Post #425002 by SuperEight on Sat, Dec 20, 2008 3:05 AM

Okay, I asked my father (who is from Kauai, loves all things Tiki, and worked 5 minutes from this location) and he said that he does indeed remember going to the Waikiki. Now my dad is 74, and most of what he knows he heard as rumor. I repeat: rumor. But my dad was a doctor and people will tell doctors any secret. The rumor goes that the Mafia owned this place and that it was fronted by a group of owners that included a girl singer (he can't remember the name) and get this....Frank Sinatra. Before you laugh me out of this place you should know that the Cerrito family was a small time Mafia family that resided in San Jose, but more importantly it is a fact that high up members of the the Bonnano crime family set up digs in San Jose in an effort to expand their horizons beyond New York and escape some of their troubles on the east coast. One of he wives wrote a "married to the mob" type book that was made into a TV movie. Okay, I fully realize that this was just rumor, and that my dad is getting on in years but I thought that I would share his recollections of the place.

As for the restaurant, he says it was just so so. He replied that this place was no where near as great as Trader Vics in San Francisco. He felt is was more akin to The Lanai (another Polynesian restaurant in San Mateo) but that the food and decor were not even as good as that. His best recollection is that it was there at least 5 years.

I am going to talk to my Uncle and Aunt over the holidays. They are both long time residents of Los Gatos and may remember this place.

All of this may be way, way off but since no one else has posted anything I thought I would share.