The Islander - Stockton

Stockton, California, United States

The Islander (1966-1980) was a staple of Stockton's late-night entertainment in the 70s and 80s. Tommy Lee bought The Islander from restaurateur Hop Louie, who had hired architect Warren Wong to design the building to resemble a shipwreck on a sandy beach.

Most of the Islander's mugs were manufactured by Otagiri (OMC) and included: the "Islander child's tiki" mug, more commonly called a peanut mug today, which was available in black and the more common brown; three-face bucket mugs in both a short and tall size, which Mai Tais were served in; a rare green Maori-face bucket mug; a strangely large Scorpion bowl for two with an outrigger scene on one side and palm trees on the reverse; a "surf rider" mug that was also used at the unrelated Latitude 20; a tall wahine mug in the shape of a palm tree trunk (also the same shape as a Tiki Bob mug); a tiki mug with the image of an Andres Bumatay tiki on it (this same tiki was also used for early Islander menu cover artwork); a three-tiki bowl by an unknown manufacturer, and marked as being from the Islander only with a clear sticker on the bottom; a "Hurricane" mug (more commonly called a Kon Tiki mug today, as the face was borrowed from Thor Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki); a later Hurricane mug that looked like a section of bamboo; a Wan Fu mug that is commonly called Mr. Sleepy by collectors; an unusual bug-eyed moai mug sometimes seen with white eyes; skull mugs for serving the Kona Grog, which came in black or white; a coconut mug which can be found in varying shades of brown, for serving the Coconut Punch; a pineapple mug with holes for two straws, which came with the Pi-Yi; a Suffering Tiki mug with two straw holes and a toothy grin that will be familiar to Kelbo's fans; and a Bora Bora head mug, also with two straw holes.

In the mid-90s, the building was moved to 10464 North Highway 99, and operated as the Pollardville Chicken Kitchen. The building is now demolished. The left-behind original lot is now a Tower Records.

Tommy Lee passed away at age 87 in 2002.

The Stockton Islander is not to be confused with the earlier Los Angeles Islander.

Images attribution: The Bank of Stockton Archives