show us your Barney West - General Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Thu, Dec 14, 2006 9:35 PM If you look at those Barney West Moais outside the Washington Trader Vic's (BOT p.53) you see what they are talking about. Yet they must have shipped them there all the way from Sausalito in the first place. But the closures were in the 90s, before Trader Vic's was expanding again (pre-Tiki Revival), and they were strapped for cash. Barney's Tikis were not only impressive because of their size, but also because of their stylistic variety. Here is a big one that has its own myth attached to it: http://www.bookoftiki.com/014.html According to Leroy, this B.W. giant was found in a ditch up in Northern California, discarded by some Polynesian joint that went belly up, and Helen Yue brought it down to her supper club in LA. After her restaurant closed, it went to Seafood place on the Huntington Beach (?) pier (where I took this photo), which ALSO closed...thus it was henceforth considered a bad luck Tiki, since it brought its previous owners bad business luck. If I would subscribe to this line of thought though, I would be in trouble (as would be the whole revival), because most of my collection stems from closed down establishments. :) If your Tiki Bar does not last, don't blame the ol' Tiki. Ancestor worship, in whatever form, always carries positive mana.

If you look at those Barney West Moais outside the Washington Trader Vic's (BOT p.53) you see what they are talking about. Yet they must have shipped them there all the way from Sausalito in the first place. But the closures were in the 90s, before Trader Vic's was expanding again (pre-Tiki Revival), and they were strapped for cash.

Barney's Tikis were not only impressive because of their size, but also because of their stylistic variety. Here is a big one that has its own myth attached to it:
http://www.bookoftiki.com/014.html

According to Leroy, this B.W. giant was found in a ditch up in Northern California, discarded by some Polynesian joint that went belly up, and Helen Yue brought it down to her supper club in LA. After her restaurant closed, it went to Seafood place on the Huntington Beach (?) pier (where I took this photo), which ALSO closed...thus it was henceforth considered a bad luck Tiki, since it brought its previous owners bad business luck.

If I would subscribe to this line of thought though, I would be in trouble (as would be the whole revival), because most of my collection stems from closed down establishments. :)

If your Tiki Bar does not last, don't blame the ol' Tiki. Ancestor worship, in whatever form, always carries positive mana.

Post #272655 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Dec 14, 2006 9:35 PM