You find tikis in the strangest places, like Milwaukee, Wisconsin... - General Tiki

T tikibars Tiki Socialite Aku Hall, Chicago Joined: Apr 11, 2002 Posts: 2034	T tikibars Posted posted on Thu, Feb 13, 2003 2:02 PM On 2003-02-12 22:32, boutiki wrote: The Fireside is a supper-club, or as they put it, "Restaurant and Playhouse" in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Between Chicago and Madison. It still exists as far as I know, though not in a tiki state. They have had different shows through the years and at one point (guessing late 70's- early 80's) it was a Hawaiian review. Besides the Moai mugs, they used the glass goblets like the ones from Disney's Polynesian Village, only clear. There is a record album which documents the show . It's actually pretty cool. It says, "Dick Klopcic and John Malo presents... HAWAII CALLS... at the Fireside Staring Blue Pau." Our copy of the LP is even signed by Blue! The back on the record goes into great detail describing the tiki experience wonderfully, "To many people, Hawaii is a state of mind... a never, never land... a must see before one passes on... yes, even a Paradise. A land of endless white sand beaches and crystal water... Dick Klopcic, a true restaurateur and entrepreneur, has brought this illusion, this dream to the many people in the snow belt cities by bringing Hawaii to the Fireside Restaurant." The record is pretty cool, reminds me of the show at the Mai Kai, a little more "loungey". We stopped at the Fireside a few years back and though the building has a cool vaulted/A-frame vintage modern style ala Kahiki there is not really any evidence of tiki there that we could find. The only remains we could unearth were a glass tiki goblet filled with matches behind the bar and a bartender who had been there long enough to remember the old Hawaiian show. I can't remember what the production was at the time of our visit, but as we were leaving, a bus load of seniors were being dropped off to eat and see the show. Hey Boutiqui thanks for the data. I want to go check it out some time... do you have the address? Wanna take a road trip? :)

On 2003-02-12 22:32, boutiki wrote:
The Fireside is a supper-club, or as they put it, "Restaurant and Playhouse" in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Between Chicago and Madison. It still exists as far as I know, though not in a tiki state. They have had different shows through the years and at one point (guessing late 70's- early 80's) it was a Hawaiian review. Besides the Moai mugs, they used the glass goblets like the ones from Disney's Polynesian Village, only clear.

There is a record album which documents the show . It's actually pretty cool. It says, "Dick Klopcic and John Malo presents... HAWAII CALLS... at the Fireside Staring Blue Pau." Our copy of the LP is even signed by Blue!

The back on the record goes into great detail describing the tiki experience wonderfully, "To many people, Hawaii is a state of mind... a never, never land... a must see before one passes on... yes, even a Paradise. A land of endless white sand beaches and crystal water... Dick Klopcic, a true restaurateur and entrepreneur, has brought this illusion, this dream to the many people in the snow belt cities by bringing Hawaii to the Fireside Restaurant." The record is pretty cool, reminds me of the show at the Mai Kai, a little more "loungey".

We stopped at the Fireside a few years back and though the building has a cool vaulted/A-frame vintage modern style ala Kahiki there is not really any evidence of tiki there that we could find. The only remains we could unearth were a glass tiki goblet filled with matches behind the bar and a bartender who had been there long enough to remember the old Hawaiian show. I can't remember what the production was at the time of our visit, but as we were leaving, a bus load of seniors were being dropped off to eat and see the show.

Hey Boutiqui thanks for the data.

I want to go check it out some time... do you have the address?

Wanna take a road trip?
:)

Post #22951 by tikibars on Thu, Feb 13, 2003 2:02 PM