Post #721388 by Chip and Andy on Mon, Jun 30, 2014 1:23 PM

On 2014-06-30 11:58, 1961surf wrote:
Who puts mandarin collars on aloha shirts ...I guess Mai Kai .

They were designed for the servers at the Mai Kai and were part of a "system."

You would be greeted by the Maitre D'restaurant who wore a Blue Blazer. He would then give you over to your Table Captain to be seated.

Your Table Captain, wearing a white jacket, would seat you and tell you any specials of the day and then give you over to your server.

Your Server, wearing the Mandarin Collared shirt, would take your order and make sure your cocktail was never empty for very long. The Yellow shirts were for the Servers, the blue shirts were Water and Bus boys. The 'color coding' allowed the Table Captains, and management, to see who was where because at the time the Mai Kai was still a Jacket Required level restaurant.

The Mandarin Collar was 'exotic' in the US and fit with both the system of servers AND fit with the exotic theme of the restaurant.

Next time you are in the Mai Kai look around, the same system is still in place today even if the colors are not as organized they used to be.