I’ve been to many home tiki bars. Usually the bar is located outside in the garage or sometimes it’s down in basement but for Darren and Kathleen’s Groggy Grotto, you got to go upstairs! Originally the Groggy Grotto was located in Darren and Kathleen’s basement when they lived in West Seattle. It was a work in progress and far from being finished but I did get to see it when I delivered a shirt to them. Then they moved to Lake Oswego and started working on the Groggy Grotto again and this time it’s finished and it’s incredible! Here’s Darren and Kathleen’s story…
What is the tiki scene like where you live?
Darren- The tiki scene in our area is great! There are lots of home tiki bars, two great commercial tiki bars in Portland (Hale Pele and The Alibi) and two more (Wahi Hana and The Coral Club) just north in Vancouver, WA. Portland was host to Tiki Kon for several years. That, unfortunately ended, but has been replaced with Beachcomber Bash and the PDXotica home tiki bar tours.
What brought you into the tiki lifestyle and how long has it been part of your life?
Darren- It started very gradually about ten years ago when we lived in West Seattle. We found a couple of cool tiki mugs at a garage sale, then bought a 18” carved tiki at a house a couple of blocks from ours. That really set it off. Also, Kathleen went to Frankie’s in Las Vegas when she was on a business trip, and loved it. And when we had a chance to go to Disneyland we loved Trader Sam’s.
Can you give a little history of how it all came together?
Darren- We really wanted to replicate the fantastic environments we saw, so we started searching it out, buying any furniture that we could find, etc. At the same time, we started watching Tiki with Ray on YouTube. Kathleen ordered a shirt from you for my birthday, and being in Seattle, you were nice enough to hand deliver it! While you were there you took a look at our unfinished home bar space. We didn’t get a chance to invite you back between finishing it and moving though! Whenever we were visiting family down in Portland we’d go to one of the local bars (the tiki bar scene in Seattle was rather slim). Although we did make it to Tacoma a couple times for The Devil’s Reef. Eventually, we started going to Tiki Kon. And now we are more motivated to travel for full weekend events.
Any story behind the name of your bar?
Darren- I’ve always liked the word grotto. It’s very evocative of a lush jungle setting. I spent a summer visiting friends on Kauai when I was a teenager, and the tropical vegetation, warm breezes and fantastic smell of the place, just really hit me. And for me, like so many people, the whole purpose of tiki bars is relaxation. You have a couple drinks, relax and get groggy. So, the image of The Groggy Grotto just seemed right.
How far have you driven to buy something tiki that you saw online?
Darren- Not very. We tend to see what we can find locally, so maybe 30 minutes. We go to a lot of garage sales, estate sales and thrift stores. And, of course, we buy things on-line (mostly mugs). Although all of the wall materials were also shipped from on-line vendors. We’ve been to Bamboo Craftsman here in Portland several times for all of the trim, etc.
What is your favorite Tiki drink? What do you think makes the perfect cocktail?
Darren- So many of them are so good, it’s hard to pick. I guess I’ll have to default to the classic 1944 Mai Tai. Kathleen loves a good Pina Colada (tiki adjacent?). A perfect cocktail? Well, the right balance of flavors and spices and I want to taste the rum. A beautiful vessel and garnish are a must! It really completes the experience.
What is your favorite Tiki bar? Not including your own!
Darren- Mine is Hale Pele (it’s 20 minutes away), and Kathleen’s is Frankie’s in Las Vegas. A lot of people say The Mai Kai, of course, but we haven’t been there yet. In the past couple of years, we’ve started searching out more bars in other cities. Las Vegas: Golden Tiki and Frankie’s. Tucson: Cabali and Kon Tiki. Palm Springs: Tonga Hut, The Reef and Bootlegger Tiki.
Outside of great drinks, what do you think are essential elements in creating the perfect Tiki environment?
Darren- It’s the escapism! An environment that lets you slip into another place, maybe another time. It needs to be dim, immersive and all encompassing. Our bar is mostly traditional tiki with some adventure/trader and a little bit of Creature from the Black Lagoon and a very tiny bit of pirate stuff. Adventure!
What does the future hold for you and your home tiki bar?
Darren- Well, now that it is done (enough) we want to have more people over and use it more for entertaining. We just don’t use it enough. We’re always adding to it, and improving the experience. I’m in the process of tying some of the lighting into the volcano that you can see out of the “window”.
Anything else you would like to add?
Darren- It is gratifying to finally have it to a state that I’m willing to have others experience it. And it’s always fun to see friend’s reactions when they walk in. Some repeat visitors ask “What’s new!? What have you added since last time!?”
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All pictures by Jason “We Shall Tiki” Craig
