Post #252539 by ikitnrev on Tue, Sep 5, 2006 8:26 PM

My reaction on this news is somewhat bittersweet. I do congratulate you on your plans to adopt much of the decor of the Jasmine Tree into your new tiki bar (Thatch) and I hope that I will be able to visit some day.

But I am also saddened, as I was hopeful that the Jasmine Tree might survive. I have only been to Portland twice in my life, both within the past year, and both times I paid visits to The Jasmine Tree, spending almost all of my time at the back bar. Although others may not have cared for the place, there was something about it that I really enjoyed - a combination of the old decor, the aged but wiser bartenders, and the camaraderie of the regulars who paid their visits to that back bar. Those things far outweighed the negatives - the TVs, and the nearby video poker machines.

I guess I have visited my share of treasured tiki bars, only to have them close shortly after, or to be watered down to a paler imitation of their former grand stature. It is a bit like what my parents say about their life as they get older - their best and closest friends become ill and then die one by one, and they sense that more and more of the world they know and understand and enjoy is disappearing.

I do applaud the news that much of the decor will be available for view in a new setting - a form of South Seas Poly-Pop reincarnation, I guess -- Kon Tiki leads to Jasmine Tree which leads to what I hope is a long life at Thatch.

I wonder how many people will be able to visit Thatch, and wonder to themselves ...'hmmmm, that reminds me of that old Kon Tiki bar from many years ago.' I am sure that my two visits to the Jasmine Tree are only small tiki drops in the bucket to what others on the West Coast have experienced, but I do consider myself fortunate that I was able to personally enjoy the charms of the Jasmine Tree in its natural, unrushed setting.

Vern

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2006-09-05 20:28 ]