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Archives » Retro Preservation
This Week Miami 1959
While collecting way too many things related to the Mai-Kai as part of my book research, I bought this great 1959 weekly tourist magazine for the Mai-Kai ad. I got a lot of other great stuff as well.
Gotta love "Tropical Nights", "Direct from Havana" when it appears to include showgirls in fishnet tights and coconut bras in The Biltmore Room at The Biltmore Terrace Hotel.
Even the ad for Lanotan suntan cream is pretty awesome and frisky!
An added Tiki bonus is the ad for the new Bamboo Room at Roney Plaza. This is where some south Florida Polynesian stars like Nani Maka and Kui "Kimo" Lee worked.
Kimo became world famous as song write for Don Ho.
More beauty from the Tropical Nights and an ad for "French Dressing" at the Carillon Hotel.
Cindy Fuller, one of the stars of "French Dressing."
One of the Mai-Kai competitors the Luau.
The Life Bar is the oldest "Burlesk house" on Miami Beach. Fun! Girls! Gags!
A little write up about the Life Bar "girlie show" and the search for "Miss Moulin Rouge".
Ice skating in Miami? Lessons? Well if Inge in that sweater is the teacher, sign me up! At the Deauville Hotel's "Winter Wonderland".
And of course, the reason I bought the guide, the Mai-Kai ad circa 1959.
Explore the inside of the Mai-Kai in 3-D
Through Google maps you can now wander inside the Mai-Kai and the gardens in 3-D. Click here.Tennessee Tiki History Page
I started this page years ago and forgot about it. Just started fleshing it out further and published it this morning. A work in progress, but a start.
Mai-Kai Book Available for Pre-Order
My Mai-Kai history book just appeared on the Barnes and Noble website for pre-order. Coming soon to Amazon. Please pre-order and make your voice heard with the publisher to give the book more attention and better marketing. Spread the word! This is going to be a big year for the Mai-Kai!
And come see me at the Hukilau as I give a presentation on the Mai-Kai.
Then come to my book release party at the Mai-Kai, tentatively scheduled for September.
Then come to my book signing at Tiki Oasis.
Mai-Kai Sign 1961 in Color.
Rare color image the Mai-Kai "hut" sign designed and built by Dave Stevens. Chicagoans Dave and his brother made a wide variety of custom items for the Mai-Kai, from spotlight covers that looked like rocks for the exterior to fake turtle shells for the interior. The Moai stone carving was stolen one quiet night by crane from the front lawn.
The sign was destroyed a few years later by hurricane Betsy.A peak at the forthcoming book Mai-Kai: History, Mystery, and Adventure.
Knoxville Then and Now Mt. Vernon Motel
Knoxville Then & Now – Westwood Motel Kingston Pike
I have been meaning to add this motel on Kingston Pike for a long time. We dropped in to try Archer's BBQ and so I took some pictures and added it today. A relic of the 50s that stands today, the Westwood Motel, part of the Knoxville Then and Now site.
Mai-Kai: History, Mystery and Adventure – The Book
I have been researching the Mai-Kai in one form or another for over 12 years. I have been seriously looking into its history and people for a long time to document the past. I had thought I would do a book that was just pretty pictures. Once I began to talk to the people around this landmark, I found their stories amazingly compelling. Now the book will also have a wonderful story too.
I have worked on this book project in my spare time for years now. I have spent vacations in back rooms scanning images with my wife, and visiting old timers to hear their tales. I have tracked people down and interviewed people from Florida to California to Tahiti. I have a newfound respect for those who create books. It is a lot of work and time.
I hope to get the book ready in 2015 and get it published. Please support my efforts by simply liking the Facebook page first, and if you happen to have something you think will help the book, please email me and share it.
Crazy Al Creates New Mai-Kai Memories Series Molokai Maiden
Only the mastery of Crazy Al could recreate this amazing carving from the Mai-Kai.
The latest piece in the Mai-Kai Memories Series is the Molokai Maiden. An unreal smaller version of the iconic masthead in the Molokai Bar. It takes a 7 piece mold to get this beauty made!
To buy one of the Artist Proofs, go HERE or HERE.
To get on the list to own one of these for the future additions and show your support, email Al at email@example.com.
More images on Swank Pad Productions Site.
And on Facebook in the gallery.
And the video is HERE.
To get on the list to own one of these, email Al at email@example.com.
To make the cocktail for this excellent receptacle:
The Molokai Maiden
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz fresh orange juice
- 1 oz soda water
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1 oz Brandy (She was a fine girl.)
- 1 oz Vodka
- 1 oz. Dark Puerto Rican Rum
- dash bitters and a drop of orgeat or almond extract.
Shake or blend with crushed ice and pour into your Molokai Maiden mug with more crushed ice to fill.
Hukilau 2003 Video
This goes back to when the Tiki scene was young. At the request of the Florida Ohana who came to Hukilau 2002 in Atlanta, and with the huge efforts of our event partners Tristan and Bre-Elle Ishtar, we moved to the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale Florida. So many friends in this video. So many people who have become true friends.
This was also my first visit to the Mai-Kai and I had no idea it would become an obsession. Collecting the postcards and calendars at first, and now the stories for a book about this remarkable place.
We have promoted the Mai-Kai via Hukilau now for over a decade. I have given lectures on its history around the country and written about it in magazines and talked about it on NPR. It continues to dominate my life and it all started on this magical weekend 11 years ago.
1968 Mai-Kai Calendar
PBS Documentary Plastic Paradise Airs nationwide
I helped these guys quite a bit on this documentary. Sven Kirsten endorsed them heartily, so I threw my support their way as well.
I appear in the documentary along with a lot of my friends. It is centered around the Mai-Kai, which I have sent years researching, and on the Hukilau event which I started. How could I not be involved?
My biggest contribution to the project is hundreds of graphics and vintage video. Chances are, when you see a postcard, menu or mug splashed on the screen, it came from me.
I hope it helps ignite more people to seek out the Mai-Kai. It really is a destination unlike any other. It is showing in South Florida, Colorado and Alaska this week. Call or email your local PBS station to get it shown in your area! See details on air dates and contact to get it shown here.
Read Jim Heyward's write up.
Amazing Asian Themed Mid-Century Time Capsule in Iowa
Sure, it's a great Asian themed mid-century home, but, it is also over the top! The dimensions are huge. The flag stone walls, the huge open rooms with those amazing ceilings. It is so over the top! I am saving the images here for posterity. The buyer may rip all this crap out and renovate the shit out of this amazing classic at 1228 17th St., West Des Moines, IA 50265.
Pulling up to the house gives you a good clue. The trim, the stones, and garage door.
The Japanese garden style yard with stones for the yard and mini-pagoda. And a turret on top?
Great details that show an attention to detail and to a guiding hand in the build.
Okay, we're inside and starting to grasp the depth of this house décor. Those doors! The carpet, mirrored wall and of course the rock wall and statue are classic.
Sectional sofa, Phsssh! Ours has like 7 sections! The bar to the left is greta and it looks like matting on the ceiling, and well, it's freaking curved in those recesses!
And they did a flagstone wall on the other side! And that giant art piece back there is crazy great. This whole room with the vaulted ceiling and exposed beams…
Of course there is a fireplace built into that wall! I'll have a Dr. Funk please!
I can't quite tell what the bar top is, but I am sure it is fantastic.
A red sink? Yes.
Not sure about this bedroom, or the red wagon…
And the other living room. I guess this one it the fancy one. And it is fancy!
So, let's add a mirrored section to the ceiling. And make it curved…
And I want the theme in the kitchen with a red sink there too! And a red microwave.
How did this bathroom get in here?
Yes, and I want a black toilet on a dias… Great sconces.
Nice use of sea grass matting… Okay, we're done here. Fantastic.
Mai-Kai Black Velvet Rescue
From the early days after we moved Hukilau to the Mai-Kai, I had heard about a black velvet painting of Mireille Thornton. The painting had been vandalized and the description of the damage made it sound horrible.
Mireille was current owner of the Mai-Kai, having taken control when her husband, original owner Robert Thornton, had passed away in 1989. Mireille was a performer in the Mai-Kai Islanders show and in 1963 she became its choreographer. She is still in that role today! I will always be proud that Mireille made me an honorary member of the family.
For years I kept hearing about this painting and that it was removed from the Mai-Kai after someone "defiled" it. It became my mission to restore it to the Mai-Kai.
The black velvets at the Mai-Kai were painted by J. Craig Hille III. Though there may have been Leeteg paintings there at some time, he painted the big iconic pieces that are there today. He became known more widely for his portraits of celebrities.
After nearly a decade of catching small hints about the painting, I finally heard that the damage was actually a moustache drawn on it. Accomplished painter James Owens had recently moved back to Tennessee and getting to know him, I knew he was the man who could fix whatever was wrong with the paining the right way. He had brought many vintage items back to life and his skill as a painter was unparalleled. He agreed to take it on.
I got the measurement of the painting and set out to get it from Fort Lauderdale to Knoxville and back. It is two by four feet and had to be transported without damaging it. I constructed a box with just enough room to add padding. I added a place to put a handle and caster to make it easier to get this beast through the airport. It came just under the weight and length limits for the airline. I had to take it apart and rework it many times to get it under those limits. I mounted the casters with bolts and wing nuts so I could easily take them off and put them back on. It was a sturdy box to carry this precious cargo. But it was damned heavy and big!
Just getting it from the curb to the check-in was tough. When I got to Fort Lauderdale, I discovered that the holes for the bolts had shifted and I could no longer mount the handle or the casters! I was sweating and cursing as I found a way to get it through the airport after my flight was hours late. It just barely went in the back seat of the rental car. That would have been a nightmare had it not fit!
I got my little painting casket to the Mai-Kai and got to see the legendary painting for the first time. It was not nearly as damaged as I imagined. It looked like a smudge on her upper lip. My box worked well and it fit like a glove. I managed to get it back to Knoxville and to James intact.
In the light of day, the first big issue was that it was filthy. Whether it got that way from years hanging in a restaurant or in storage was anyone's guess. It had been hanging in the Tahiti Room since the 1970s. Mireille was born in Takaroa and it was in Tahiti that she caught the attention of the future Mai-Kai manager who hired her. That room was "hers" and after she and Bob were married in 1971, her portrait graced that room, newly added to the now sprawling eatery.
Jim did a fantastic job cleaning and restoring the piece. It required a bit of paint touch-up where someone's attempt to clean the moustache took off the paint. Cleaning it was tricky as it was not an oil paint and the paint came off with the dirt if you were not careful.
My next trip to Fort Lauderdale was for Hukilau in a few weeks. In the interim, we would be in Mexico for 10 days. We took the painting to be framed and realized it would happen while we were gone. If anything went wrong, we would not know. And I departed for Hukilau just 3 days after returning from Mexico! No chance to fix it or reschedule! It also hit us how freaking expensive it is to frame a two by four painting! I was thankful the Mai-Kai picked up that tab. We left it in their hands and hoped the wood we picked would be in stock and the glass would arrive in one piece, etc., etc.
It all worked out. But how was I going to get it to Florida now that it was bigger and heavier? It was over the length and weight limits for the airline now, and it was even more fragile. I sent out a call to Hukilau attendees driving down and passing through Knoxville. I got a big break when a local friend was going and had room in the cab of his truck. Transport locked it!
I had hoped to have it hanging in the Mai-Kai that Saturday night at Hukilau, but no one was sure where it had hung before, and when we tried it in the spots we guessed, the new frame made it too big to fit. So we settled for just presenting it and figuring out how to hang it later.
The presentation was a surprise for Mrs. T. We hid the painting in the office and when the time came during the dinner show, I found her with friends in the Molokai and asked her to come on stage.
I made Mireille cry that night, and was happy to do it!
It is a great honor to have the Mai-Kai trust me to do something like this and I was so happy to do something for Mireille. Her image is always there now as her guiding hand has been there for decades.
1972 Mai-Kai Calendar
Vintage Knoxville Google Map
When I was at the Mod Weekend event last weekend in Fort Lauderdale, I was talking with other fans of vintage modern and thought it would be great to document these places on a map so other people can find them easily. I have taken out of town guests on tours myself a few times. The map would allow people to guide themselves.
I came home and have explored the idea. The first effort is HERE. Vintage Knoxville. I started it tying it into my website pages, but am expanding to add various cool spots.
If you'd like to help with the project, drop me a line. Do this for your own city! It is not hard, just takes time.
Now if there was a mobile app for this to drop a pin on the map as we drive, that would be super!
Lustron Home Update
Just a bump so you know I finally added images of this fantastic Lustron home here in Knoxville.
Mai-Kai Reunion 2013 and History Presentation
Mai-Kai: History, Mystery and Adventure
In 1933, Don Beach's place was one of many thousands of bars that opened the day after Prohibition ended. No one knew then that his bar would invent a whole new genre and be copied across the globe for the next 30+ years. "Don the Beachcombers" set the bar by which not just restaurants were judged, but cocktails especially. It was the dawn of the cocktail era, and Don Beach was the undisputed king of tropical mixology. In an era of cocktails of 2 or 3 ingredients, his secret recipes were mixed with 2 or 3 rums and 8 more ingredients to create drinks like the world had never seen before or since.
In 1956, the brothers Bob and Jack Thornton of Chicago set out to open their own Polynesian restaurant. These brash young men were well versed in the ways and tastes of "Don the Beachcombers" as well as his imitators Trader Vic and Steve Crane's "Kon Tiki" restaurants. Their ideas would far surpass those from whom they drew inspiration. When they teamed up with Robert Van Dorpe, the inside man at Don's place in Chicago, they got an ally that went beyond their imagination. With his help, they not only hired away a top chef and bartender from Don's, but also got the source for all the glassware, artwork, kitchen equipment and most importantly, secret ingredients to make those world famous cocktails. When the Mai-Kai opened in late 1956, at a cost $350,000, it was the most perfect copy of Don's plan imaginable, but taken to new heights.
The Mai-Kai quickly outshined its predecessor. The Mai-Kai earned all the prestigious awards like Don the Beachcomber, but also became the biggest seller of rum in the nation. It was the haunt of celebrities such as Johnny Carson and Jackie Gleason. The Mystery Girl – a Mai-Kai invention – made her way onto Johnny's "Tonight Show," twice!
In 1989, both Don Beach and Robert Thornton, who bought his brother Jack's portion in 1970, passed away. In Don's case, the last of his restaurant empire closed soon afterward. The Polynesian Pop era was all but gone. In the next 2 decades, almost nothing survived except the Mai-Kai. By the year 2000, there were only two places on earth to get Don's "Rum Rhapsodies" made the way he created them, and only the Mai-Kai still had the grandeur of Don's golden days.
Today, the craft cocktail is coming back. Those in search of great concoctions are returning to the master Don Beach and finding nothing to compare. They are in awe of his ability to make deep, balanced, incredible masterpieces of rum and flavorings. And they are returning to the cocktail Mecca that is Mai-Kai. There they can taste the drinks as they should be, and served in the specialty glasses with ice shells or fresh pineapples and seasonal coconuts. In the Mai-Kai, it is as if Don and the Thorntons never left. Carefully made, complex drinks are served with wonderful food and the utmost gracious service. All this is done in the most reverie inducing environment on earth.
It is time travel.
On Saturday March 16th, Mai-Kai historian Tim "Swanky" Glazner will give a presentation on the people and stories of this great place. The very people of the Mai-Kai who witnessed and made 55 years of its history will be on hand for a Mai-Kai Family Reunion.
The Molokai will open at 2PM for the event with Happy Hour and my presentation will be at 3PM.
It will also be a reunion of the Mai-Kai veterans, the living history of the greatest Tiki Temple on earth. Last year we had Molokai girls, perfomers, Maitre d's and others who had worked there as long ago as the 50s.
Please join us for a greater understanding of the Mai-Kai's place in Polynesian Pop history and an appreciation of the 80 year legacy they represent. This is your chance to hear the stories first hand.
Also check out Mod Weekend occuring that weekend as well. I will be giving a guided tour of the Mai-Kai Sunday moring as part of that event.
Mai-Kai Calendar Girls – 1969
Mod Weekend in Fort Lauderdale March 15-17th
The event will be March 15 – 17th and is centered around the Modern design of the Fort Lauderdale area. One of the architects celebrated will be Charles McKirahan. Besides designing several Modern buildings in the area of the event near A1A, he also worked with Bob and Jack Thornton to design the modern primitive Mai-Kai in 1956.
As part of the activities there will be a double-decker bus tour of buildings and the first stop is the Mai-Kai. I will act as docent and lead a tour, highlighting the design elements and designers who left their imprint upon the place and the genre.
I hope you can join us!
Redmon Court – Knoxville Then and Now
Another addition to Knoxville Then and Now is the Redmon Court. Not exactly confident I found it. You decide.
Ridgeview Motel – Knoxville Then and Now
A New Year's resolution was to add more to the Swank Pad, and so we have an addition to Knoxville Then and Now!
This is the Ridgeview Motel in Clinton. See the place now at the site:
2013 is 1963 All Over Again…
As a public service, let me bring to your attention the fact that the year 2013 is exactly the same as the year 1963. So you can re-use that 1963 calendar this year, and you can print out the 1963 Mai-Kai calendar for this purpose from my site!
For this year I included the calendar pages.
See it HERE.
p.s. You can also use the 1974 calendar this year, but that actual calendar part is not on the site.
Atlanta's Dante's Down the Hatch to Close
In 2002 when we were planning the first Hukilau and thinking about a second, Dante's was a location we greatly wanted to include. It is a really unimaginable themed restaurant in Atlanta's Buckhead area. An 19th century ship is inside and you can dine on various levels in it, and around it is an entire port village. It was a yearly pilgramage we made, just to have a cocktail at the bar to start the evening or end it.
It appears the development of Buckhead, a very treandy area, has meant a huge increase in their property taxes. Started in 1970, this is about to be their end.
Find a way to go see this place while you can. There is no set closing date yet. And when you are there, wander around outside as well, including the garages under and behind the building. Even the bathrooms are interesting.
HERE is the news.
HERE is their website
NPR Does Hukilau and the Mai-Kai!
I was proud to share some of my Mai-Kai research at the Mai-Kai during Hukilau this year. My presentation went over well and several said it brought tears to their eyes. A good sign. There were a dozen or so Mai-Kai veterans there who gave me lots of info to move forward with. And after my talk, I was interviewed for an NPR piece. If you have not heard it, then here it is: Mai-Kai and Hukilau on NPR.
Mai-Kai History presentation at the Mai-Kai!
On April 20th, I will give a much updated version of my Mai-Kai history presentation as part of Hukilau. I have many more stories and images and long lost videos than when I was at Oasis, plus, I will have many of the people whose stories I am telling, right there in the room with me!
I am really looking forward to this once in a lifetime event. I hope you will join me as I share the tales that will greatly deepen your appreciation of the Tiki Mecca.
Come meet the man who invented the Mystery Drink, see the Mystery Girl on the Tonight Show, hear how the Mai-Kai was able to recreate Don the Beachcomber's recipes so perfectly, and how so many incredible people are linked to this incredible place.
Tickets at The Hukilau
Marie Mariterangi sings in the Molokai 1965
In researching the Mai-Kai's history, I come across a lot of things that I am not sure will ever make it into a book, or a lecture or anywhere besides me and my wife. This weekend, with spare time due to the holidays, I did some digging. I have an October/November 1965 "Happy Talk", a news magazine published by the Mai-Kai, and it is full of great stuff. The cover announces that Mariterangi will begin performing in the Molokai soon. I had not heard that name come up before, so I searched for the story of her life. There is not much.
There is a ton of her music online. I found Dub DJs with her in their list of music to mix. She, like many of the performers at the Mai-Kai, was from Tahiti, born in 1926. The fast tempo of the Tahitian drums is a draw for creating a live show I am sure. Toti was the lead there. Mireille was the choreographer and dancer from Tahiti. They likely knew of Marie and when she landed on the mainland of the US, they worked to recruit her. Marie came to the US via Hawaii, like many of the island performers, and created her own troupe. She started at the Bora Bora in San Francisco in 1960. That location became a Skipper Kent's in the late 60's after the owner was shot by his wife. Few even knew it was ever anything else. It stayed a Skipper's into the 80s.
There were local island natives who would come to the Mai-Kai and as the evening came around, they got out their guitars and began to play and sing the songs of their homelands. It was simply a natural thing and it was enjoyed by the snowbirds as well. The Mai-Kai recognized the beauty of it and made this a standard practice there. Marie may have been the first formal player in the Molokai.
Sadly, Marie passed away of cancer in 1971. She was honored in her homeland, along with her sister Emma with a stamp. Her music lives on forever. Her voice is so full of emotion. If you can find her "Tahiti Nui", it is a classic.
And today, the tradition lives on. It may be Mua and his guitar or any number of other musicians playing in the Molokai. Singing the songs of the islands…
UPDATE: Biltmore Tourist Court Demolished
This icon on Kingston Pike, which dated back to the 1930s at least, and which seemed to deny time by still standing in a location that was heavily commercialized all around, is no more.
Those who went to Opal's Lounge were right next to it and there were many mysteries in the old courtyard. An older man lived there and came by to say hello to Opal regulalrly. There was a GTO Judge in there somewhere. I hope someone got the old sign… Wish it were me…
Mai-Kai Calendar Girls
In an effort to turn blog posts to web pages, I have started with the Mai-Kai calendars. This also gives me a chance to share a bit of history along the way.
If you are interested in helping with this project, please email me. I do not have every calendar.
Check back for updates!
Recent TC Threads
Or maybe this is the all Dusty Cajun hour! Try looking through these for some OG Tiki Central feelings:
Mah Jong, Syosett, Long Island, NY
The Tahitian, Pasadena, CATropics Motor Hotel, Seattle, WA
Swanky presents: "Mai-Kai – History, Mystery and Adventure" Symposium at Tiki Oasis
I have been a huge fan of the Mai-Kai since I saw it for the first time when organizing Hukilau 2003. Since then I have collected all the mugs, stories, postcards and memories I can.
I have interviewed the founders of this legendary place, along with the varied people who have worked there as performers, servers, mixologists and owners. And I have heard the many tales of those who took their first drink there and patronized it for decades.
For Tiki Oasis 2011, I am bringing the story of this great place to everyone. You'll find out how the Mystery Drink was invented, and who was the first legendary girl auditioned for the job. Learn how the Thornton brothers used the best parts of Don the Beachcomber's and added to it to make the grandest Tiki Palace in existence. See amazing images and never before seen vintage video and get the chance to receive the Mystery Ceremony done by former Mai-Kai performer Marina!
Get your tickets via the Tiki Oasis website and join me for a fantastic trip through 60 years of Tiki history!
Charles McKirahan – Fort Lauderdale Mid-Century Architect
If you are heading to Fort Lauderdale for Hukilau next week, you might want to take a little side trip as you drive to the Mai-Kai and see other places designed by Mid-Century master Charles McKirahan. McKirahan worked with the Thornton brothers to design the stunning A-frame of the the original Mai-Kai, and also has many surviving grand designs in the area. A couple of side turns as you go will give you the chance to see these great buildings.
- Premiere Hotel – Just off A1A as you go to the Mai-Kai.
- Sea Chateau, now the Alcazar Resort – Now a gay resort.
- Manhattan Tower – Great neon, so check it at night. Near the Premiere and on your way to teh Mai-Kai
- Birch Towers – Now condos along the way to the Mai-Kai
- Birch House – Also on the way
- The Jolly Roger – now the Ramada Sea Club – On the left as you go
- Coral Ridge Yatch Club – Just past Sunrise on your way
- Coral Ridge Country Club
- Breakwaters Towers – As you come in from the airport
- Ocean Manor – Further up the coast
- Maybury Mansions – Further north
As you can see (if you looked) if you turn in around Bayshore Drive before you get to Sunset, and just cruise around those streets, you'll see lots of great mid-century places. This area was home to the first Hukilau in 2003, but we outgrew the Holiday Inn very quickly!History and preservation site to browse: HERE
Hawaiian Village III – Myrtle Beach, NC
I just got this postcard of the Myrtle Beach Hawaiian Village. Great to see the exterior and another interior shot. The front is classic A-frame with Witco onthe doors.
Another view of the Witco Tiki in the center. Check out the funky round lights on the tables.
Previously on the Swank Pad Blather: Post 1 and Post 2
1964 Avion Camper – Our New Vacation Home!
We recently sold our 1968 Serro Scotty "canned ham" 15 foot camper for something with more room and amenities. We got a 1964 Avion 24 foot Holiday. Great vintage style. We look forward to making our own and bringing it back to a classic, vintage modern look. Click the above image for the brochure featuring our camper and the whole Avion line.
Esquire November 1959 – Mai-Kai
Mr. Fatu – Live at the Hawaiian Inn Daytona
Elvis was huge in Hawaii, but I guess that crossed on over to Samoa and Mr. Fatu got the bug.
I don't know much about what is going on here, so I will leave off with comments. I will note that the track names are as they were printed on the LP.
Hawaiian Inn pics, history and commentary HERE and more HERE
There is something distinctly sleazy about Mr. Cannova. His picture is bigger than Fatu's and he doesn't really have a role here that we can be sure of…
Mai-Kai Derby Daiquiri and Mariano Licudine
This image is from the June 1959 issue of Esquire magazine. It says:
"The fabulous mixologist Mariano Licudine of the famed Mai-Kai Restaurant in Florida creates new ways with rum in his Derby Daiquiri. The secret: one ounce of fresh orange juice, one half ounce of fresh lime juice, one scant teaspoon of sugar, one andone half ounces of Puerto Rican white label rum, one cup of crushed ice; mix in a blender for 10 seconds or shake vigorously. The bee? Oh, he's just buzzy. But this, designated the oficial drink of the Florida Derby, is the DERBY DAIQUIRI."
This date seems to have confused people into thinking this was named the official drink of the Derby in 1959. The Derby Daiquiri has been on the Mai-Kai drink menu since the earliest printings. And it has always been pictured served in the special Jockey glass. So, I would assume it has been the drink of the Derby since 1957 at least, which is the copyright date on the oldest menus I have seen.
Here is Mai-Kai owner Bob Thornton holding the drink with the original coaster.
Here is my glass with the coaster.
UPDATE 8/10/2011: After extensive research, though the Derby Daiquiri was on the first Mai-Kai menu, it did not become the official drink of the Gulfstream Derby until probably 1959.
South Seas Club – Anchorage Alaska
Yes, that's right, it's a bear with topless island girls, having a cocktail. Oh, and an old miner too. That's from the drink menu for a very unique Tiki bar in Alaska. Right, Alaska. This great menu is obviously a perversion parody or the classic Trader Vic's menu. In one image, that bear is doing something with an Alaskan native totem pole. For a moment I wondered if this wasn't pre-Tiki, as the only Tiki cocktail on the menu was Don the Beachcomber's Zombie. But then, duh! It's the Trader's menu! So, maybe it is mid to late 30's. Very low prices and few classic cocktails as we knew them.
There is a great thread on Tiki Central that details the quest for this place and what might remain of it. Pictures unearthed by Unga Bunga and Taboo Dan:
James Teitelbaum was on his way to try to find what remained of the place, but, it turns out, most everything there was destroyed by an earthquake in 1964. Bummer.
Sam Makia – Live Hawaiian Party
More ripped live Hapa Haole vinyl. I had recorded this record in 2007, but just recorded it again. It appears to be from the 70s. Looks like the dying end of the Tiki Epoch. Everyone in the images is elderly. The show was recorded in the Malia Polynesian Room in Asbury Park, NJ. I find no internet record of this place existing.
Sad, as Sam Makia made one of my all time favorite records. Take it as you will.
The Exotic Sounds of the Hawaii Kai
I have narrowed my collecting over the years, mainly due to the fact that I could quickly run out of space. Now that the Hideaway is in operation, I limited it even more.
One of the few things I do collect now are items from the Hawaii Kai, NYC. In the last few months, my very favorite recordings have become the live recordings from various island and Tiki establishments. Nothing is better than the sound of forks on plates in the background!
So when I came across this LP I thought I had hit a home run. However, I was more than a little disappointed to find out that it was a studio recording.
Here it is for you to download. If some expert out there can tell me what is causing the high end distortionin my recordings I'd appreciate it. My guess is the needle on the turntable. It is not a problem with recording levels, etc. It is at the source.
Lots of info on the Hawaii Kai here
Related post on the Goddess of Love mug
And the girls of the Hawaii Kai menu
Swank Vinyl Exotica is Free!
Back in 2001, I made Swank Vinyl Exotica I to sell at the first Hukilau. It turns out that was the only money made on the first Hukilau! I made a second and sold them both on my website.
I just didn't feel like putting in the time to make the CDs anymore and they ended.
I decided to resurrect them and share them now. I do not swear by the quality of these recordings, only their mood, which at those times, they reflected.
Cocktail Ice Shell
The Ice Shell is one of those lost arts, or perhaps, lost little extras, that went away when cheap labor did. I know of only one place I can get a cocktail in an ice shell and that is the venerable Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, FL. If you are lucky, you'll get your Shark Bite served in one.
I was sure to ask General Manager Kern Mattei just how one made this magical wonder on one of my first trips. Here I am 7 years later actually doing it.
Why did it take me so long? I needed the right glass. And I have not searched for it continually. Today Ms Swanky thought to look while we were at a Goodwill and we lucked upon a few perfect glasses.
The right glass must be round and have a short edge. That is, it can't come up too far or you can't make it work.
To make mine I used my go-to fine ice crusher, the Oster Sno-Flake. It makes good fine crushed ice and is detachable from its base so you can put it over an ice bicket and crush up tons at a time. Available for cheap on Ebay and your local antique dealer.
So now you have the proper glass and the fine crushed ice, using the back of a spoon, press the ice into a shallow shell around the inside of the glass. Keep building it up on the edges until the inside of the entire glass is covered. Put the glass in the freezer.
After it has time to freeze solid, take it out and go to the final step. I am not sure how the professionals do it. Maybe you can just let it cool on the counter for a while, but I heated the glass with my hands. You need a little warming to get the ice to seperate from the glass. A little push will tell you when it is ready. Too much and you will destroy your work.
Once the ice shell is loose from the glass, you push down one edge and back fill more ice with the spoon to get the glass covered again. Then put it back in the freezer until you are ready to serve.
After a few, it gets easier and yoru final product better. Back in th eearly days, there were many drinks served with ice sculpture and they had guys back there making the special sculptures all night long. I can count over a dozen with ice sculptures on the vintage Mai-Kai menu.
UPDATE: A small bit of advice to make it all easier. Crush your ice, but let it sit a little while. You want it to be melting a little. "Wet" ice, like wet snow will pack much better and when you freeze it, it will make a stronger block.
I suggest the "Shark Tooth" from Beachbum Berry's "Grog Log". It will also likely be in his new book coming out soon, Re-Mixed. Or join me at this little event I started called Hukilau in June and we'll try one at the Mai-Kai.
If you make one of these, be sure to thank the Mai-Kai for keeping the knowledge alive.
Do Something For the Mai Kai Today
The greatest Tiki Supper Club can use your help. And it only takes a couple of minutes.
In this economy, things are tough for a business that depends on tourists. And the new owner, Dave Levy has also invested a ton of money in renovating the Mai Kai in the last year.
So, spend a couple of minutes adding your glowing reviews to these online travel pages to counter the many stupid reviews of people who are clueless. Help keep the Mai Kai around for your kids and their kids to go and marvel. Hell, do it so you can go and marvel!
These are the top review sites when searching for the Mai Kai. And while there, be sure to look up your other favorites and give them good reviews too. They need more people who don't complain about them being too dark or expensive to chime in!
New Mai Kai Website
Pia has wanted an updated site since the day I met her in 2003. It's finally here. It is so nice! I hope it brings even more people into the happiest place on earth! Thanks Bill fo rmaking it happen!
Robert Daniel House by Fitzgibbon in Knoxville
We had the pleasure of visiting with the owners of the Robert Daniel house here in Knoxville. The house was designed and built by James Fitzgibbon in 1950. I won't bore you too much with words. The house is incredible. The owners say they regulalrly find architects at their door dropping by to see Fitzgibbon's master work. Often they are old friends of his.
The rock is all local from the Candora Marble company, which supplied a lot of what you seein Washington DC.
The lucite triangle coming out of the roof is where a tree used to grow.
Upper deck area that used to be a childrens play area.
Above to the left is where the master bedroom is.
Through the bookcase you can see the step down to a study. Bedroom above.
Looks out to a gardwn and fountain area.
Another New Mai Kai Postcard Found
Adomono – A Night at the Beachcomber
An Old Testament Christmas
I don't often post links to blogs on my blog, but, after this wasn't posted on any other major blogs, I felt I owed it to all of you to share what may be one of the singularly best posts in all the freaky world. It made me weep.
I have long been a fan of the Secret Fun Spot, but this post alone will make you all bow down in adoration of his mystical powers for fishing out the vintage oddity of our great nation.
Service Station – Asheville Hwy
This little station was in a movie filmed in Knoxville. Anyone recall what movie? October Sky or Box of Moonlight? In the movie, I recall there were like 20 Highway direction signs in front of it.
Great vinatge lines.
A phone? I forgot to see if it had a dial tone.
These lights must have shined on a lot of classic cars getting gas…
Home Investment Building – 1400 Central Ave.
C and S Cleaners – Central
Mai Kai Postcards – Another One Found
Another card to add to the original post and now website of Mai Kai postcards.
This is the famous large Barney West at the south end of the Mai Kai. It stands there to this day. But today the highway has encroached to the point that this guy is right on the edge.
Terminal Service Auto – Central
Lusk Body Co. – Off Central
Star Sales – Central
Knox Glass Sign – Central Ave. Pike
Knox Glass sign on Central. Looks like it could have gas tiki torches.
Lonnie's Auto Trim Shop – Central Ave.
I'm not sure what this says about me, but a few months ago, this sign was un-retouched and showed it's 50 plus years of service and I loved it. Now it has been refurbished, and, I'm not so thrilled. Sick?
I've had a couple of converible tops replaced by these guys.
Just a great old building and sign.
UPDATE: As luck would have it, I busted the back window out of my convertible top yesterday while unloading wood for bar construction. I called Lonnie's immediately and the number was disconnected. Drove by to see a closed sign and the place cleaned out…
Signs of Knoxville – Electrical Wholesalers on Central
This place is still open doing business.
Spent this beautifal Fall day photographing some vintage Knox ville, signs and buildings. I'll be posting them over the next week.
You Tubery
I spent most of the last week on the couch with a nasty cold. It gave me time to look around You Tube and find some videos I want to share. If you have some time to watch. The first video of Lani McIntyre I think might be shot at the Hawaiian Room in the Hotel Lexington and just maybe the lead dancer is none other than Pualani Avon who danced for us at the Mai Kai for Hukilau 2004. This is a playlist, so you can skip to other videos by mousing over the bottom of the screen.
Molokai Bar Mai Kai Menu
Just when you think you know what's out there, something else comes along. Until about a month ago, I had never seen this menu. It is the "missing link" in a way. Oddly missing from the Mai Kai drink menu that we all have seen that is dated 1957, is the Mystery Drink. That led to wondering if the Mystery Drink was around in 1956 when they opened. This is perhaps the answer. On this menu, dated 1959, is the Mystery Drink. There was a seperate menu for the Molokai and that's where the drink was ordered. It is dated 1959 and not 1957. We had this dated menu from 1958, so, this menu doesn't get us closer to 1957 for the Mystery Drink, just firms up the evidence. One interesting thing from the mini menu is the image of the Mystery Drink. It is the kneeling girl bowl that was common among many bars.
That bowl is seen in this image from the Mai Kai which is surely Annie Campbell:
So, perhaps the Mystery Drink started in 1956 when the Mai Kai opened, and the Mai Kai Mystery Bowl appeared a little later…
Mai Kai Postcards – New Finds
Okole Maluna Society
I previously posted about the Okole Maluna Club at the Mai Kai. At Hukilau, Kern Mattei, GM of the Mai Kai blessed me with this bit of ephemera. The membership card for the Okole Maluna Society. Awesome! I just can't decide if I should put my name on it and make myself a mixologist! I should have had Kern do it.
Hawaii Slides
Mai Kai in Holiday Magazine March 1962
Butlinland Postcard
Just got this card to add to the Vintage Server Girls thread on Tiki Central.
This gal is clearly none too happy to see her man getting lei'd…
In the UK they broke the rules and had blonde servers!
And the freaks have tikis with boobs!
Repressed Tiki Memory
I was talking to an old friend today about Hukilau and the Mai Kai and suggested that if he had the chance, he should visit Trader Vic's Atlanta. His response surprised me. He told me he had been there, with me! We took a road trip to Atlanta in 1996 which I recall. We had a heckuva good time. I recall stumbling upon the Clairmont Lounge, etc. But he tells me our first stop was Trader Vic's. I have no memory. First I recall being there was around 2001. Weird.
Mai Kai Gals – Argosy Magazine 1964
The one great thing I credit myself with in the whole Hukilau event, is being able to promote and in some ways really help make the Mai Kai more well known and popular. We all love the place, but I love the people that run it. They are the best. The staff as well. Mai Kai.
I noticed there was not a good set of images of this magazine article on the web, so I thought I'd scan it and put it out there for everyone.
Considering all the images of this Barrel of Rum mug, you'd think they would be around, but I have seen this mug on Ebay once in maybe 5 years.
Is that me in that aloha shirt? Maybe at Hukilau?
Kona Kai – Las Vegas – Postcard
I have been lusting after wanting this postcard for a long time. It's finally mine. Why do I want it?
Could be this guy, waiting and watching on the diving board.
Could be these mafia guys, planning something harsh.
Could be this gal, smiling, cocktail in hand with the awesome hairdo.
Could be this red hot mama. But…
Really it's just the whole damn card!
Vintage Hawaii Slides
Vintage Hawaii Slides
Vintage Hawaii Slides
Vintage Hawaii Slides
Caliente Tropics Tikis
New York Times Beachbum Berry Article
Vintage Tapa Outrigger Lamp Resurrection
Aloha John has been keeping his eye on the remains of a local San Bernardino Poly Pop establishment, Trader Island for a long time. He made a deal to own this outrigger lamp, and then the place was sold and became a sports bar. Head over to TC and read the full story.
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #54
Tuai is Miss December 1973 in the 1974 calendar. A bonus!Sponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #53
Something very modern looking about Kelli, Miss December 1974.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #52
Pamela is Miss November 1974. I think this is what is now the gift shop.Sponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #51
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #50
Liva is shakin it for September 1974.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #49
Patti is Miss August 1974. This is the lovely lady's room at the Mai Kai. Mmmm. That hair just gets me. That's not your typical 1974 style.Sponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #48
"When the gong sounds, the ritual begins. There's a hush throughout the room. What follows is something very special. Between you, your soul and the Mystery Girl."
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #47
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #46
Um, Miss May 1974 is Linda, and there appears to be flames coming out of her… Hot!Sponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #45
Kainoa is Miss April 1974. We had the pleasure of Kainoa dancing in the opening ceremony for Hukilau 2004. An incredible lady. She dances with my good friend Talani's Polynesian Proud Productions in South Florida.Another drawing of the garden dining area.
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Pagan Magazine 1966
I had come across this cover many years ago, and this week, I finally found the magazine. As best as I can tell, it is from 1966. Maybe a bit racier than Playboy at the time and just full of pictures of girls. The tiki and the bar are apparantly owned by the same photographer who did this spread for Nylon Jungle magazine. The rest of the images in the magazine are NSFW, so, you click on the below links as you wish.
Buff Treasure – on Pleasure Island – Rare, indeed, is the day that a ship calls at the island of Secluda, so this lovely native celebrates the event.
Page 3 – She's asking the fire god who rules over the island to provide them with rainless weather so that the passengers and crew on board the ship can come ashore to sample the island's hospitality. The native food is delicious, the dances are delights to behold and the people are friendly children. "Pleasure Island," it's been called, and with good reason. With luck, perhaps some day your ship will call at this pearl of the Pacific!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #44
It's probably a good idea that the outrigger isn't there now. I can definitely see Crazy Al rowing out to the waterfall at Hukilau…
Linda is Miss March 1974.
A drawing of the dining area in the gardens.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #43
Candi is Miss February. Now that's sexy, I don't care who you are.
A nice drawing of the show at the Mai Kai.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only calendar worthy of your tiki bar, or cubicle!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #42
Mireille is Miss January 1974 on stage at the Mai Kai.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #41
When your 1974 Mai Kai calendar arrived, this was the image that greeted you on the envelope. Nice.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #40
Gail brings up the rear as the last image for 1967.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #39
Liva is Miss December 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #38
Sandra is Miss November 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #37
Ellen is Miss October 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #36
Joan is Miss September 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #35
Betty is Miss August 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #34
Deanna is Miss July 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #33
Mireille is Miss June 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #32
Leila is Miss May 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #31
Carol is Miss April 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #30
Andree is Miss March 1967.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #29
Gigi is Miss February 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #28
Patti is Miss January 1967
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #27
This starts the 1967 Mai Kai calendar. This is a front image:
Lorie is our front girl for 1967
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #26
Charmaine is Miss December 1963.
For the end of this calendar year of 1963, we have this Extra. Were the first letters of that poem meant to mean anything?
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #25
Ellen is Miss November 1963.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FLSponsored by Tiki Daze – The only damn calendar that matters!
Leilani Hawaiian Rum
Many years ago at the World's Longest Yardsale, an empty bottle of Leilani Hawaiian Rum turned up. Sven Kirsten said he has a display that held the bottle and was looking for a one to put in it. That put me on a search.
At the Tiki Ti you may have seen this. It's an "adapted" display. A few years ago I happened upon the display in mint condition. Now I was in the spot Sven was. Until last week…
Behold the Leilani Hawaiian Rum display, with a vintage, unopened bottle of Leilani Hawaiian Rum!
Yes, that state tax seal is intact. Beach Bum Berry ranks it as one of his favorite white rums. I have tasted it via a few airline sized bottles over the years. I think I will keep this seal unbroken for a long time. I love having this perfect display in the bar!
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #24
Jean is Miss October 1963.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #23
Sallye is Miss September 1963. Look at that awesome material her costume is made of!
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #22
Diane is Miss August 1963.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #21
Hmmm, there's just something about Jean, Miss July 1963 that I really love. Not sure what…
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #20
Lita, the Oriental Mystery Girl is Miss June 1963.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #19
Nice Rarotangan tiki there Andre! Miss May 1963.
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #18
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #17
Miss March is Mireille, better known these days as Mrs. Thornton, owner of the Mai Kai. I love this image. Very fun, and I love to see the cannibal tiki trio over her shoulder!
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #16
Ah the Mystery Girl, Dondi. Dig that bowl! Miss February 1963
Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #15
I meant to share these in chronological order, but somehow I messed up. So, now we start the 1963 Mai Kai calendar.
Donna is Miss January 1963. That Old Black Magic has had me in its spell many times…
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #14
A nice illustration of the Mai Kai in 1964
The legendary Mireille Thornton on the back cover.
This ends the 1964 calendar. These early 60s ones are very rare.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #13
Barbara is Miss December 1964
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #12
Dee is Miss November 1964
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #11
Sizou is Miss October 1964
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #10
Joann is Miss September 1964
An illustration of the bar in 1964 with the portrait of Bob Thornton drawn in there.
Fixed the images on yesterday's vintage hula cheesecake post.
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Cavalier 1963 Hauoli Nani Nei
I am proud that I was able to contribute images for the "Sexy Tiki" portion of Sven's newest book, "Tiki Modern". I just got a bit of new naughty hula stuff to share.
From the January 1963 we have a surprisingly long pictorial of a Hawaiian festival. We see the fantasy unfold. The images are NSFW: not safe for work.
We see the natives get restless, then our blonde "private secretary" cuts loose!Note the tan line on her that is 6 inches above her belly button.
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #9
Idola is Miss August 1964
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #8
Sandi is Miss July 1964
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Arnie and Chise – Rotsa Ruck – Fort Lauderdale Sheraton Lounge
I picked up this record on my trip to Tiki Eyeball. I have been dying to hear it since May. The cover is just classic. I am not sure where this Sheraton is in Fort Lauderdale. I thought it was where the Hukilau is hosted, but, that's definitely a different building. But she does mention the Yankee Clipper on the record. Is this the building across from the ocean?
I have uploaded a nice big image of the back for your reading pleasure. I especially like that it is signed and Chise adds "I'm made in Japan."
This week, after moving in to the new house a few months ago, I finally got the stereo hooked up and connected to the computer. This record was the first to be ripped.
The record doesn't blow me away, but I sure wish I could have seen these guys. It really makes me wish for such a show. Arnie plays a mean guitar and Chise squeals with delite all through the show.
I uploaded the file HERE. One side at a time, just as it should be.
p.s. I just noticed a strange hiccup in my rip. Whether its my sound card or a conflict in the computer or what, I have no idea. Gotta get a new computer some day…
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #7
Kawana is Miss june 1964. This is one of the large tikis that used to be in front of the restaurant.
Here it is in a postcard. This tiki was stolen in the night long ago…
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #6
Sallye is Miss May 1964 – Shout out to Pablus and the Crazed Mugs who played the Molokai Lounge last night. I wish I could have been there. Can't wait to see him in the round at the Aku Tiki Room in Kewaunee Illinois at next year's Tiki Eyeball.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #5
Mai Kai Calendar a Day #4
Ann is Miss March 1964
An illustration of the bar in 1964
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #3
Jean is Miss February 1964, keeping the torches burning.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #2
This is a filler image used throughout this 1964 calendar. I believe the man in the drawn portrait is Bob Thornton. The Okole Maluna sign is not just an exhortation to "drink up", but was a "club" that guests could join and work their way through the menu to get special stuff.
Pat is Miss Jauary.
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Mai Kai Calendar a Day #1
As a proper build up to the new Tiki Daze calendar I am producing, I am going to be sharing my Mai Kai calendar collection over the next few months. The Mai Kai means a lot to me. It's the greatest place on Earth as far as I am concerned. They are the anchor of Hukilau and it was the fantastic presence of the Mai Kai and the incredibly welcoming spirit of the owners and staff that keep Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale. I owe a lot to this place. It helped light and continually rekindles my tiki fire. The people who work there are great sources of information and are just the best.
Also, I spent a few hours at the Mai Kai, photographing the place for the calendar. It's is far more dense with imagery than you realize.
So, it only seems fitting to share images of my Mai Kai calendars to celebrate the new Tiki Daze calendar. Over the coming months, you will see an mage a day. If you think the images should be bigger, let me know. When I can, I will add side information.
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Knoxville Postcard Show next Weekend
I picked up this new card of the Sharp's Motel at the Clinton Antiques Fair today. For the complete story on this Motel, click here. A big postcard dealer. She will be at the postcard show with her complete collection. It was great to see a stack of just Knoxville cards. Other than my own stack, I'd never seen that before. I've had this circled on my calendar for months. I can't wait to flip through all the cards and see what gems I can find!
OCTOBER 19-20, 2007- East Tennessee Postcard Show, Days Inn Convention Center, Central Ave. Pike at Merchants Dr. Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Milt Hinshilwood, 865-247-5767
Tiki Daze is Upon Us!
After a long year of working on this, we are nearly done! The fantastic graphic design artists have taken my thousands of photographs of vintage tiki bar ephemera and turned them into dynamic works of art. These things you have seen in the Book of Tiki, Tiki Quest, The Bum's books and now the wonderful Tiki Modern. So, to simply photograph some very rare mugs and drop them on a background would be, well, already done and semi-boring. The real tiki geeks would dig it if I had the uber-rare items, but most people would not. So, I challenged my artists to do something fun, and creative with these images, and I think they have. Plus, all calendar images were approved by Ms. Swanky who, though she fully understands the tiki aesthetic, is not enthralled with it like I am. She understands a more broad perception that will make this calendar appeal to us tiki freaks, and the general freaks too.
If you look at the calendars in thte kiosk at the mall, you will find they all fall into a few categories:
- Images of things, i.e. Dogs, Cats, Babes, Hunks
- Art, i.e. Ansel Adams photos, Picasso paintings
- Cartoons, i.e. Dilbert, Farside
- Still Lifes, i.e. staged kitchen cooking scenes, islands, etc.
What we have done with this calendar is combine several of these styles. We have photographs of things, as in postcards, swizzles, mugs and menus of classic tiki bars. Mixed with images of thatch, tapa, etc., blended with custom artwork, and put together into a new image, which is a sort of "still life" of tiki that is more than a sum of its parts.
Quite simply, it is unlike any calendar I have ever seen, both for its subject matter, and especially for its design.
So, head over to the new website and get the only 2008 calendar that matters!
Myrtle Beach – Hawaiian Village II
In a follow up to this popular post on the Hawaiian Village in Myrtle Beach, SC, I add this vintage postcard of the exterior.
Great sign, and what looks like a 15 foot tiki out front.
It is good to see more of this place….
Tiki Daze
Mom and Pop Vintage Motel Guide
I came across this site by accident and looked down the list of motels in my area. I realized it was actually a list of vintage motels that are still open. "Reasonable rates" sure. $39 a night or less. Will the room be awful and totally unacceptable, or will it be a blast from the past? I stayed at one not so long ago that had the coin-op vibrating bed with incredible vintage graphics on the box.
So, next time you are planning a road trip down memory lane, or, well, trying to relive a past you may never have had the chance to experience, this site will steer you in the direction of the survivors.
Knoxville Modern Lustron Home Extraordinaire
Check out the Sputnik mailbox!
On Wednesday I happened to be in the hospital emergency room and browsed the local Knoxville Magazine and they had this article on a great house in town. It was a teaser and did not give the address.
Saturday, we were out hitting some garage sales and turned down the street and I immediately spotted a thick growth of bamboo. We slowed. Then I saw more house and we were both oohing. Then I saw the modern beams on the side of the house from the pictures and I knew I'd stumbled upon the house!
It was an original Lustron home from 1948. There are 3 of these in Knoxville that I know of today. This one I did not know about. The problem today with these homes is that they are just too small by our standards. Gary solved this by very artfully adding on to his Lustron. The whole property is incredible and he carried the atomic theme even to his mailbox, which is a stainless steel Sputnik design
It is such a pleasure to just know this place is here in town. There are some drop dead gorgeaous modern homes near there. They are in a very upscale neighborhood and are classic and will remain for ages. This one is just over the top Mod.
You know I will be slipping an invitation in his mailbox to my next luau!
This is the parking area behind the house. Love the gates!
This is an addition behind the house. Perfectly matching!
The metal wings on the side are a great touch and mimic the vintage building that is now Belleza Salon.
From the front you see the original small Lustron home.
Vintage Hawaii Slide of the Week – Hilton Hawaiian Village Luau
At least I think that's where these were taken.
I have a lot of pictures like this.
And this. I assume you got a picture taken with a kane or wahine with your ticket.
This was Mr. and Mrs. James Barry
Good times.
Vintage Hawaii Slide of the Week – Queen's Surf
This is a place I have seen a lot of ephemera from over the year, but not the actual place until now. The lettering on the trash can is a clue. It's the Queen's Surf.
I love these old pictures. The guy to the left in the black suit and skinny tie and a lei. They are so well dressed. Below we see a little of the interior roof. Very nice.
Mimi has some vintage items on Arkiva Tropika.
Nylon Jungle 1966
Warning, NSFW.
The 1966 issue of Nylon Jungle.
I have been looking for this for years. Nice tiki, nice, um, gal.
This carving must be in the photographer's home. This is all we get to see. A random prop. If this was a recent picture, I'd be inclided to say those are too perfect. They must be fake. I know they had boob jobs in the 60s. Regardless, that's a pleasing set.
The magazine is full of that odd fetish for shockings, feet and rather oddly, girls in dirty white sneakers and stockings.
Previously on Swank Blather:
"Land of the Smokies" author visits Knoxville
Tim Hollis has created several great books of vintage Americana, concentrating on the South. His latest offering is about the good old Smokie Mountains and the many vacation destinations in the time of automobile travel on highways. It should jog many memories.
He will be here in town at Carpe Librum book store on Wednesday, June 27th. I have added his books to my store here on Swank Pad.
Also appearing at:
MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 25 – Joseph Beth book store, Charlotte, NC
THURSDAY EVENING, JUNE 28 – Joseph Beth store, Lexington, KY
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 30 – Joseph Beth store, Cincinnati, OHMai Kai Okole Maluna Club Menu
I got this little menu on Ebay a while ago. I thought it was maybe just a mini ordering menu, perhaps for a luau or small event. This weekend at Hukilau, I found out what it was.
The "Big Bamboo" is of interest to this story.
Having the "Cobra's Kiss" and "Deep Sea Diver" marked out I thought meant it was just not available at the time the menu was passed out. Not so.
The real answer came during Beachbum Berry's talk. He had introduced Mai-Kai original mixologist, Mariano Licudine's son to the crowd and had him come up to answer questions. He had been around the Mai-Kai since it was being built when he was a lad of twelve. His Dad had supervised every minute detail of the building of the bar.
He told about one of the recipes on the menu today which was a weakened version of the "Big Bamboo" recipe. The "Big Bamboo" was a drink you only got after you had worked your way through the "Okole Maluna Club". This little menu was for that club. You got a drink marked off as you tried it and when you had tried all the drinks, you got a big bamboo mug of your own and got the "Big Bamboo" drink as a member of that club. That is why there is a "Cobra's Kiss" marked off on this menu! That is what it is for and the drink is right there on the back! The only way to get the "Big Bamboo" was to try all these drinks.
So many great things come from Hukilau. I want to know more and more! He also said the origianl doors to the Mai-Kai looked like this and the original drink menu with the tikis on one door and "Mai Kai " on the other, carved in Mohogany. Where are those doors now Kern?
Vintage Hawaii Slide of the Week – Polynesian Cultural Center
A rather dull slide, but for the tiki freaks, I pulled out a couple of details.
Cybertiki Revisited
As I gear up for the annual trek to Fort Liquordale and Hukilau, I start thinking about old friends I will see. One of them is Cybertiki. Dave and his wife are great folks and incredibly generous. His wife makes the lucious costumes the bar gals wear in the Molokai Lounge. She'll make one for you too if you want. Look for them in the vendor area. He has a great collection of Mai Kai ephemera. He had started sharing some things a long time ago and I know most people who have not been around as lone as I have don't know about it. So, I searched his site out and wanted to shine a spotlight on it. Especailly this 1966 Mai Kai calendar. Here is an image from it:
They had the remaining fabric that was used to make the aloha shirt Elvis wore in Blue Hawaii. Some lucky soul is wearing the last dress made of that fabric…
Shout Out to Secret Fun Blog
This post is very cool and I envy the guy. A great set of coincidences that just make your vintage heart melt.
Read the story. Keep vintage hope alive! Way cool!
Vintage Hawaii Slide of the Week
Here we see Mr. and Mrs. James V. Barry on vacation in Hawaii in 1964.
Fun was had. In about 150 slides from their trip, this may be the only one where she is smiling…1967 Mai Kai Calendar
To rev up to Hukilau coming in less than two weeks, I am sharing some Mai Kai schwag…
Mrs. Thornton, the choreographer for the Mai Kai dinner show and owner of the Mai Kai. She is the spirit of the place and an incredible lady.
Day-am! LOVE THE HAIR! and the other stuff is nice. Like a little dish laid out on the leaves. Is this her on this postcard?
What a drum! And the hair is rockin too!
Can't wait to see the sites in the Molokai again…Hukilau Plans
It's just a couple of weeks away. Last year was a crazy weekend. I hardly slept! It was the first year I have actually gotten to enjoy the weekend and talk to so many people. I think I talked more in a few days than the entire year. The hot tub made for memories we'll all keep forever. Once again, thanks to Crazy Al. He has a way of inventing fun.
This year I am endeavoring to spend more time at the Mai Kai. It is my favorite place on Earth. I want to be there for Happy Hour a couple of times.
Beachbum Berry's talk last year and then sipping with him at the Mai Kai was fantastic, and getting an all new book will be a huge plus. This book has more history rather than being just a recipe book. Lots of new recipes in it too though. Pre-Order it now and have it for him to sign at the event.
After years of anticipation, we are getting a little peak at The DVD of Tiki and a showing of footage from the Hukilau Hurricane of 2004. Many I talk to say that year was the best in many ways. For a lot of Floridians, it was the worst. Very much the worst for me. I never recovered really. But it is a powerful memory and I love to hear Pablus sing "Hukilau Hurricane."
I look forward to seeing the Crazed Mugs perform at the Mai Kai again. When they took the stage last year, it all just stopped and we were transfixed. Otto was standing next to me and he whispered, "he's our Bruddah Iz." So right.
The Hukilau mug has some of my favorite imagery in Polynesian Pop this year, the cannibal trio. I have discussed them with Sven and Bob at Oceanic Arts. I think the concensus is that it started with Donn Beach, which is precisely why those tikis are so special.
The new version of Tiki Road Trip will be making its debut at Hukilau and we get to see all the places we never knew existed.
Robert Drasnin will perform his new work which was recorded earlier this year for a new release. Basement Kahuna says his record "Voodoo" is near perfection for the tiki bar soundtrack and now we'll have a great follow up.
It's always great to see my many friends I see only this one weekend a year in person. It's great to be around so many people who are passionate about the same things I am. And this year my lovely fiance will join me, although she plans to spend more time tanning and exploring the area than doing the tiki-nerd stuff.
This event is central for us non-Californians. California may have an abundance of tiki locales, but we still have the best one of all by a mile down in Fort Lauderdale. We all come together to worship in a rum dazed fog for the weekend. We get to visit the Mother Ship of Tiki and be transported to that special place. That place that is slowly slipping away more and more. No other place holds that mystery better than the Mai Kai. And we right coasters are darned proud. Inside the Mai Kai, it is like stepping back in time. As close as any of us will get anyway…
Two weeks and I'll be there, at the bar, soaking it all in for my yearly ration… It's never enough…
Tiki Eyeball Trip Report
This year was the first annual Tiki Eyeball. It was an event by Wizzard Road Shows, which does a number of car events over the summer. I was contacted to put together a tiki carving demonstration and then helped get ideas together and promote the event.
For Basement Kahuna, it meant driving 4 hours up to Knoxville from Athens. We then set out on another 9+ hour drive to central Illinois. With a late start and lots of stopping to search antique malls, plus an hour where we put it in park and stood in the interstate, it turned into about a 14 hour drive.
Basement Kahuna and I are always on the prowl for rare liquors and this old sign we thought pointed the way. Screw gin and vodka! We sell Whiskey! Well, on opening the door, a few haggard locals swung around on their stools at 2PM on a Thursday. We were not finding anything there.
So we were a little loopy come Friday. Noa Noa's in our room before the trip to the Aku Tiki Room. Lake Surfer and his wife, Tipsy McStagger, Kevin and Hadley Moore, and others came by. And then we found out the bus had broken down. In the middle of an intersection…
The sunken bar at the Aku Tiki Room. The design of the bar was fantastic. I wish there was a bar this cool around here, tiki or no tiki.
This painting once had no lei. It still has some nipple. Cool.
Great shell lamps. These are over 3 feet across.
Tipsy and others at dinner.
The Tiki Twins! These gals started serving there, along with their Mom, when they were 13. They continued to work there for decades. I spent most of the night talking to them and hearing their story. In fact, I spent so much time taking pictures and talking I forgot to eat dinner! Luckily I it also kept me drinking slowly.
Great Oceanic Arts rail posts and mask with shell sconces.
Next day was kar time with Kay Ohara signing prints.
Tonga Trader and his wife drove their 1961 Chyrsler 300 to the event. This is one of my favorite cars. You gotta love a cross ram V8 luxury car.
Kevin Moore shows a novel way to torch a tiki carving, using a 1959 Cadillac… Video is on its way…
BK and I went back to the Aku Tiki Room that night and stopped by the Kewaunee Moose Lodge.
This is the Church of the Future! On the road to the ATR.
BK enjoys a lobster tail dinner. The drinks here are fantastic. Demerara Dry Float, Beachcomber Punch and Rum Barrels I recommend. El Dorado 12 Year. The bartender Tom works hard to keep the ingredients in stock.
On the return trip, we stopped at our Papua New Guinea collector's house to see the new shipment. Here are a few shields.
Left side…
Right side.We'll have a few pieces for sale at Hukilau.
The event was poorly attended for reasons we don't know, but we'll correct some problems and do it again next year. I already have a verbal agreement from Pablus to perform in the round in the ATR. Basement Kahuna puts the ATR right behind the Atlanta Trader Vic's. He now has one of his carvings there and is designing their signature mug we hope will be available when we return next year.
Vintage Hawaii Slide of the Week #2 – The Waikikian
Classic Poly Pop architecture. What's the place to the right? Tahitian what?Update: Of course Mimi has cool pics of the Waikikian and the Tahitian Lania on her site. Thanks to Dusty Cajun for this image and the tip.
Vintage Hawaii Slide of the Week #1 – For the Mixologists
Just your typical scene of Hawai in 1964. Men in suits and skinny ties and ladies in dresses. Waiting for dinner outside the Hilton Hawaiian Village Luau. Maybe Alfred Apaka tonight. But…
(more…)Are We There Yet?!
Basement Kahuna arrives here today and we depart for Tiki Eyeball in the morning.
I am in my office today, listening to my Exotica and islands music playlist and I am excited. It's like when I was a kid and we were going to Disneyworld in the morning. I hear the music and I'm there, at the Aku Tiki Room, Navy Grog in hand. Dim lights, fish floats, Orchids of Hawaii and Witco decor… I just can't wait! Giddy. Even though its a 9 hour drive for me. I am excited to get to go to that magic place again.
My attitude is a little different these days. I go there as a fan, but also as a researcher and a documenter too. I take my photography equipment to get the best pictures possible and plan to talk to anyone I can about the history and write it down. I want to share it as well as experience it.
I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting some new people. I am really looking forward to the rare treat of having someone else mix my tropical concoction, and it be really good. I'll savor it.
This is the lot of most of us tikiphiles. The only tiki bar near us is our own. We get to visit the real deal just a few times a year, if at all. I ache for it.
I may not be able to sleep tonight!
Hilo Hattie in LA Times
UCLA has made a library of LA photos from 1920-1990 available and searchable online. I tried the names of some Polynesian Pop locales to see if I got a hit on the Luau or Tropic's or Latitude or Tiki or Trader, etc. Nothing. This was the only teaser. A 1946 picture of Hilo Hattie (center) hamming it up at a Polynesian Society luau.
And who wouldn't love to go to this 1949 Swimming Club Luau? I just noticed the lady second to left has a flower that appears to be taped to her chest. No straps on that dress…
Via BoingBoing
Girls of the Islands via Hawaii Kai Menu
Mug Shot #2 – Aku Aku Surfer Girl Bowl
I bought mine a long time ago, before the prices went crazy. The one that just sold on Ebay has much better paint than mine. They were lazy and left off her lei and flower and the black outline on the fish. But mine is made better in terms of the seam.
Retro Views
No, I am not talking about Dick Cheney's philosophy, but a great website. Retro Views has many original photographs of motels used for postcards back in the day. You can buy pristine copies from them for outrageous prices! This is some serious eye candy, but the Flash site sucks. Some samples:
Via the PCL
Trader Vic's Beverly Hills closing and the end of the classic tiki bar
Humu Humu has posted her feelings about the closing of Trader Vic's Beverly Hills. I commented on that and wanted to bring it here and share my thoughts.
There is a thread on Tiki Central to send messages to try to save Trader Vic's. You'll notice I never posted. It was never going to get anywhere towards saving the place, and, it probably led to what happened, a very quick, quiet closing that did not allow a bunch of weirdos to make a scene.
What seems to be lost on everyone is that these places are businesses. When your business is losing money, you close it, no matter if that is painful or very painful. And often, before they close the business, they try a lot of things to fix it. Tiki bars are not an exception.
The forces at work that have closed 90+% of the vintage tiki places in the last 30 years, are still closing them today.
Getting conservancy groups involved is also a sure way to piss off the owners and get them to close a place sooner. They want to avoid government regulators from preventing them from doing as they please with their property.
Writing letters and even going there yourself on a regular basis is not the answer, though your business helps. What can you do that will help your local or even, not so local tiki bar survive? Promote it.
You may be the most vocal and inspired advocate they have. I think the third Thursday get together at the new Hula Hula in Seattle is great. And their great reviews of the place and obviously their enthusiasm for it locally, are contagious. Such gatherings are happening all over. We need to spread a very positive message about tiki in general, and we need to put out positive things about locations specifically.
We in the Tiki community are, unfortunately, perhaps helping destroy a lot of places. If we venture to a classic bar, and then come to Tiki Central or our blogs and complain about the drinks and the beer signs, that may be the only description on the web for that place. And the young folks just discovering it search the Net first and see your negative comments. Though you may wrap it up with how great it is to go there, even though the drinks weren't in tiki mugs, you leave an impression that no outsider is going to bother with, and is less likely to enjoy.
What we can't do is make a bad place good, bad drinks good, or bad food good. You can't save a sinking ship with good wishes. And when we are honest with ourselves, we will likely find we are only sad to see the facade go, and not the place where we complained about quality and quantity through our teeth.
Sucks doesn't it?
The best tiki bars in the country are still A) Tiki Central member's home bars, B) Trader Vic's, C) a few old guard like the Mai Kai and Hala Kahiki, and D) the new generation like Forbidden Island. The ghosts are still growing in number as they have for the last 30 years. We are just painfully aware of them now and imagine that times have changed. All that has changed is the number of mourners and the depth of their sorrow.
p.s. To help out, go to this page, the second link when you search Google for the Mai Kai, and add a good review.
Playboy Islands Cartoon
Kahiki Collection
A postcard of dinner at the Kahiki. Are you sure it's the Kahiki? Why, yes, it says so right on the pig!
But to a collector, this is a laundry list of things to strive for.
Penang #1 Drink mug – Paul Marshal "Peanut" mug. Unmarked, these are very common.
Starboard Light glass by Imperial Glass Company, used by many Polynesian places.
Native Nectar – Coconut mug – Marked on the bottom
Salt and Pepper shakers – there were at least 5 types used at the Kahiki – usually marked and not too hard to find
Necklace? Often hard to find, they are being seen more often. Marked.
Silverware, marked Kahiki
Mystery Blossom drink glass – The "Martiki" in saucer form by Morgantown – unmarked
Malayan Mist drink glass – unmarked
Chairs -generally found in Columbus, but likely all long gone
Tables – many in use at the Tropical Bistro
Ashtrays – sometimes marked
Sauce jar, lidded and marked
Menus – there are at least 3 types of drink menus out there. This looks like the 1961 version in the postcard. Later version above.
Idol's Cast bowl by Hoffman Pottery – two varieties (or more)
Lamps – by HiTiki? – several types
Zombie glass holder – extremely rare
What do you collect? Me, I have a postcard or two, and a menu or two, and a mug or two…
Every piece brings more clues.
Vintage Hawaii Slides of the Week
NSFW set of vintage Polynesian Maidens. The mailing address on the pack is in Hawaii, so it has some credibility, and the gals do look like islanders. A little Eye Candy to go with today's Ear Candy.
Nude with Tiki Torch and Conch
I have had requests to re-upload a couple of records. So, I have put Henri Rene's Compulsion to Swing and Bob Thompson's Mmmmm Nice back up. get 'em while they're there!
Commercial Recording Corp.
If you have listened to my Live 365 radio station, you probably have heard some of these. In the days of the radio jingle, CRC was king. Their intros and lead ins were just fantastic and they covered a couple of decades with their chorus singing "It's Friday!" or whatever. I picked this record up on Ebay ages ago. The original tracks had an opening and closing with a 30 second or so blank space for the announcer in the middle. My download has the two pieces broken apart. This site gives some history and some great free downloads. I love this stuff. I have kept it to myself for years, but am sharing it now since my radio station is pay to listen only now.
Vintage Islands Slide of the Week
These images come from Tahiti. They are from the grounds of the Beachcomber Hotel, which is apparently still there, but is now the Beachcomber Intercontinental.
Yeah, that's some tikis.
Kahiki – Lush Life
Vintage Photos
Here are a couple of other pictures of my parents I came upon lately.
First this picture of my Dad, who appears to have a cast on his arm, in front of the convertible he drove when he met my Mom. I think my oldest sister said she used to sleep in the top boot on trips when she was little.
And this image of Mom and Dad, that is indeed color, but I could not get Photoshop to make it look any better than this. Early days of color. I know my Mom's lipstick was bright bright red. But, you can't tell here.
Dad the Bartender
Omni Hut – Smyrna, TN
Eliston Place Soda Shop – Nashville
This soda shop is not a place made to look like an old soda shop. It is an old soda shop, vintage 1934. I have been here before, but never got pictures of the awesome interior until this trip.
A wurlitzer juke box has a box at every booth. And they work. The music is a weird mix from about 1978. Disco Duck and country you never heard of.
These doors have seen a lot of use!
Froot Loops…
Mahi Mahi – Blue Hawaii Nashville Tiki History
I visited the Omni Hut doing a shoot with Turner South for a "Tiki Blue Ribbon" show. I was very much looking forward to it so I could talk with Jim Walls, the man who created the Omni Hut. I wanted to see what he knew of the other places in Nashville, the Surf Rider in the Andrew Jackson Hotel, the Mahi Mahi of which I have seen a postcard and a mug, and the Blue Hawaii from which I have a matchbook and a mug. I knew where the Blue Hawaii was from the matchbook. I also wanted to know all about his inspirations, etc.
He told me he was a pilot in the Air Force and was stationed in Honolulu around 1938-1940ish. He only worked 4 hours a day, so in his spare time, he was interested in food. He found things he liked and would go back again and again until he could find out the recipes and secrets of the dishes. He worked at one of the luaus on Waikiki Beach until the airplanes put the steam ships out of business and this luau. He worked at some Asian restaurant that was famous. Joe Young's? I am not sure. All these places he was gathering recipes as well as all over the world. He was in Panama and all over. He just liked it and had no plans of opening a restaurant.
He decided to retire and his choices were in Savannah and Smyrna which was home of Ft. Stuart. For technical reasons he chose Smyrna. So, he started his restaurant of "Chinese Cuisine." He showed me the first sign there for that. But with the decor, everyone said "you can't fool us, this is the best Polynesian food we ever ate!" So, 6 months later he renamed it the Omni Hut, because it was a nice short name. Open since 1960, he was the first Asian restauant in the area and is the oldest in the state now.
He brought a box of stuff with him. There were clippings and menus. They had nothing from the old days. The clippings were all from 2000, after they re-opened from the fire. The menus were all there from the beginning. They have not changed except the prices and colors occasionally. There was a red one he didn't bring:
Then I saw something black at the bottom of the box that looked older. I dug it out quick and nearly lost my breath:
A Mahi Mahi menu! With the tiki from the mug on it!I opened the menu and inside was the postcard:
I'd seen this in BK's collection. Awesome! Wait!Next I see 5 X 7 black and white photos!
The interior of the Mahi Mahi!
The architectural drawing of it! Looks exactly like the postcard image!So I had to ask him what he knew about the Mahi Mahi. "I owned it!" Wow! And I looked at the postcard again:
95 White Bridge Rd. Same as the Blue Hawaii!It turns out, he did not build the Mahi Mahi. He bought it either in the late 60's or early 70's (his sons gave different years) and got a lot of debt when he did. He hoped his good food would make it profitable. It did not. A year later is was foreclosed on and the bank took all property and auctioned it off for pennies on the dollar! All they had was this stuff in the menu. Sort of…
After that it was bought again and it became the Blue Hawaii and had new big tikis erected out front. Last anyone knew it was the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant.
The things they did manage to sneak out the back door before the bank came in were these two Maori panels that hang in the entry of the Omni Hut today:
I realized 95 White Bridge Road was 2 miles from my sisters house in Nashville, so we went there. I was so excited. I wanted to scour the grounds for tiki stumps or whatever. Here is what I found:
Too late! It was demolished months ago. My sister says I had asked her about the building before. I must have passed it dozens of times over the years. CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!Part of the puzzle is solved. I am sending pictures of my Milan Guanko carved tiki for the family to look at and see if it jogs their memory.
Here is Jim.
I hate that my picture is blurry. I met most of the family and they inspired me. I am going to let you all know what that means later. I wanna help these guys make Omni Hut all it can be!Here are more images of the menu:
Just a few drinks
I was under the impression that the Mahi Mahi was all done by Oceanic Arts. Bamboo Ben told me it was actually by his grandfather Eli Hedley.
"Eli did the Mahi Mahi. It was an unlimited budget, dream job."
More on that in May…
Also see my half finished Tennessee Tiki History page.
See also Basement Kahuna's collection for better scans of the Mahi Mahi card.
The "Blue Ribbon" shows seems to be defunct now. I have a good digital DVD of the show which featured the Mai Kai, The Omni Hut, Trader Vic's Atlanta and the now gone Hale Tiki in Augusta. If anyone is interested in a copy, drop me an email.
The Volcano – Polynesian Pop Awareness
This is why I encourage everyone to start an entry on Tiki Central for every known Polynesian Paradise that ever existed. In August, back in 2004, Kono posted about the Volcano in Winter Haven Florida and a few people added to it. Recently, the daughter of the owner of the Volcano started looking around for information and came across the post. She began finding out more and sharing the family stories, articles and pictures. A wonderful wealth of tiki goodness came out that would likely have dissappeared otherwise.
Enjoy the thread here and add to the Tiki Central database so more kids and grand kids share their findings with us!
Vintage Barware
My definition of "collecting" has changed over the years. I have been humbled by the vast and cumpulsive collections by people I have met or seen online. I do have a few "collections," but, nothing that is going to blow anyone away. I suppose I collect vintage lamps, radios, and stuff. But mostly I don't "collect" those things, I just buy them when I find stuff I like at a price I like. I only really collect Mai Kai and Aku Aku Las Vegas stuff, and a little Don the Beachcomber. Otherwise, it's just decor. It is not a "collection" and my home is not a museum.
Experiment 33 has posted his collection of vintage barware and started a Flickr group for more to add theirs. I do love the remnants of a lost culture of good drink making. And I have a few of the things pictured myself.
I have had many ice crushers. Hand crank types and motorized ones. These days I enjoy the luxury of crushed ice by way of the fridge door. But, the best other ice crusher is the Oster Snoflake. Not only does it do the job well, but, you can put the crusher over an ice bucket instead of the tray it comes with and make mountains of crushed ice for your party. It does throw out eye piercing shards of ice, like many, but, it's not too scary. Get one cheap on Ebay.
Oh if we could only travel like this now! I'd be the most popular person on the plane!
Happy Birthday Dad! Happy 100!
On Thursday, the father of Tiki, Donn Beach would have been 100. He created many of the great drink recipes that we all know now as "Tropical Drinks" or "Tiki Drinks." He created what we call the tiki bar. Victor Bergeron copied him. They all copied him.
The motto for "Don the Beachcombers" is a good one: "Where good rum is immortalized and drinking is an art."
I urge you all to toast your father on his birthday with one of the drinks he created. I will be saluting with a Navy Grog. Pablus says he'll make a Demerara Dry Float. More recipes here.
Special night at Forbidden Island of course. Special drinks on the menu for one night only so you can toast Dad with a few of his inventions.
Thanks for the tiki! Thanks for the drinks!
UPDATE: I have been so freakin busy I didn't get around to it unitl today, Saturday. My honey syrup was bad, so it limited my choices. I went for a Pablus favorite and made the Test Pilot. YUM! Two batches. Yes! Donnn will forgive the Trader Vic's glass I hope…
Tiki Calendar


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Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Brown
I have a love/hate relationship with Neutrogena; they market themselves as healthy and good for sensitive skin, but I react to their products 50% of the time. This product had very light coverage, which is good and what you would expect from a tinted moisturizer, but by the third day of using it, my face was completely red and dry. Had to quit it.
Age: 18 & Under
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm
Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Hazel
I like this tinted moisturizer... but I'm not in-love with it. It makes my skin look kinda oily, but it has fairly good coverage. The shade I got was perfect, but I won't buy this again.
Age: 19-24
Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Warm
Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium
Eyes: Brown
At first I loved this. Then, I hated it. It was orange-y, dried too quickly so I couldn't blend, crumbled, and it smelled. And it accentuated dry patches.
I have no idea what happened, but I now love it again. You really have to find the best way to apply this. For me, it works best when applied with my fingers. Build slowly, or it will turn orange. I love that it evens my skin tone, provides sun protection, and works as a mattifier on my oily skin. After a while, the scent wasn't as strong. (?)
Slightly expensive, hard to get the hang of, but overall I do not regret purchasing. I might add that I hate the fact I am different shades across Neutrogena products! I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I have to make a wild guess when choosing a Neutrogena color.
Age: 19-24
Skin: Combination, Dark, Not Sure
Hair: Black, Wavy, Coarse
Eyes: Brown
The idea was good, but this did nothing to stop shine, and felt greasy. Also, this does not offer any coverage, but then again, I don't think it was intended to.
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Hazel
Hated this. It made me oily and breakout-prone. Absolutely awful for me. And the color and scent was bizarre, too.
Age: 30-35
Skin: Acne-prone, Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Brown
This product made me break out and leaves my face oily throughout the day. I rarely get acne on my forehead - and ever since I started using it, I got tiny bumps (acne) all over. I have to also use oil blotters to keep my skin looking matte. Coverage is sheer to medium and the color almost matched my skin. (enough yellow pigment for my skin tone). I wouldn't purchase this again nor recommend it. I however would recommend the Neutrogena concealer that contains salycilic acid. It conceals acne well and spots where you have skin discoloration.
Age: 25-29
Skin: Very Oily, Dark, Warm
Hair: Brunette, Curly, Medium
Eyes: Other
I like the dark, tinted color of the product which I believe more companies should get into to kill the white cream overhaul - as long as it works! This product leaves me oily and greasy-looking. I've never had any breakouts or negative side-effects other than the oil. The bottle is nice and the side-turn lock dispenser works great. Alas, though I like Neutrogena products generally, the low protective factor and oily effects make it a never-buy-again for me.
Age: 19-24
Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Warm
Hair: Black, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Brown
it definitely does moisturize, but it leaves you looking oily. you also have to make sure you rub it into your jawline. the packaging's ok, i guess. when you get towards the bottom of the bottle, there's still quite a bit left.
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subset: commoncrawl