Tiki bar advice - General Tiki

S Swanky Tiki Socialite Hapa Haole Hideaway, Knoxville, TN Joined: Apr 03, 2002 Posts: 5398	S Swanky Posted posted on Thu, Nov 26, 2009 7:44 AM I just mean, don't just put stuff on the wall and stop there. Make your drink menu go with the decor and lots of nice presentation. I talked to every tiki bar owner I could when I did the research. Regular bar owners are just about as good for advice. Talk to them as well. Lots. Forget the full menu. Over and over everyone said keep the kitchen small. Just foods to support the drinks. A kitchen that 1 or 2 can handle easy. Over and over the mantra was "I would have gone smaller." A bar like the Tiki Ti. Packed out on the weekends and nicely filled other nights. Keep your rent down, you staffing easy, and everything else simple. My personal take would be to do a simple menu of basically apps, but I would have maybe one mean burger on there for the person wanting to actually eat. Not sure how you put that in practice in your kitchen space, but you get the idea.

I just mean, don't just put stuff on the wall and stop there. Make your drink menu go with the decor and lots of nice presentation.

I talked to every tiki bar owner I could when I did the research. Regular bar owners are just about as good for advice. Talk to them as well. Lots.

Forget the full menu. Over and over everyone said keep the kitchen small. Just foods to support the drinks. A kitchen that 1 or 2 can handle easy.

Over and over the mantra was "I would have gone smaller." A bar like the Tiki Ti. Packed out on the weekends and nicely filled other nights. Keep your rent down, you staffing easy, and everything else simple.

My personal take would be to do a simple menu of basically apps, but I would have maybe one mean burger on there for the person wanting to actually eat. Not sure how you put that in practice in your kitchen space, but you get the idea.

Post #495827 by Swanky on Thu, Nov 26, 2009 7:44 AM