Polynesian Lounge / New Chinatown Restaurant, Albuquerque, NM (bar) - Locating Tiki

T tikijackalope Tiki Socialite KS/MO Joined: Oct 23, 2003 Posts: 835	T tikijackalope Posted posted on Mon, Jul 26, 2004 7:03 PM Name:Polynesian Lounge / New Chinatown Restaurant Type:bar Street:5001 Central Avenue NE City:Albuquerque State:NM Zip: country:USA Phone:505-265-8859 Status:defunct Description: This was a Polynesian lounge located inside The New Chinatown Restaurant along old Rt66. Tiki Road Trip states that it opened in the mid 1980's but The Albuquerque Journal states 1990. In either case, it closed along with the New Chinatown Restaurant in July of 2004. The location now hosts Mr. K's Oriental Restaurant, which has a few pieces of the old Polynesian Lounge decor including monkeypod tables and two outrigger canoes. Much is written of The Polynesian Lounge in Tiki Road Trip, pages 168-169. It was known for the musical performances of its owner, Freddie "Kekaulike" Baker, who was born in Hawaii and was previously a regular musician at the Aku Aku Room in the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Baker was also a champion surfer, having appeared in such movies as Road to Bali and Thunder Bay. He still plays occasional gigs in Albuquerque and can be tracked by using google which sometimes catches articles in the Albuquerque newspapers. [ Edited by: tikijackalope on 2004-07-26 22:33 ]

Name:Polynesian Lounge / New Chinatown Restaurant
Type:bar
Street:5001 Central Avenue NE
City:Albuquerque
State:NM
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:505-265-8859
Status:defunct

Description:
This was a Polynesian lounge located inside The New Chinatown Restaurant along old Rt66. Tiki Road Trip states that it opened in the mid 1980's but The Albuquerque Journal states 1990. In either case, it closed along with the New Chinatown Restaurant in July of 2004. The location now hosts Mr. K's Oriental Restaurant, which has a few pieces of the old Polynesian Lounge decor including monkeypod tables and two outrigger canoes.
Much is written of The Polynesian Lounge in Tiki Road Trip, pages 168-169. It was known for the musical performances of its owner, Freddie "Kekaulike" Baker, who was born in Hawaii and was previously a regular musician at the Aku Aku Room in the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Baker was also a champion surfer, having appeared in such movies as Road to Bali and Thunder Bay. He still plays occasional gigs in Albuquerque and can be tracked by using google which sometimes catches articles in the Albuquerque newspapers.

[ Edited by: tikijackalope on 2004-07-26 22:33 ]

Post #104348 by tikijackalope on Mon, Jul 26, 2004 7:03 PM