Post #62602 by Basement Kahuna on Sat, Nov 29, 2003 8:34 PM

Urban archeology can strike at any moment! Me and the lovely wahine took the short drive up highway 441 from our home in Clayton, Georgia, to the town of Franklin, North Carolina, today for a little thrift shopping, when we passed a billboard that made our jaws drop..."Tiki Lounge, New at Franklin Lanes", complete with two cartoon tikis. Now, aside from the modest paradise built into our basement and aside from the occasional mug or artifact, one is not accustomed to seeing tiki culture of ANY kind around these parts. Needless to say, we proceeded in short order to said bowling alley. The first thing one notices upon entering the lobby of Franklin Lanes is the great interior of the place...very well preserved classic bowling alley with some neat streamlined architecture and a nifty Mondrian-like multicolored skylight. Then the tiki lounge.. a super-well crafted bamboo facade with a very skillfully made Tiki Lounge sign...Prior to entering I spoke to the manager and asked how they came upon the idea...he said the father and son ownership were planning on opening a lounge in the alley for a while and had thought a South Seas (Yes! He actually said South Seas!) themed place would be a neat idea...He then told me they were from Fort Lauderdale (home of the greatest Tiki Bar of all!). I said "I'd love to meet him sometime", and he told me that he was in the other room....Frank Myatt, the proprieter of Franklin Lanes, was a great guy...We spoke about the Mai Kai, whom he has been a patron of since day one and was a personal friend of founder Bob Thornton...He also was a patron of the old Polynesian Room at the Yankee Clipper. He also said that the architect of the Mai Kai and the Yankee Clipper (another personal friend) also designed the space-age interior of said Franklin Lanes. I have to say again I was struck by how friendly and approachable everyone there was, and how open to the tiki style the owner was. The bar itself features an absolutely wonderful full-length thatched canopy and complex bamboo framework, as well as a few tiki torches and elaborate masks of Indonesian origin. I'd love to be carving them a couple of genu-wine tikis soon, have sent them some pictures of my wares along with my info. There is also a hearth. The backbar area and back wall is nicely framed Lauhala. Rick the bartender is a very nice guy, plys his trade smooth as silk (actually wearing a Hawaiian shirt!), and is a schooled pro, which should yield a very good drink. There's no tapa, net floats, or puffer fish lights yet but the place just opened. There are also television sets, but the trappings of Tikidom that are there are straight-up, which is very nice, and the idea that you can go BOWLING and enjoy a TIKI bar in the same place is right out of heaven!

[ Edited by: Basement Kahuna on 2003-11-29 23:52 ]