Post #368527 by tikiyaki on Fri, Mar 21, 2008 11:31 PM

On 2008-03-21 10:11, JenTiki wrote:
Go to Forbidden Island in Alameda, California, to see how it should be done. It has only been open just short of two years, but it feels like they've been doing this forever. In reality, the owners, and managers have been doing it forever in great establishments like Trader Vic's and the Conga Lounge. Hire people who know, and appreciate, the genre.

Definitely hire Bamboo Ben to do your interiors. There is no one else on this planet who can do a tiki interior like Ben does. It's in his blood, literally. Decide what your "theme" is, and be faithful to it. If you decide to go with a polynesian theme, leave out the parrots, reggae, and Jimmy Buffet. You'll have a little more leeway if you call it a "nautical" theme. But if you start bringing in a bunch of pirate and caribbean stuff, then it's no longer a "tiki" bar.

Do not compromise on the quality of the drinks. The drinks will be the reason many people return. Make the bartenders measure the ingredients to ensure consistency in the quality of the cocktails. Use the best, freshest ingredients you can get your hands on. Don't worry about how much you'll have to charge for the drink to make it the best it can be. The right clientele will be willing to pay a couple extra bucks for a quality cocktail.

Make sure your staff treats the customer with a spirit of "aloha." The first contact with a customer should be a very friendly greeting within moments of them walking in the door, and every interaction thereafter should make the customer feel like they are a friend in your home, not an intrusion in the server's day.

If you are going to have live entertainment, or even recorded music, a jukebox, etc., it too should keep with the theme. Don't play Madonna and Aerosmith in your tiki bar. Exotica, surf, lounge, even a little rockabilly are okay. Current rock, R&B, etc. are just wrong.

I am not, and never have been, a bar owner or employee. I'm not the person who can tell you anything about the business part of having a successful tiki bar. But I know what makes me want to go back to some places, and what will make me run screaming from others. So take these opinions for whatever they're worth to you.

Good luck in your venture!

Amen Jen....

It's amazing how NO Tiki bars play the right music. I love old Aerosmith and classic stoner rock as much as the next guy, but for a Tiki Bar, it just ruins the atmosphere.

And, yes, even worse is the hip hop and current crap in a Tiki Situation. Nothing says "ALOHA" less than some guy talkin about "bitches and Ho's, and how much money he got off the guy he just "busted a cap" in.

Just leave it out of the juke box entirely.

Te drinks, the decor, the music it all needs to be right.

Ok, off the soapbox now...

Good Luck Mai Tai Greg, we're all rootin for ya.