Home TIki Bar Spotlight

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #130 Lei Low Lounge – El Cajon CA

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Frank and Kathy are into many different things. Kathy likes to collect gumball machines (she has a lot!) while Frank loves music (he’s a drummer) and Star Trek. They both love Disney and they both love Tiki!  Their home tiki bar is a place for Frank and Kathy to show off all the things they love. The name of their bar is Lei Low Lounge, it’s located in El Cajon and they pretty far out in the country so they don’t have many neighbors. This is a good thing because they built a stage right outside of their tiki bar and they have bands play regularly. There’s a lot going on at Frank and Kathy’s Lei Low Lounge and here is their story… 

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #129 The Hula Hideaway – Chesterfield MI

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The Hula Hideaway

Get Your Tiki On!

In 2022 Erika decided to start an Instagram page where she would post a new tiki drink every week for a year. Well, that changed Erika’s life! Pretty soon she was posting about everything tiki in her life. Fast forward to now and Erika’s Get Your Tiki On Instagram page has over two thousand followers. She knows a lot of Tikiphiles across the country and they know her!

Erika and Jeff originally decided to call their home tiki bar, Tiki Underground, but that name was taken, so they went with The Hula Hideaway since Erika used to be a dancer. You might have seen Erika’s videos on Instagram of her bar, but seeing The Hula Hideaway in person is truly incredible!

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #128 Pakele Lounge – Tucson AZ

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Pakele Lounge

Pakele Lounge means the Escape Lounge…

Tucson is a beautiful city but during the summer months it gets hot, really hot! What most people do is stay indoors to escape the heat. When Paula and Paul Gregg decided to build a tiki bar, they decided to build one inside. They took their fourth bedroom and converted it into the Pakele Lounge. Tiki Bars are all about escapism, sometimes its escaping the heat or life’s stresses but sometimes a home tiki bar is a place to go and relax and have a good time. Here is Paula and Paul’s story…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #127 The Kona Cove – Baltimore MD

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The Kona Cove

Join the Marines and you’ll see the world!

Ryley did just that! He grew up in the Seattle area, joined the Marines and got stationed in San Diego where he met his wife Ellie. While living in San Diego they spent many hours at some great tiki bars like False Idol and Mothership. But when you’re in the military you go where your needed and that meant Ryley and Ellie had to move across the country to Maryland and now call Baltimore home.

There isn’t much of a tiki scene in Baltimore, does Baltimore have a tiki bar? I’m not sure. Actually, there is one, it’s The Kona Cove which is in Ryley and Ellie’s place. The Kona Cove is filled with Witco and it is a bar I’d hope to visit someday. Ryley and Ellie also have a tiki podcast! It’s called The Tiki Talk Show and they are going to have me come on as a guest. Stay tuned and in the meantime, here’s the story of The Kona Cove…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #126 Kahui Cinema – Warren MI

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Kahui Cinema

There’s a lot of different things you can do in a home tiki bar. One of those things is enjoying tropical cocktails or maybe you can relax listening to some Exotica. But in Kahui Cinema, you can watch movies! When Craig Esper decided to transform his basement into a tiki bar, he also turned it into a theater. Craig has a large collection of what he likes to call “odd-ball films” and he has his own personal theater to watch them in.  What a great combination, b-movies and tiki!

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #125 Shore Leave Tiki Lounge – Bay City MI

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Shore Leave Tiki Lounge

“I’m much more comfortable with a welder versus a router”

Scott Sheehan’s first love is hot rods. He’s been into traditional hot rods since 2004 and building them since 2007 but after visiting Don the Beachcomber he and his wife Chelsea discovered a new love, Tiki Bars! Scott and Chelsea started going to all the tiki events they could and after visiting over 20 tiki bars, they decided to build their own.

The name of Scott’s home tiki bar is Shore Leave Tiki Lounge and he has created the perfect getaway. In the service, a solider gets 24 hours shore leave, Scott and Chelsea gets all the time the wish…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #124 The Labyrinth of Doctor Box – Fortuna (Humboldt County) CA

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The Labyrinth of Doctor Box

When most people think of Northern California, they think of San Francisco. The Bay Area might be north of Los Angeles but it’s not the northern most point of California. If you travel a couple more hours north on I-5 you come into actual Northern California. This is where you will find The Labyrinth of Doctor Box! Ben and Audrey moved up to Fortuna (Humboldt County) and realized that there are no signs of tiki anywhere so took matters into their own hands and built their own.

I discovered The Labyrinth of Doctor Box which is Ben and Audrey’s tiki show on YouTube and I loved what I saw. So far, they have episodes discussing how different Orgeat syrups can affect the taste of a Mai Tai and the importance of your home tiki bar having a backstory. Great stuff! Speaking of backstories, here the backstory of The Labyrinth of Doctor Box…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #123 Meka Leka Hideaway – Mountlake Terrace WA

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Meka Leka Hideaway

Zach Malm has only been into tiki 18 months and that time he visited a ton of tiki bars  including Smuggler’s Cove, Zombie Village and Sunken Harbor Club to name a few. And in that 18 months Zach decided to build his own tiki bar! It’s called the Meka Leka Hideaway and if you like Pee-wee Herman, you know exactly where the name came from…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #122 The Huki Lounge – Victoria BC

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The Huki Lounge

I met Shani Thomson at Tiki Kon a couple years ago. She mentionted that she has a home tiki and she lives in Victoria BC. I live in Seattle and getting up to “The Island” can be a little difficult. The best way to get up to Victoria taking The Clipper which is a ferry boat that leaves downtown Seattle and will drop you off in the middle of downtown Victoria. Paul Tanner put together and home tiki bar tour, visiting three home bars including Shani’s! I finally got to see The Huki Lounge which is in Shani’s living room or is it the other way around? Here is Shani’s story of how she got into tiki and the history of The Huki Lounge…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #121 The Island Princess – Mercer Island WA

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The Island Princess

I’ve lived in Seattle for over 20 years and I just realized that I have an island view!

I live in a neighborhood called Seward Park and looking directly out my front window is an island that being Mercer Island. It’s not a tropical island, there’s no palm trees, but there are tons of evergreens and I’d say Mercer Island is as beautiful as any island I’ve been on.

I just sold a bamboo, tiki styled cabinet to my newfound friend Cathye. Mercer Island isn’t that far away from me so I offered to deliver it to her. We chatted and Cathye mentioned that the cabinet is going to be added to her tiki bar that she had on her side porch. I asked her if I could see it, she said sure but don’t expect much. I love all home tiki bars, great and small and we stepped through a door leading onto Cathye’s home tiki bar called The Island Princess. I immediately feel in love with her tiki bar. It’s a perfect mix of classic tiki and Hawaiian. What makes the bar truly special is the view of the woods and nature looking out back. It all comes together to make a truly relaxing escape. Here is Cathye’s story…

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