Post #459641 by bigbrotiki on Sat, Jun 6, 2009 11:44 AM

What a fabulous place! I was always grateful for it providing one of the key images of the Book of Tiki. That first bar shot (and its caption) says it all! And now the exterior, it's so Asian Modern.

I wonder if the owner was American, or as is the case sometimes, was an Asian who americanized his name. If "Surfer" is still checking in here, he could answer that question:

On 2008-05-13 13:33, Surfer wrote:
WOW, sadly I hate to report Sam Harris, a good friend of my dads passed away some years ago. This post brings back memories, went to the "Imperial House" many times as a kid. I still live very close by, but alas the building was leveled and dirt is all that's left.

The name "Far East" is intriguing, because it is not outright Chinese, so he absolutely could have been a WWII-generation American (like a Pacific veteran, or foreign envoy) that came up with an Exotica/ Ports of Call concept.