Tiburon Tommie's

Tiburon, California, United States

Tiburon Tommie's initially started out life as a bar called the "Oar House" and then became "Tommy's Pier 41" in 1955 when purchased by Tommy Cox.

In these incarnations it was a bar only, with no food, except the occasional hamburger.

But Tommy wanted to expand to the property next door, vacated by a long-time pharmacy, and make a larger establishment.

It became "Tiburon Tommie's Pier 41" in December of 1958 (no mention of why Tommy's spelling of his name changed) when it was re-opened and expanded into a Polynesian style restaurant (a partnership between Tommy Cox and Johnnie Won who was a former chef at Skipper Kent’s).

In 1963 it was renamed "Tiburon Tommie's Mai Tai."

The building was large, and situated on the water on historic Main St. in Tiburon, across the bay from San Francisco. Its upper level was the "Maori Sky Room," used in later years only for storage.

Tommy Cox retired in 1976. The Won family bought out his half.

Tiburon Tommie's lasted longer than many of the grand tiki places, closing in 1995 when Alice Won (wife of the then sole owner, Johnny Won) suffered a stroke. When it went out of business, many of its items were reportedly found in a dumpster, and then sold at auction. Many members of the then-burgeoning San Francisco tiki scene were able to purchase items from the decor. In the early '00s, the building was torn down, and now condos are on the spot.