Home TIki Bar Spotlight

Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #133 The Luna Lagoon – Santee CA

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The Luna Lagoon

Paige and Christian Luna both have a love for tiki and goth. Outside behind their home in Santee CA, you will find a little shack. It used to be a home office, now it’s the Luna Lagoon. The Luna Lagoon is named after their favorite Universal Monster movie, The Creature From The Black Lagoon and their last name, “Luna” which in Spanish means moon. Paige and Christian created a cozy spooky tiki goth bar that showcases their passions and it’s what makes The Luna Lagoon so special. Here is Paige and Christian’s story…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #132 The Tiki Playground –  El Cajon CA

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The Tiki Playground

I was pretty much born and raised into the tiki lifestyle…

When Kailani was growing up, she spent her summers on O’ahu where she learned Hula. She performed as a child and never stopped! Maybe you can see Kailani dance in the San Diego area or you can come to Kailani and Alan’s Tiki Playground.  The Tiki Playground is an outside tiki bar that looks over an impressive view over El Cajon. Hanging on the walls are pictures of Kailani’s family and various tiki and Hawaiian items that Alan has found over the years. Kailani and Alan are very welcoming and The Tiki Playground might be one of the most relaxing home tiki bars I ever visited. Aloha!

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #131 Gecko’s Grotto – La Mesa CA

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Gecko's Grotto

Traveling to Hawaii is not cheap, especially if you have three kids!

So, what do you do? Well, Steve and Amy brought Hawaii to them and built a tiki bar in their home. After their kids moved out, they converted one of the empty rooms into Gecko’s Grotto. With the help of Buzzy, they built a home tiki that’s truly stunning at night or even during the day! Here is how the Gecko’s Grotto came to be…

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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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