Post #633522 by AceExplorer on Tue, Apr 24, 2012 8:54 AM

I've been Google searching and just found the news below (4/17/2012) for Jacksonville. A new Polynesian restaurant, with a "tiki lounge," is part of the plan but only time will tell how tiki it will actually be. If we could get a group of Jacksonville tiki aficionados together, then maybe the owner would be interested in organizing some sort of opportunity for us to show him how we would welcome his business and help get the word out to our tiki friends? Let's hope this establishment will be serving true craftsmanship in their cocktails with fresh juices and syrups. We need to see good and true tiki (and not just pop-culture Hawaiiana) return to Jacksonville. I'm going to visit this chain's web site and look for more detail later this afternoon. If you're a Jacksonville tiki aficionado, please send me a note. AceExplorer 'at' gmail dot com.
--Frank

Da Big Kahuna Restaurant & Tiki Lounge has plans for Jacksonville Beach
Submitted by Gary Mills on April 17, 2012 - 3:35pm
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/423471/gary-mills/2012-04-17/da-big-kahuna-restaurant-tiki-lounge-has-plans
GARY T. MILLS/The Times-Union
Work is under way in Jacksonville Beach to transform the former Tento Churrascaria into the Da Big Kahuna Restaurant & Tiki Lounge.
Jacksonville Beach, already home to Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, will soon welcome more of the aloha spirit when Da Big Kahuna Restaurant & Tiki Lounge opens later this year.
With building permits in hand, work has begun transforming the former Tento Churrascaria at 526 First St. N. into the Polynesian-themed restaurant.
The restaurant will be the third of its kind for owner Steve Tsuchiya, who opened his first Da Big Kahuna eight years ago in Hawaii, followed by a second restaurant in Fort Lauderdale nearly two years ago.
If the Jacksonville Beach location is anything like Tsuchiya’s Fort Lauderdale restaurant, look for a taste of Hawaii not just on the Da Big Kahuna’s menu and décor, but also on stage: the Fort Lauderdale location hosts a weekly hula show on Fridays, according to the restaurant’s website.