Post #332609 by GatorRob on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 9:27 AM

As much as I love the idea of a resurrection of tiki palaces, I suspect the only ones that would be financially viable as a new business would be those operated in the same vein as Rainforest Cafe. In a way, Rainforest Cafe is the modern day equivalent of the tiki palace. Read this description:

The restaurant is decorated to show some features of a rain forest, including plant growth, mist, waterfalls, robotic animals and bug life. Large marine aquariums are common in most restaurants. Automated water sprinklers, set to specific patterns and coinciding lights are also featured. A simulated thunderstorm occurs every 30 minutes. It is not only simulated rain; in addition, lights flash to look like lightning while thunder is played through high-powered subwoofers, and all the robotic animals panic. The restaurant is partitioned into several rooms by means of rain curtains which fall into basins running along the tops of partition walls and booths. The flow rate of these rain curtains intensifies during the simulated thunderstorms.

Replace the robotic animals and bug life with tikis and thatched huts and you've got a tiki palace. Of course, the biggest difference is Rainforest Cafe is targeted to families with small children. Their success is proof that themed dining is far from extinct, but it has evolved from a place where Mr and Mrs Jones go to unwind in a tropical rum-soaked fantasy world to a place where young familes go to have fun.

And look where Rainforest Cafes are located: Disney theme parks, Mall of America, Vegas, etc. All tourist-driven places with larger than life, over the top themeing already. So Rainforest fits right in. I seriously doubt Rainforest could exist in the middle of a city like the tiki palaces of old did.

I fantasize about opening a tiki palace too. But I know that unless I'm Bill Gates, it ain't gonna happen. Mai-Kai excepted, large themed restaurants that cost tens of millions of dollars to open aren't owned by individuals. They're owned and operated by large corporations. Rainforest is run by a publicly traded corporation with 28,000 employees and annual revenue of over a billion dollars. That just takes the fun out of it for me...

You mentioned Forbidden Island. Of course, they're a completely different animal. I'm glad they're owned and operated by people like Martin Cate who "get it" from our perspective, but I suspect their success is due not to their tiki theme, but because they are a well run neighborhood bar. A tiki themed Cheers "where everybody knows your name". (Forgive the analogy Martin. I wouldn't think of ordering a beer at FI. Do you even serve beer?) And they serve top quality drinks and have received a lot of positive press because of that.

With all that said though, I do hope you open your dream tiki palace someday. I'll be first in line when the doors open. :)