Post #59492 by tikicleen on Tue, Nov 11, 2003 9:44 PM

luckydesigns:

the stockton islander was one happening place back in the 60's. it was closed in the late 70's (i believe) and remained on pacific avenue for a few years. it did in fact close due to tommy lee's gambling problems. he recently passed away two years ago...still living in stockton.

the building of the islander still exists though. it was moved in the 1980's to the frontage road of highway 99...slightly north of stockton. it is now known as "pollardville - the chicken kitchen". i went to the restaurant just to check out the inside and see if any tiki reminants were still intact. the bar is still there, although used for single diners. across from this area was the most exciting find, a tiki pole--which must be an architectual staple for the place to stay up! it is intact...and quite "out of place" due the horrible kitchy western decor. (there is a covered wagon you can eat inside of in this restaurant!) (NOT KIDDING)

even though it is disheartening passing by the old islander due to the pollardville mess it assumed, it still is neat to see the old building and the polynesian architecture. i myself never went to the islander for i was not born in stockton, but it has been my fascination for five years now. the mugs are still surfacing around here and are becoming quite valuable.