Post #58977 by tikibars on Fri, Nov 7, 2003 2:39 PM

On 2003-11-06 23:31, Lake Surfer wrote:
I also think it has too much of a "mall restaurant chain" look... i.e. Rainforest Cafe, Planet Hollywood... etc. It looks like a jump on the bandwagon business venture that won't last long... especially in the Midwest.

Well put.

Big Tikis = good.
THESE big tikis = (simulate intense vomiting).

Call me a cynic, but as soon as I head that it was going to be in a mall, I envisioned almost precisely what I later saw in the pics.

Thanks for posting the pics, it'll save me a trip...

The real issue here is that from this point forward, THIS is what 95% (or more) of people will think of when they think of 'Tiki'. The 'old-skool' Tiki as seen in BOT - the Tiki that most (or all) TC-ers know and love - will become even more obscured and forgotten as places like this new Mall Tiki and it's contemporaries like the Kahunaville chain redifine Tiki for the masses.

I don't know if they are in Tiki Roadtrip, but in Milwaukee we have two cocktail lounges... "At Random" and "Bryant's." They serve many specialty drinks... many that are found in any tiki bar. But they stick to their guns and are a "swank lounge" environment. I'll patronize them for a good drink even without the tiki, though I'll miss it for sure.

At Random is in TRT, and your appraisal concurs with my own. I took TheJab there after Exotica a few months back. I think that although it isn't Tiki, their Mai Tai and Tiki Love Bowl will satisfy most TC members, and the atmosphere is indeed as swank as they come. Bring your night-vision glasses...