| Tiki Architecture |
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| Hu Ke Lau Chicopee, MA |
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| The Hu Ke Lau opened in 1965 and has gone through many expansions. It features floorshows with Samoan Fire Dances, Fuji War Dance Drums, and Hawaiian Hula Dancing. There are also special events with big-name comedians. The interior features vine-covered ceilings, fake trees, murals, giant tikis and a working volcano. For more, see their webpage. |
| Aku-Aku [gone] Worcester, MA |
Tiki Lau Westford, MA |
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Aku-Aku offered Polynesian fare and comedians. They also had locations in Newton and Cambridge, MA (both now gone). In 2004, the Worcester building became a Ninety Nine Restaurant and Pub, a chain with dozens of locations in the Northeast.
Tiki Lau opened in the early 1970s. It's nothing spectacular inside and now serves Cantonese. They once had an Amesbury, MA location as well. In 2007, new owners renamed it the New Tiki Restaurant and Lounge. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Bali Hai Lynnfield, MA |
Trance Buddha [closed] Shrewsbury, MA |
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Bali Hai has low lighting and Polynesian accents inside. It opened in the 1960s or 1970s. The restaurant offers a Polynesian/Chinese menu. For more, see this website.
Trance Buddha operated as a nightclub for heavy metal bands from 2000-2003. Before that, I believe it was the Tanela Restaurant but I don't know if it had a tiki theme or if that was the original occupant. I believe the restaurant portion of this building is still vacant. |
| Kowloon Restaurant Saugus, MA |
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| The Kowloon is just down the street from Weylu's. It was built in 1950 and has been expanded five times. It now resembles a Polynesian Long House and can seat 1,200. It features Thai, Chinese and Japanese food plus a comedy club. The interior has carved tikis, masks, fountains, palm trees and an erupting volcano. The exterior features a 15 foot replica of the Hawaiian temple god Kukailimoku above the front door. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [night photo thanks David Manning] |
| Tiki Lanes Lancaster, OH |
Sunshine Chinese Buffet Niles, OH |
Chin's Livonia, MI |
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The Tiki Lanes has 1950s exterior tilework and some island sunset murals inside. Unfortunately, the other tiki elements were removed around 1990. For more, see their webpage.
The Sunshine Chinese Buffet looks like it was originally a tiki restaurant. It was previously known as the Aloha restaurant. Does anyone know more about it? Chin's opened in 1955. Marvin Chin opened another location in Detroit, Chin Tiki, in 1967. That location closed in 1980. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Kahiki Supper Club [gone] Columbus, OH |
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| Kahiki Outlet Store Gahanna, OH |
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The Kahiki Supper Club was built between 1960-1961 and had 80' high ceilings. The 20,000 square foot restaurant featured fountains, waterfalls, tropical fish and plants, parrots, huge tiki god statues, grass huts, palm trees, paintings, etc. There were flaming desserts and drinks, as well as thunder and lightning storms. While most Polynesian restaurants focused on interior décor, the Kahiki's design extended to its exterior as well. People would wait for hours to get in.
Despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Kahiki was torn down in 2000 and replaced with a Walgreens store. According to a Walgreen's spokesman at the time, "Walgreens has a policy against destroying historic buildings... The company just doesn't think the Kahiki makes the cut. This building is unusual, but it's not very old." Some of the restaurant's "artifacts" were put in storage but management does not have any plans to reopen. Some of the items went to the Columbus Zoo while other stuff went to a short-lived restaurant run by former employees. The fountain and a few other items are on display at the Kahiki outlet store which sells frozen food and sauces. Unfortunately, they were closed when I was there so I could only get this one photo through the window. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. [photos of Kahiki Supper Club, top row thanks Tim Lister] |
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