Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #101 The Aloha Lounge – Chicago IL

There’s a lot of tiki going on in the Mid-West. I’ve visited five different tiki bars in the Chicago area and that’s not including Foundation up in Milwaukie! A couple of new tiki bars have recently opened up in Illinois and Wisconsin which I need to visit, but the one tiki bar that I want to visit the most is the home tiki bar of Carl and Debbie Michels. It’s call the Aloha Lounge and it is full on mid-century tiki! Here is Carl and Debbie’s story…

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #101 The Aloha Lounge – Chicago IL”

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #100 Perry’s Aristocrat Lounge and Hash Bar – Las Vegas NV

When you live in a city where you have two great tiki bars, that being Frankie’s Tiki Room and The Golden Tiki, it’s easy to get inspired to build your own. That’s exact ally what Perry Hitechew did! Perry hasn’t officially named his home tiki bar yet but the working title as it stands is Perry’s Aristocrat Lounge and Hash Bar. Here is Perry’s story…

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #100 Perry’s Aristocrat Lounge and Hash Bar – Las Vegas NV”

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #99 The Smoking Monkey Tiki Lounge – Las Vegas NV

There’s just something about a smoking chimp wearing a fez that really resonates with many people…

It’s lowbrow art at its finest. There’s mugs, paintings and a home tiki bar named in honor of this fez wearing monkey! It’s called The Smoking Monkey Tiki Lounge. It’s Lola and Jimmy’s tiki bar in their back yard and it’s in Vegas Baby! Their story is a tale of punk, tiki and a love of all things mid-century. Read on…

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #99 The Smoking Monkey Tiki Lounge – Las Vegas NV”

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #98 King Kahuna Lounge – Longmont CO

The seeds of tiki were planted for me when I stepped foot in The Jungle Room at Graceland twenty some odd years ago and the same is true for Grey. Grey’s grandparents took him to Graceland when he was young and it made an impression on him. Grey came to Graceland as a fan of Elvis and after seeing The Jungle Room, he also became a fan of Witco! Grey’s home tiki bar is an homage to The King and Witco. It’s called King Kahuna Lounge and here is Grey’s story…

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #98 King Kahuna Lounge – Longmont CO”

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #97 The Coconut Smuggler’s Lounge – Portland OR

I’ve known Robbie for a little while now and I remember her talking about building her own home tiki bar. I was excited to see what she would come up with. Not too long-ago Robbie finished her bar and called it The Coconut Smuggler’s Lounge. I saw some pictures posted on Facebook and I knew I needed to see Robbie’s bar in person. I happened to be down in Portland a couple weeks ago, so Heather and Don Waters and I paid The Coconut Smuggler’s Lounge a visit, and I was blown away…

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #97 The Coconut Smuggler’s Lounge – Portland OR”

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #96 Cap’n Dan’s Dive Bar – Plano IL

I’m totally surprised that nobody has come up with the idea of using the word “dive” to combine a “dive bar” and a “nautical themed bar” but Dan Mazanec did! Dan combined the aesthetics of a tiki bar, nautical bar and old school dive bar all into one and the end result is a truly unique place! Dan call’s his home bar Cap’n Dan’s Dive Bar and here is his story…

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #96 Cap’n Dan’s Dive Bar – Plano IL”

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #94 Lujan Lagoon – Concord CA

I have a thing for small tiki bars…

Tiki Ti and Hale Pele are at the top of my list and I really love the intimacy that a smaller tiki bar gives. When Julian and his wife Katie decided to turn a backyard shed into an tiki bar, they truly created a tiki experience that is cozy and tiki cool! It doesn’t take much to fill up a smaller tiki space but the Lujan Lagoon is filled top to bottom with incredible tiki décor. Here is how the Lujan Lagoon came to be…

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #94 Lujan Lagoon – Concord CA”

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #93 Bloody’s Tiki Bar – Portland OR

Sometimes, all it takes is a trip to Hawaii to plant the seeds of tiki…

Brain Bloodgood and his wife April flew out to Hawaii to get married and they came back husband and wife and an interest in tiki. That was over fifteen years ago and starting with a Koi pond, Brian slowly started to transform his backyard into a tiki, tropical oasis which includes Bloody’s Tikiroom which is a stand-alone structure that is so cool to relax either day or night! Here is Brain’s story…

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #93 Bloody’s Tiki Bar – Portland OR”

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #92 Tiki Encanto – East Texas

Deep in the heart of East Texas, you will find Eric AKA the RAD Man, and his wife Lisa AKA Leeza Rad’s home tiki bar. It’s called Tiki Encanto which means Enchanted Tiki in Spanish. When you live in a place where there’s no tiki, you bring you own, and that’s exactly what Eric and his wife did! They packed up their original tiki bar they built in California and moved it to East Texas. Here is RAD Man and Leeza Rad’s story …

Continue reading “Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #92 Tiki Encanto – East Texas”