The Square Grouper Tiki Bar at Castaway's Marina, Jupiter, FL (bar)

Name:The Square Grouper Tiki Bar at Castaway's Marina
Type:bar
Street:1111 Love St.
City:Jupiter
State:FL
Zip:33477
country:USA
Phone:(561) 575-0252
Status:operational

Description:
A friend took me here last year due to my interest in Tiki, however, I didn't notice any tiki here even though they call themselves a "Tiki Bar." At the time, it looked like they were constructing a thatch tiki hut near their main bar so possibly this has changed in the last 9 months or so. Here's the description from their website:
Castaways Marina is located directly on the intracoastal waterway in sunny Jupiter, FL. Jupiter is a little slice of paradise located about 20 minutes north of Palm Beach. We have excellent weather nearly all year which allows us to have an outdoor bar like The Square Grouper. Come join us for a fun and relaxing time Sunday through Thursday Noon until Midnight and Friday & Saturday Noon until 1:00 AM.
http://squaregrouper.net/

Florida is the only state thet never forgot the word Tiki. However, they forgot what it meant. There are countless hotels and beach establishments that advertise having a "Tiki Bar", but in Floridian it merely means a selfstanding bar with a thatched roof. In the Florida tourist industry it is a word like "Patio" or "Pool".
Ask any bartender at these bars what a Tiki is, they have no idea (or HAD no idea, maybe now they do), and you are lucky if they can make a tropical drink.

I agree. Tossing some thatch over the bar doesn't make a Tiki Bar. Although this was a neat place to visit, I thought it best to let the others know that I didn't see any Tiki here or Tiki drinks.

just thinking out load here ,what does make a TIKI BAR ? and what would you have them call call theirs? TD

On 2005-02-03 16:36, TIKI DAVID wrote:
just thinking out load here ,what does make a TIKI BAR ?

Hmmmm...let's see...how about: actual TIKIS ?

and what would you have them call call theirs? TD

PATIO bar, POOL bar, LANAI bar, PALM HUT bar...ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE DISBURSEMENT CENTER!? Anything that refers to what they are actually offering.

...but you know what, I have a feeling they WON'T, the bastids.

To make it a Tiki Bar, there should be some Tikis, some type of tropical Tiki drink and a Polynesian flavor to the decor. I would categorize this more as a Caribbean Beach Bar than a Tiki Bar. The place is cool and worth a visit, but when I was there, the Tiki Bar had no Tiki. It consisted of the main building, which has shutters that open up to reveal bar seating (outdoor) and a few seats inside. The rest of the area was sand, right on the Intercoastal, and a bunch of those plastic lawn chairs and tables you buy at Wal Mart.

According to my friend, this place used to be a bait shack for the marina and then started to sell beer by the bottles. Apparently the beer prospered more than the bait and became their main product.

That brings up another subject that I'll post in the main discussion. After looking at my home Tiki Bar, a friend asked "Isn't tiki the same as Caribbean?"

Or: "If it says Tiki on it, it should have Tiki in it!"

...I think there is a book out there that defines what makes a Tiki establishment pretty extensively, it's called "The Tract of Tiki" or sumpthin'.
They even talk about "pre-Tiki", and the watering down of the style by generic tropicalism!

In Jamaica they call thatched-roof outdoor bars "Tiki" bars. I wonder if its because for years they sent all that rum to tiki bars stateside and just adopted the term to local conditions.
I think it would be great to plan a Carribean vacation around visiting famous rum distilleries.

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2005-02-11 15:03 ]

Thank you guys. Esp BigBro.

Florida is the only state thet never forgot the word Tiki. However, they forgot what it meant. There are countless hotels and beach establishments that advertise having a "Tiki Bar", but in Floridian it merely means a selfstanding bar with a thatched roof. In the Florida tourist industry it is a word like "Patio" or "Pool".
Ask any bartender at these bars what a Tiki is, they have no idea (or HAD no idea, maybe now they do), and you are lucky if they can make a tropical drink.

My brother came up from FL during the Xmas holiday. We got into a discussion about tiki's and tiki bars. In which he replied "what's the big deal everybody in FL has a tiki bar." I knew he had no real conception of what a "real" tiki bar was. So Now I am going to copy/paste/print this forum and snail mail it to him (he has no computer) :P Thanks again for validating my argument! :)

http://www.fraternalorderofmoai.org/huimalu

[ Edited by: Dimethios on 2005-02-13 16:59 ]

"I think it would be great to plan a Carribean vacation around visiting famous rum distilleries."

I went to the Bacardi Rum distillery in Puerto Rico. It's a fun place and it reaks of rum, very cool.

Hey , I just found a vintage postcard from it, looks very 60s modern, does it still have that A-frame roof and the wall mosaik?

I'll have to dig up the pictures from that vacation. All I remember about it is a big white tent out on the front lawn where they had a bar set up. You had to wait under the tent until they called your group in for the tour.

Once inside, there were HUGE vats where they distilled the rum, that's where the strongest aroma was. The guide told the history of Bacardi during the tour, the story about the bat (which I cannot remember), and then you got a tour of the assembly line where they boxed up the rum.

If I remember correctly, down here a "Tiki Bar" is a Seminole thing, that is, a thatched hut-like affair. This term is completely separate from what is usually discussed here.

You are refering to a "Chickee hut" in fact built by the Seminole Indians.

I was at the Square Grouper on Thursday (March 2) and there was a 4' tiki to the right of the bar. The drinks and food certainly don't qualify, but the location and ambiance are worth the trip.