So you wanna open your own commercial Tiki Bar huh? - General Tiki

M mrsmiley Tiki Socialite Las Vegas, NV Joined: Apr 03, 2002 Posts: 3197	M mrsmiley Posted posted on Tue, Mar 1, 2011 7:35 AM Hi, there are a few "open a tiki bar" threads that will give you a lot of insight. You might contact Primo Kimo from Vermont- he opened a bar and unfortunately had to close it a few years(?) later. Forbidden Island in Alameda is probably a good case history for a success. They opened a tiki bar in a general area that had no lack of them (The San Francisco East Bay)- Martiki focused on making the BEST drinks with the BEST ingredients and for Alameda, they were priced high! Not high in general, but Alameda had never had prices like that. They were cheaper than Trader Vics if I recall correctly. What happened when they opened...did the locals see the drink prices and run out the door?...some may have, but what ended up is the the was a LINE AT THE DOOR waiting to get in for an easy 8 months straight, and even longer on weekends! Sure some locals complained "8 bucks for a drink!","no Corona beer?!?!", but word spread among the locals with taste and the place is still popular today-maybe 6 years(?) later! Rule number one--The Tiki Community is TOO SMALL to support your bar 100 percent. SO you have to appeal to OTHERS! Good luck and don't forget to name a drink after me!

Hi, there are a few "open a tiki bar" threads that will give you a lot of insight. You might contact Primo Kimo from Vermont- he opened a bar and unfortunately had to close it a few years(?) later. Forbidden Island in Alameda is probably a good case history for a success. They opened a tiki bar in a general area that had no lack of them (The San Francisco East Bay)- Martiki focused on making the BEST drinks with the BEST ingredients and for Alameda, they were priced high! Not high in general, but Alameda had never had prices like that. They were cheaper than Trader Vics if I recall correctly. What happened when they opened...did the locals see the drink prices and run out the door?...some may have, but what ended up is the the was a LINE AT THE DOOR waiting to get in for an easy 8 months straight, and even longer on weekends! Sure some locals complained "8 bucks for a drink!","no Corona beer?!?!", but word spread among the locals with taste and the place is still popular today-maybe 6 years(?) later!
Rule number one--The Tiki Community is TOO SMALL to support your bar 100 percent. SO you have to appeal to OTHERS!
Good luck and don't forget to name a drink after me!

Post #578240 by mrsmiley on Tue, Mar 1, 2011 7:35 AM