's First Tiki Bar". There seems to be room for both concepts as 999 Tiki Bar caters to a family crowd looking for quick drinks and pizza and House of Bamboo is a much larger traditional tiki bar aiming for an adult audience who is looking for a more immersive experience. What is clear is that Camarillo has become, very quickly, a major tiki destination!