Post #570794 by Phillip Roberts on Fri, Dec 31, 2010 8:03 PM

On 2010-12-31 06:00, THOR's wrote:

Hey Phil!! Great book...

Thanks Tom!

Today in the first Thor Stor Location and above it we have "Margaritaville"........(silence).

Well, Buffett's at the Beachcomber, (which has some tiki) but anyway...

All businesses opening on Beachwalk were suffering like mad.

Including the excellent "Holokai Grill" which closed in Febuary 2009, along with the last Spencecliff showroom, Hawaiian Hut.

But I believe in the Tiki community..that we are all too stubborn and passionate to ever let this spirit die...for the last time.

I declare this community STRONG as we go into 2011. My book Waikiki Tiki: Art, History and Photographs is not only selling well on-line but in Waikiki itself. People are starting to realize what has been lost and how the Beachcomber's dream refuses to die. "La Mariana," "Da Big Kahuna," and "Tiki's Grill and Bar" is doing well (and has a great new drink menu and chef.) Okolemaluna has opened on the Big Island. The Edition has a bartender that understands crafting exotic drinks. Artists are creating new Tiki work in Hawaii far beyond Gecko and Van Tiki. Disney is coming in at Ko'olina with their new resort. The "Hawaii 5-0" show is bringing the goods in subliminal images that will last a long time. There has never been more interest in the sacred forms (Ku reunion) on display at the Bishop Museum.

As always, it's an ebb and flow in the islands... It'll just take some time. Be patient. We are winning, despite some setbacks.

This outtake is a bit of a mystery. There are a few of these panels on Ahua street. The owner rescued them from the International Market Place. I cannot exactly attribute them to a single location beyond that yet.

Waikiki Tiki; Art, History, and Photographs.
Available now from Bess Press Hawaii.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2011-01-07 21:31 ]