ALOHA to the Islander in Seattle - General Tiki

TJP Tiki Joe's Pop Member Seattle Joined: Jun 01, 2006 Posts: 523	TJP Tiki Joe's Pop Posted posted on Sat, Sep 13, 2008 9:05 AM The other proverbial shoe (or sandal as the case may be) has fallen, hot on the heels of the Bellevue Trader Vic's. Yesterday, following a lovely, sun drenched lunch on the patio at the Islander, our friend/Islander waiter Mark informed us of the final decision with a simple "so have you heard?" There have been a handful of posts in the last few months here mentioning the "de-Tikifying" of the Islander, and now, by December 2008, the Islander will be no more, transformed into a Vietnamese restaurant. My wife, son Joey and I spoke with the owner, Twah, a very nice and gracious person. She gave us the straight poop and her reasoning was not surprising. Between October and May, the Islander became a ghost town, as she says "everyone only came here when the weather was nice." Anyone who has spend 5 seconds in Seattle during those months (especially in the last few years!) must agree that it gets a little moist, to say the least. Soggy days couldn't sustain the "Islander" vibe, and so it goes, barely 5 years after its incarnation. Here on TC, there have been a variety of opinions about the Islander. We liked it. It was where we celebrated our last 3 wedding anniversaries in late-July (always sunny). It was a nice place to gather excitement before attending an art show's opening. The food was good even though the drinks were hit & miss, and the vibe was certainly "Tiki-light" and getting lighter...but we liked it. I think the melancholy arises from two fronts: the sentimental memories from past Islander experiences and the fact that yet ANOTHER Seattle-area "Tiki" spot will be no more, and that's not good. For those who are interested, let's plan a "wake-before-they-close" get together sometime in the near future. Maybe we can squeeze one more sunny union on Union St. and bid a final ALOHA to the Islander. Cheers~ Andy

The other proverbial shoe (or sandal as the case may be) has fallen, hot on the heels of the Bellevue Trader Vic's. Yesterday, following a lovely, sun drenched lunch on the patio at the Islander, our friend/Islander waiter Mark informed us of the final decision with a simple "so have you heard?" There have been a handful of posts in the last few months here mentioning the "de-Tikifying" of the Islander, and now, by December 2008, the Islander will be no more, transformed into a Vietnamese restaurant.

My wife, son Joey and I spoke with the owner, Twah, a very nice and gracious person. She gave us the straight poop and her reasoning was not surprising. Between October and May, the Islander became a ghost town, as she says "everyone only came here when the weather was nice." Anyone who has spend 5 seconds in Seattle during those months (especially in the last few years!) must agree that it gets a little moist, to say the least. Soggy days couldn't sustain the "Islander" vibe, and so it goes, barely 5 years after its incarnation.

Here on TC, there have been a variety of opinions about the Islander. We liked it. It was where we celebrated our last 3 wedding anniversaries in late-July (always sunny). It was a nice place to gather excitement before attending an art show's opening. The food was good even though the drinks were hit & miss, and the vibe was certainly "Tiki-light" and getting lighter...but we liked it. I think the melancholy arises from two fronts: the sentimental memories from past Islander experiences and the fact that yet ANOTHER Seattle-area "Tiki" spot will be no more, and that's not good.

For those who are interested, let's plan a "wake-before-they-close" get together sometime in the near future. Maybe we can squeeze one more sunny union on Union St. and bid a final ALOHA to the Islander.

Cheers~

Andy

Post #407673 by Tiki Joe's Pop on Sat, Sep 13, 2008 9:05 AM