Post #765754 by bigbrotiki on Sun, Jul 3, 2016 2:46 AM

That is a nice report, Steve, you make some good points there.

The old generation owners of Tiki places are a difficult bunch, and management problems are not infrequent. The owners of Bahooka for example only warmed up to the Tiki revival crowd to a certain degree, but then they saw no reason to let anybody know about the sale, and everybody felt betrayed when the place closed.

I for example had misgivings about the way the management at Sam's Seafood/Don The Beachcomber treated the ITMP organizers, and I doubt I will ever set foot in that place again. If I smell greed from Tiki outsiders I get offended. But that is my personal thing. As long as a an original, vintage Tiki palace exists, it should be frequented and enjoyed for its rarity, and for still being there - just that. Everybody has to make up their own mind about going or staying away.

It is a crying shame that we cannot all be one happy family that gets along bowing to Tiki our god, and that the great enthusiasm and love for Tiki that created events such as the Fong fest sometimes seem to be under-appreciated. But the fact is, we don't have to run these businesses day-by-day, what we do (most of us) is our hobby we do for fun in our spare time. The Tiki scene by itself cannot support a restaurant business, and alas, it is still a money-making venture, subject to all the human vagaries of moneymaking.