Anyone know anything about these Bali Hai Mugs? - Collecting Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Wed, Aug 7, 2002 10:55 AM I just want to caution you guys as to the claims made by e-bay and antique shop sellers about the heritage of their Tiki items. Many a time have I had to contain myself when dealers tell me of a piece's origin to not come across as a smart ass, because sometimes they believe their own bull. In LA it is often "This .... came from the Luau restaurant in Beverly Hills!" because the dealers caught wind that a famous Tiki place of origin ups the price. The best bet is to get the piece from the first hand owner who really knows. I have never heard of a Bali Hai in New York (which does not mean that there wasn't one), but the Bamboo type face on the mugs above really matches the New Orleans site. Hey waitaminnit, there is also still another possibility: ALL Polynesian Paradise proprietors had the secret dream of pulling even with the "Big Three" (Don, Vic & Steve) and franchising their operaton to other states or towns. If ever, they opened ONE place somewhere else that usually did not last long (Tiki Bob's in Sacramento, Christian's Hut in Waikiki), so maybe the Lake Pontchartrain people tried their luck in another location at some point, using their logo type. The short lifespan of these satellite attempts makes any menu, postcard or matchbook evidence even harder to come by though. [ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2002-08-07 11:08 ]

I just want to caution you guys as to the claims made by e-bay and antique shop sellers about the heritage of their Tiki items.
Many a time have I had to contain myself when dealers tell me of a piece's origin to not come across as a smart ass, because sometimes they believe their own bull.
In LA it is often "This .... came from the Luau restaurant in Beverly Hills!" because the dealers caught wind that a famous Tiki place of origin ups the price.

The best bet is to get the piece from the first hand owner who really knows.

I have never heard of a Bali Hai in New York (which does not mean that there wasn't one), but the Bamboo type face on the mugs above really matches the New Orleans site.

Hey waitaminnit, there is also still another possibility: ALL Polynesian Paradise proprietors had the secret dream of pulling even with the "Big Three" (Don, Vic & Steve) and franchising their operaton to other states or towns. If ever, they opened ONE place somewhere else that usually did not last long (Tiki Bob's in Sacramento, Christian's Hut in Waikiki), so maybe the Lake Pontchartrain people tried their luck in another location at some point, using their logo type. The short lifespan of these satellite attempts makes any menu, postcard or matchbook evidence even harder to come by though.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2002-08-07 11:08 ]

Post #5284 by bigbrotiki on Wed, Aug 7, 2002 10:55 AM