Tiki history question: when did Orchids of Hawaii start their cookie-cutter restaurant trade? - General Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Wed, Dec 31, 2014 7:01 AM On 2014-12-31 00:12, tikicoma wrote: ...The article says the NY shop opened in 1952 and an obit mentioned that the lady came from Hilo to NY in '52 to work there…. Does the article mention if that was Oda frpm "Oda's Exotic Hawaiian Orchids" ? :) On 2014-12-31 00:12, tikicoma wrote: ...I guess the owners of the NY shop expanded their offerings, creating a 'better' paper cocktail umbrella and invented a machine to make plastic leis that ran 24 hrs a day 7days a week to supply Polynesian Pavilion at the 1964 NY Worlds Fair... Important steps in the popularization of Tiki :) Early Tiki establishments advertised that they offered fresh leis flown in daily from Hawaii, so the making of plastic versions is symptomatic for the evolution of the "plastic paradise" of Polynesian pop, which, as we all know and love, is all about artifice - but also for its De-volution, when things went too far, with making plastic Tridacna shells, Chinese tiles, and Tikis :) :

On 2014-12-31 00:12, tikicoma wrote:
...The article says the NY shop opened in 1952 and an obit mentioned that the lady came from Hilo to NY in '52 to work there….

Does the article mention if that was Oda frpm "Oda's Exotic Hawaiian Orchids" ? :)

On 2014-12-31 00:12, tikicoma wrote:
...I guess the owners of the NY shop expanded their offerings, creating a 'better' paper cocktail umbrella and invented a machine to make plastic leis that ran 24 hrs a day 7days a week to supply Polynesian Pavilion at the 1964 NY Worlds Fair...

Important steps in the popularization of Tiki :)

Early Tiki establishments advertised that they offered fresh leis flown in daily from Hawaii, so the making of plastic versions is symptomatic for the evolution of the "plastic paradise" of Polynesian pop, which, as we all know and love, is all about artifice - but also for its De-volution, when things went too far, with making plastic Tridacna shells, Chinese tiles, and Tikis :) :

Post #734020 by bigbrotiki on Wed, Dec 31, 2014 7:01 AM