Friday, May 20, 2022

Tiki bars are among my favorites...

 Of course biker bars, go-go bars, American Legion bars, cocktail lounges and dive bars are also my favorites. Pick one... 

In case you were wondering where the idea for the 'Tiki Bar' comes from, here's the real skinny: 

Don the Beachcomber, born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, 
was the 'inventor' of tiki restaurants, bars and nightclubs. He was a bootlegger during Prohibition and when it ended, he opened the first 'tiki' bar, gambling that in those Depression years diners would enjoy spending a few hours in a South Seas fantasy world, amid tiki carvings, thatched roofs, bamboo furniture and rain falling on the roof.  

The many so-called “Polynesian” restaurants and pubs that enjoyed great popularity are directly descended from Don’s Beachcomber Café in Hollywood in the 1930s. Hugh Hefner, Marlon Brando and Fred Astaire were all regulars.



1 comment:

  1. There was a restaurant in Charleston SC many years ago, The Blue Hawaiian & tiki bar. Flaming drinks, strange food, well for a 15yr old, & the waitress wore grass skirts & coconut tops. We went there for birthday parties & such . So much fun. Building is still there but it's a insurance company now.

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