Post #568891 by abstractiki on Wed, Dec 15, 2010 7:34 PM

Well I've been digging through some old Lodi newspapers and sleuthing around again.

Guess what I found out! There is a Stockton Islander connection to Lodi's Tiki Room.

We all know the last owner of the Islander was Dick Degrande. Well before that venture he owned the popular Cosmopolitan restaurant on Main Street in Lodi. In June of 1971 he moved his Cosmopolitan to the Tokay Bowling Alley. Part of the restaurant facilities he acquired at the new location was the Tiki Room. Degrande operated the Cosmopolitan and the Tiki Room until he closed it in 1980 and leased the Islander from Tommy Lee.

At this point "Jeannette's" restaurant moved into the facilities at the Tokay bowl. It was owned and operated by Robert and Jeannett Kulp until 1991. After that Buck's Steak & Seafood restaurant went in and stayed until the demolition of 2003.

I also managed to track down one of Dick Degrande's sons Gary. He told me the Tiki Room was a banquette room. It didn't have Polynesian decor when they had it but there was a rock water fall outside the doors. He said that he only visited the Islander a few times when his dad had it and every thing was sold when it closed. He was involved in his own career and doesn't know the whereabouts of the Tikis that were outside. He now owns a local catering business and Cafe.

Here is the paper mentioning the Cosmopolitain Tiki Room 1975