Post #410805 by Dustycajun on Tue, Sep 30, 2008 8:23 AM

Humuhumu,

Thanks for the kind words, I am glad you enjoy the posts. I have fun putting them together. Thanks also for posting the matchbook from the Kon Tiki in Shreveport. I had not heard about that one before. I checked on the web and found this article about the restaurant closing. What is it with the names of these Tiki restaurant owners anyway? Check Wing Joe!!

Kon Tiki Restaurant, Savoie's The Cajun Restaurant and On the Border Grill and Cantina are making changes and, in some cases, closing altogether.

Kon Tiki will shut down Friday and reopen in early September as a Trejo's Mexican Restaurant. After 38 years in business, Kon Tiki, 5815 Youree Drive, will reopen as the fifth Trejo's Mexican Restaurant in the Shreveport-Bossier City area.

Former owner Check Wing Joe said it is time for him to move on. "My body just can't handle it anymore. Thirty-eight years is a long time. It's time to pass the baton to someone else."

Unlike Don's Seafood & Steakhouse, a Shreveport restaurant closing because of poor sales, Joe said he feels like he is leaving on his own terms.

"It's been a great ride. The people have been great. We had a lot of good, loyal customers."

Bev Martin is one of them. "It's a wonderful atmosphere, and the people who go there are absolutely fabulous," she said of Kon Tiki. Martin and her friends frequent Kon Tiki weekly. Lately, the restaurant has provided entertainment Thursday nights. "We really didn't need to have entertainment," Martin said. "Each individual is entertainment in their own right." Martin said she is sad to see Kon Tiki close. "It's the end of an era. The building may still be there, but the moments and mood will definitely be different."

Here is a picture of the restaurant interior from the article.