Kon Tiki in Pismo Beach - can BigBro Tiki answer this? - General Tiki

S stuff-o-rama Tiki Socialite Central Coast of California Joined: Nov 20, 2003 Posts: 757	S stuff-o-rama Posted posted on Thu, Jan 17, 2008 11:59 PM I guess I'm late to the party on this one... (been m.i.a. for a few weeks playing catch up) Since this is literally in my neighborhood I thought I'd chime in here First, here's a photo I found (courtesy of http://www.joefletcherphoto.com ) On 2002-07-11 01:00, bigbrotiki wrote: Actually, there was a guy on the OLD Tiki Central who reported that he got lucky at that sale...(or wait, was that in a post to Otto??)... Anyway, sorry to say, I myself did not see Trader Nicks until the early 90s, when it already had been largely de-tikied. The peaked A-frames were neat, and yes, the Kon-Tiki sign was originally Asian font in a pagoda sign, but judging from the look of the high rise hotelroom complex, that never had much to offer in decor. That was my friend Chad. When the owners decided to renovate it happened stealth-like. Chad happened to see it going down, so he asked the construction guys who were doing the demo what they were going to do with all the stuff they were tearing out. The crew told him they were told to dump it so he grabbed the door handles and some other ephemera. The inside was always more nautical than tiki as I remember it. We didn't go there very often, I was a kid when it opened, my Dad always said it was too expensive so we went to Carl's Spanish Seas instead. But I remember my Mom and her friend telling me that they saw Robert Mitchum there when he was filming Midnight Ride, he apparently hit on my Mom's friend and they were as giddy as schoolgirls telling the story. The bar was also the local hangout of the Mayor and the City Council Members. It also attracted a lot of older guys in leisure suits. My friends and I went there when I turned 21, we were swarmed by the leisure suit gang. I don't remember any tiki mugs at the bar (this was in 1983) but I don't have any, nor have I seen any mugs from Trader Nicks around the thrift stores around here. I think they had the PMP type with the Trader Nicks logo screened on the back if memory serves me right. It was bought by he corporation who own McLintock's Steak House in Shell Beach, they wanted to make it a high end seafood restaurant. My Dad is friends with one of the owners, he said the Nick's interior was too "tacky" they wanted to class up the joint. So it became Steamers and they really did make it nice inside. It was really neglected before, most of the tiki was gone so it was just nasty, dusty, frayed grasscloth and splintered bamboo. It did need a lot of tlc. Obviously they stripped the Polynesia from the place, but the food is great, the view is amazing (my friend and I sat at the bar and watched the whales breach while migrating to Mexico) and the drinks are both tasty and high octane. There are pictures of the inside of Steamers on their website http://www.mclintocks.com/locations/steamers.asp So the restaurant is no longer tiki, but then, it never really was. The hotel remains the same.

I guess I'm late to the party on this one... (been m.i.a. for a few weeks playing catch up)

Since this is literally in my neighborhood I thought I'd chime in here

First, here's a photo I found (courtesy of http://www.joefletcherphoto.com )

On 2002-07-11 01:00, bigbrotiki wrote:
Actually, there was a guy on the OLD Tiki Central who reported that he got lucky at that sale...(or wait, was that in a post to Otto??)...
Anyway, sorry to say, I myself did not see Trader Nicks until the early 90s, when it already had been largely de-tikied. The peaked A-frames were neat, and yes, the Kon-Tiki sign was originally Asian font in a pagoda sign, but judging from the look of the high rise hotelroom complex, that never had much to offer in decor.

That was my friend Chad. When the owners decided to renovate it happened stealth-like. Chad happened to see it going down, so he asked the construction guys who were doing the demo what they were going to do with all the stuff they were tearing out. The crew told him they were told to dump it so he grabbed the door handles and some other ephemera.

The inside was always more nautical than tiki as I remember it. We didn't go there very often, I was a kid when it opened, my Dad always said it was too expensive so we went to Carl's Spanish Seas instead. But I remember my Mom and her friend telling me that they saw Robert Mitchum there when he was filming Midnight Ride, he apparently hit on my Mom's friend and they were as giddy as schoolgirls telling the story. The bar was also the local hangout of the Mayor and the City Council Members. It also attracted a lot of older guys in leisure suits. My friends and I went there when I turned 21, we were swarmed by the leisure suit gang. I don't remember any tiki mugs at the bar (this was in 1983) but I don't have any, nor have I seen any mugs from Trader Nicks around the thrift stores around here. I think they had the PMP type with the Trader Nicks logo screened on the back if memory serves me right.

It was bought by he corporation who own McLintock's Steak House in Shell Beach, they wanted to make it a high end seafood restaurant. My Dad is friends with one of the owners, he said the Nick's interior was too "tacky" they wanted to class up the joint. So it became Steamers and they really did make it nice inside. It was really neglected before, most of the tiki was gone so it was just nasty, dusty, frayed grasscloth and splintered bamboo. It did need a lot of tlc. Obviously they stripped the Polynesia from the place, but the food is great, the view is amazing (my friend and I sat at the bar and watched the whales breach while migrating to Mexico) and the drinks are both tasty and high octane.

There are pictures of the inside of Steamers on their website http://www.mclintocks.com/locations/steamers.asp

So the restaurant is no longer tiki, but then, it never really was. The hotel remains the same.

Post #355696 by stuff-o-rama on Thu, Jan 17, 2008 11:59 PM