the only Las Vegas TIKI BAR ....Frankie’s Tiki Room 24/7 baby! - General Tiki

J JOHN-O Tiki Socialite Dogtown, USA Joined: May 16, 2008 Posts: 2721	J JOHN-O Posted posted on Mon, Dec 21, 2009 10:53 AM Nice pre-Tiki pics. BTW, your Flicker photos of Las Vegas signage are GREAT. (Also TV is dust - http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=31425&forum=1&vpost=497619 ) Here's a review of pre-Tiki Frankie's that I posted earlier.... http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30590&forum=1&vpost=426613 The great thing about Frankie's is that even though it's Tiki Revival, it still has a mid-century Las Vegas soul. I'm glad that P. Moss left the exterior and original signage intact. I had an interesting conversation there this last weekend. A weathered older gentleman came in on Saturday afternoon and ordered a Long Island Ice Tea. He commented on how much the place had changed. I asked him how long he had been coming in. Here's how our conversation went: He: "Let me ask you a question. Who were the first people in Las Vegas?" JOHN-O: "That would have been the Indians." He: "OK, who came next?" JOHN-O: "The Mormons." He: (impressed) "OK, and then after that?" JOHN-O: "I would have to say organized crime." He: "Wrong, it was the Railroad(ers)." He said he worked on the railroad and that Frankie's had been a former hangout for those workers. He had been coming in for decades. He insisted that the bar (under a different name?) had been in operation since the 1940's. I told him that would make it the oldest operational bar in town. I was skeptical since I thought Frankie's dated back to 1964 and Atomic Liquors has the first LV liquor license from the early 1950's. At any rate, he seemed pretty sure of this fact. He then went on to complain how the former management fired one of his favorite bartenders because she was getting too old and that the place went to hell after that. I would have kept our conversation going but then some young hipster dude came in and sat between us. "Hipster dude" was a downtown bartender who had come in for the first time, always wondering what was inside the funky building. He was ordering shots and beers, but I then suggested one of the Tropical specialties. He ordered a Zombie and after the first sip, expressed a "Whoaa !!". Another Tikiphile is born. :) Gotta love Frankie's. Along with keeping former decades-old customers, it's a major discovery for a new generation. :D [ Edited by: JOHN-O 2009-12-21 11:16 ]

Nice pre-Tiki pics. BTW, your Flicker photos of Las Vegas signage are GREAT.

(Also TV is dust - http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=31425&forum=1&vpost=497619 )

Here's a review of pre-Tiki Frankie's that I posted earlier....

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30590&forum=1&vpost=426613

The great thing about Frankie's is that even though it's Tiki Revival, it still has a mid-century Las Vegas soul. I'm glad that P. Moss left the exterior and original signage intact.

I had an interesting conversation there this last weekend. A weathered older gentleman came in on Saturday afternoon and ordered a Long Island Ice Tea. He commented on how much the place had changed. I asked him how long he had been coming in. Here's how our conversation went:

He: "Let me ask you a question. Who were the first people in Las Vegas?"
JOHN-O: "That would have been the Indians."
He: "OK, who came next?"
JOHN-O: "The Mormons."
He: (impressed) "OK, and then after that?"
JOHN-O: "I would have to say organized crime."
He: "Wrong, it was the Railroad(ers)."

He said he worked on the railroad and that Frankie's had been a former hangout for those workers. He had been coming in for decades. He insisted that the bar (under a different name?) had been in operation since the 1940's. I told him that would make it the oldest operational bar in town. I was skeptical since I thought Frankie's dated back to 1964 and Atomic Liquors has the first LV liquor license from the early 1950's. At any rate, he seemed pretty sure of this fact.

He then went on to complain how the former management fired one of his favorite bartenders because she was getting too old and that the place went to hell after that. I would have kept our conversation going but then some young hipster dude came in and sat between us.

"Hipster dude" was a downtown bartender who had come in for the first time, always wondering what was inside the funky building. He was ordering shots and beers, but I then suggested one of the Tropical specialties. He ordered a Zombie and after the first sip, expressed a "Whoaa !!". Another Tikiphile is born. :)

Gotta love Frankie's. Along with keeping former decades-old customers, it's a major discovery for a new generation. :D

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2009-12-21 11:16 ]

Post #500262 by JOHN-O on Mon, Dec 21, 2009 10:53 AM