"The Lucky Tiki" (Updates)

BOB, what are the Lucky Tiki's hours for 12-31 and January 2 ?

[i]On 2004-12-22 11:50, Humuhumu wrote:

The Lucky Tiki is a gorgeous little bar with lots of neat details . . .

Everywhere one gazes, there are more tikis to behold. It is like opening up a jewel box, with tiki baubles in abundance.

A very, very noteworthy addition to the tiki bar scene - the first to open since the beloved and revered Purple Orchid.

PS, Mahalo to the Purple Orchid proprietors - a class couple - for showing their support - nothing but aloha in the tiki ohana.

Hi, had a blast DJing at the Lucky Tiki grand opening nights. First time I didn't realize how string those drinks were until I got home. The bar is beautiful...Bobby you've outdone yourself. Lucky, Crazy Al and everyone involved...you've created paradise in the valley. Good work and now it's time to enjoy!

On my way to the Lucky Tiki this past Tuesday, I had some rough luck immediately followed by some fantastic luck... as I was coming off the freeway, my clutch pedal lost all its pressure, and I couldn't get it in gear. I managed to get it into a gas station. I know nothing about cars (which I'm mad at myself about), so I was trying to ask the gas station attendant what might be going on, and how to go about fixing it--it was immediately evident that he was every bit as clueless about cars as I am.

Then! The next customer who came into the gas station shop asked what the trouble was, and he did know what he was talking about. He took the time to ask me what went wrong, patiently listened, popped the hood, saw I needed brake fluid, explained that my master clutch cylinder probably needed replacing ASAP, but that the brake fluid would get me home. He took lots of time to do this and to help me understand what went wrong, and got me on my way to the Lucky Tiki. He gave me his card before he left, turns out he has an auto care shop just a block from the Lucky Tiki.

I just called him about bringing my car in to have the master cylinder replaced, and he was very insistent that I call for pricing nearer my house (I live about 20 miles from the Lucky Tiki), and that he'd do it if I couldn't get a good deal somewhere else, but that I should get it done closer to home. He then told me exactly what to say (and more importantly, what not to say) when calling to get a quote. Sure enough, I've found a place just down the street that will give me a good price. If I ever need more extensive service, I'm definitely going to go out of my way to take it to this guy, because he seems like a guy I can trust (and hey, a block from the Lucky Tiki!).

Here's his info:

Jake at A J Autocare
15515 Chatsworth St., Mission Hills, CA
818-893-7999

On 2004-12-23 14:57, DJLee wrote:
Hi, had a blast DJing at the Lucky Tiki grand opening nights. First time I didn't realize how string those drinks were until I got home. The bar is beautiful...Bobby you've outdone yourself. Lucky, Crazy Al and everyone involved...you've created paradise in the valley. Good work and now it's time to enjoy!

Lee - you spoiled us! I can't imagine being in that environment without your awe-inspring vinyl collection. Thanks again for making a good night great!

For a good heart attack, there's nothing like sudden brakelessness. I haven't checked their catalog, but perhaps Santa Monica JC has an auto shop class you could take. It could come in handy. Thanks for the referral. A good mechanic is a precious find and an unscrupulous one would charge you for a new master cylinder when all he had to do is replace a damaged brake line. :wink:

Meanwhile, the Lucky Tiki looks gorgeous, Tiki Bob!

[ Edited by: floratina on 2004-12-24 01:07 ]

Hey all.
Thanks to everybody that came out to see the bar, It was great meeting all of you. And thanks to everyone that had a hand in it's creation.
We should definately plan another group outing next year.

Here is a link to an article that came out today in Citybeat magazine about the bar..

http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=1484&IssueNum=81

Mahalo.

I had a great time Tuesday night. I'm so glad I made the long drive. Now just move it to N. Orange County and it would be awesome!

The staff was so nice and funny, even taking it easy on us last stragglers after the place cleared out. Bob, you were a friendly host! Now get working on my lamp (I'll do the same)

I loved seeing a few of what looked like "regulars" of whatever bar had been there before. The looks on their faces was priceless. Some had heard it was a gay bar. Hmmmm, "Lucky Tiki" well, if you're thinking of a totem pole, maybe? Not near as obvious as "The Manhole" or "The White Swallow"

My only suggestion is padded swivel bar stool tops. That would be cool.

Definately plan another TC event because I would need a reason to make that long drive again.
Laney

[ Edited by: eel on 2004-12-24 15:49 ]

On 2004-12-22 16:52, mrsmiley wrote:
BOB, what are the Lucky Tiki's hours for 12-31 and January 2 ?

Smiley,

We are open everyday from 5pm-2am.
Hope to see you if you are coming down to LA.

On 2004-12-27 23:00, Tiki Bob wrote:
Smiley,

We are open everyday from 5pm-2am.
Hope to see you if you are coming down to LA.

DANG-it will have to be some other time--I think I will be passing by there earlier this trip. Thanks--looking forward to next time.

Finally, a tiki bar with Martin Denny on the soundtrack - it felt so right.

New changes: the tiki stools are now stationary. There is also an 18 inch the Lucky Tiki at the end of the bar.

Moderately busy on Saturday night, approx 12 folks until a party bus arrived and approximately 80 costumed fun loving folks made a stop on their caravan and turned the spot into an instant rage.

TikiBob has a slammin' place up in Mission Hills! Went last night for the first time and fell in love. I was there for about 2 hours imbibing, the bartender was perfect! I can't wait to go back because I know I missed some of the little touches in the decor.

Glad you had a good time Mel.
Next time your in, ask for Tiki Bob, I'll buy you a drink.

Bobby everytime I a go there you are not around. Still going and looking for you.

On 2005-01-22 00:52, Tiki Bob wrote:
Glad you had a good time Mel.
Next time your in, ask for Tiki Bob, I'll buy you a drink.

Thanks TikiBob, I will be sure to take you up on your offer. I will make sure I bring some friends so they can fall in love with your establishment too. Now which drink will I want? The Mai Tai, The Lucky Tiki, The Lapu Lapu...?? teehee

Hey Tikibob - the lucky tiki is AWESOME! the atmosphere is perfect and the people are friendly! You guys really got a talented "bunch o' tiki peeps" to deck that place out. I can't wait to go back...

THanks for a great night for a great cause!

First of all please dont take this the wrong way. I'm not being disrespectful.I know alot of hard work went into this. The Lucky Tiki is a great idea and looks great! All of you guy's did a GREAT job on this place!

Maybe by some weird Un-Lucky circustance I went on an unusually bad night, (1-28-05)but this is my worst Tiki Bar experience to date. It was beyond horrific.

From what you've all reported about this place, I thought I was going to be transported to an exotic atmosphere to unwind, & relax with some exotica, and great drinks.

As I approached the door I heard Bell Biv Devoe blaring out of the front door....you know that horrible song...."THAT GIRL IS POISON!" ......As I walked in there were a bunch of people dancing actually Grinding on eachother to this Sh*%$#as* music. I thought that the Tiki Gods were playing a horrible joke on me at first, so I ordered a "Lucky Tiki". The next song came on & it was just as bad as the last. I felt like I was at Grad-night at Disneyland. It was sooooo Ridiculous, and sooo Blasphemous. I think I heard 4 more songs before I ran out the door, & they all Sucked, all Dance crap with a bunch of people dancing and behaving very un-lounge-like. Did I mention they were dancing? I'm not even gonna go on.

Thank God for Mike and the Tiki Ti, becuase 20 minutes later I found refuge in a Loungey Atmospheric experience while enjoying A couple Blood & Sands.

No matter how great the place looks, I'm not sure if I will ever go back? The crowd,and the music sucked. It created the worst vibe in such a cool place.

By the way as I was leaving I noticed a couple at the jukebox selecting Jeniffer Lopez songs ahhhhhhrrrrg. I understand that the place is a buisness, and you need to make money, but why go through all the trouble of making it so nice but load it up with music that doesn't belong? It ruined the whole Atmosphere. It makes No sense to me. You all would have been Disgusted

[ Edited by: LavaPants on 2005-01-30 17:45 ]

On 2005-01-30 17:41, LavaPants wrote:
First of all please dont take this the wrong way. I'm not being disrespectful.I know alot of hard work went into this. The Lucky Tiki is a great idea and looks great! All of you guy's did a GREAT job on this place!

. . .

As I walked in there were a bunch of people dancing actually Grinding on each other. . .

Dirty dancing in an exotic tiki lounge does not sound all that bad.

Why didn't you drop a few dollars into the jukebox and select your Marin Denny favorite to add to the lounge experience?

Lavapants,

You voiced my one beef with the Lucky Tiki....

The regulars have no taste in music. I think they're the locals, or the leftovers from when it was the Wild Cherry.

But the FIRST THING I do when I arrive is pump about ten bucks into the jukebox. I take over that thing. And I enjoy the hell out of it, even as I make enemies of the crew that would rather play... AUGGHHHH... MeTaLlIcA and WORSE.... SCORPIONS?!?!?

Maybe it's making the everynighters happy to have that music... I can't really fault TikiBob, he has to have a customer base... but in my perfect jukebox, it wouldn't just be all tiki/exotica/retro... but it'd be a better mix than that!!!

I mean, WTF, No ELVIS?!!?

The key is a wide variety, but nothing that outright clashes. There's PLENTY of modern cool hip music that doesn't clash. I'm thinking of Moby, beck, etc.

But whatever the music, Lenard Skynard doesn't FIT A TIKI BAR!

[ Edited by: BarkerBird on 2005-01-31 14:53 ]

The neighborhood had already taken over with it's mtv/103 the beat tracks. My songs might have come on around 1:00 am. I wasn't gonna wait for that.

LavaPants,
I was there that night with my wife and definately NOT diggin' on the tunes--but having an otherwise good time. As it turns out there was a rather large "I just turned 21" party....and as I'm sure you know, the newley 21 crowd hasn't exactly sharpened their lounge tastes yet. On the flip side, there should be a happy medium somehwere. I mean, look, if somebody wants to play JLo (I'm gagging as I'm saying this) in the juke box at a tiki joint, thats ok. And I go with Christiki a little dry humping in any locale is A-OK with me. I mean its all a matter of taste. I prefer Denny and Lyman to most of the crap that was being played that night, but hey, that's what free market is all about. And the Tiki Ti doesn't exactly spin exotica all night. The last few times I've been there they were playing standard rock music.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I'd rather have a nice tiki bar with crappy music and thriving than no tiki bar at all....lest we forget the Taboo Cove in Vegas. I'm just glad a fight didn't break out with all that young testosterone that night. I would much rather disappear into a lava-lined tiki cave and chill out to exotica sounds too. But hey, at least they have Denny in the juke, and they must be one of the only bars-tiki or not- that I've seen with that!
Bottom line is I agree with you, but its still nice to see a new tiki place actually making money. The best way to deal with the situation is be sure more of us TC-ites go and bring more of the Aloha spirit and exotic vibe!

[ Edited by: Digitiki on 2005-02-01 10:59 ]

As much as I hate to say it, cause I love TikiBob, but the jukebox at the Chalet has a better mix of new and old, without the music for the Camaro and mullet crowd.

Elvis Costello sits quite nicely beside Burt Bacharach and Cal Tjader.

Elvis Costello sits quite nicely beside Burt Bacharach and Cal Tjader.

Oh yeah baby! Love it!

Yeah, the Chalet is a great place, great tunes!

Yeah, the Chalet is a great place, great tunes!

On 2005-01-31 14:47, BarkerBird wrote:
Lavapants,

You voiced my one beef with the Lucky Tiki....

The regulars have no taste in music. I think they're the locals, or the leftovers from when it was the Wild Cherry.

But the FIRST THING I do when I arrive is pump about ten bucks into the jukebox. I take over that thing. And I enjoy the hell out of it, even as I make enemies of the crew that would rather play... AUGGHHHH... MeTaLlIcA and WORSE.... SCORPIONS?!?!?

Maybe it's making the everynighters happy to have that music... I can't really fault TikiBob, he has to have a customer base... but in my perfect jukebox, it wouldn't just be all tiki/exotica/retro... but it'd be a better mix than that!!!

I mean, WTF, No ELVIS?!!?

The key is a wide variety, but nothing that outright clashes. There's PLENTY of modern cool hip music that doesn't clash. I'm thinking of Moby, beck, etc.

But whatever the music, Lenard Skynard doesn't FIT A TIKI BAR!

[ Edited by: BarkerBird on 2005-01-31 14:53 ]

My friends and I seem to show up at least once of twice a week here, and try to pump in at least $10 worth of exotica music. The locals, last time, were literally complaining incessantly about how horrible the music was. Finally, their music came on, and they were cheering for it. We instantly went back to the machine and paid more to play more Martin Denny, in the middle of the stuff they selected.

I know people at work that have gone in there to be totally wowed by the atmosphere and drinks, but totally turned off by the music. I think a good compromise would be to have "Tiki Evenings" or some such. I understand it is a business, but it is really a shame that people are being turned away by blasting Bel Biv Devoe.

My 2 cents.

Maui Mat, I agree with you as far as a"tiki evening" goes. I live close by to Lucky Tiki and I go there quiet often. I hardly ever see any TC people there. Music sucks most of the time and is real lowd. I end up asking the bartender to play something tropical which he usually does.I like the place and I go back anyways, but would be nice for all of us in the Valley to maybe pick a night here and there and show up and play the music we want and have fun. Any ideas regarding this???Anyone cares???

I was in there this last Monday and played a few tiki tunes, but there were some real tiki lovers in there so it was met with approval. But I was talking to the teh bartender/owner who was wanting to do some "tiki events" on certain nights just for the tiki crowd. He was thinking of things like a tiki carver night were people come in a show off their own tikis and have the patrons vote on their favorites--and things like that.

I like the lucky tiki alot, but the music in the jukebox is lousy. Martin Denny and the like should be the music playing. When your in a tiki bar metal and hip hop are the last things I want to hear. They should have a tiki night once or twice a week. As of now i will only go if dj Lee is spinin the vinyl.

[ Edited by: net-tiki on 2005-02-10 10:33 ]

Ok Ok.... You have spoken and we have responded.... The Jukebox is now fixed!!!
You no longer have to live in fear of hearing Crap at the Lucky Tiki anymore.
We have deleted all that is bad and left nothing but good, and we shut off the online search feature so nothing else can be downloaded.
Also, DJ Lee will be spinning Exotica every Sunday night from 8-2. Yeah!!!

Female Tiki carver Dawna finished the house tiki.... here it is!!! It came out great and has brought tremendous luck to anyone who gazes upon it. It has also scared away most of the bad eggs from the previous bar.

Crazy Al is still working on carving our signature mug.. we hope to have it by our 1 year anniversary next Dec. Just in time for Christmas.Yeah!!

Bartenders Tim and Suzanna have created lot's more new speciality drinks and they are getting really good responses from customers.

See you soon. http://www.theluckytiki.com

Oh,
And here is the cover of the new Barracuda magazine. It has a photo shoot and feature on the bar.

Hey Bobby thanks for making these changes. I know I will be there more often now.

Good music in a new tiki bar? I must be dreaming!

WWJD? Go to the Lucky Tiki! Tell Suzie the Jab sent ya!

Awesome to see Crazy Al's work on the cover of Baracuda, and I think that car is the one Chikitiki did the interior for! Did any of my precious Tiki Bar stools make it inside?

Tony,

There are two great pictures of your stools. You definately have to pick up a copy.

fOaming at the mouth, so happy it hurts!

On 2005-03-22 18:03, Tiki Bob wrote:
Tony,

There are two great pictures of your stools. You definately have to pick up a copy.

Place joke here

On 2005-03-23 00:47, Unga Bunga wrote:

On 2005-03-22 18:03, Tiki Bob wrote:
Tony,

There are two great pictures of your stools. You definately have to pick up a copy.

Place joke here

Hehehe...

I was tempted, but decided to give this one a pass.

Bobby, that's truly great that you made that change, my kudos. When I read these reports, I thought tough!, but a small bar is dependant on the neighbourhood regulars, and has to cater to their tastes. The few afficionados that show will not keep it afloat...but of course alienating them is not good either.

This is a problem in many otherwise cool Tiki lounges, the owners give in to the fear that Exotica music is too slow and dated to appeal to the general customer, and play generic world music or Salsa or Reggae or ...White Snake. It is the same motivation that started that wave of painting your Tikis with garish colors in the 80s.

I believe if more proprietors would show staying power and not give customers an alternative, more members of this Exotica-ignorant public would get EDUCATED and eventually realize that to a Tiki Bar, Exotica music is the fourth dimension, the GLUE that (with the help of strong Polynesian Potions!) FUSES all the elements of the decor (the tropical wall textures, the lighting, the carvings) into one dreamy illusion. And some might learn to like Exotica and listen to it somewhere else to conjure up that experience.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2005-03-23 09:49 ]

WOW BOB! MAHALO PLENTY!

I'm gonna have to swing by tonight!

Party Tonight!

Tiki Magazine launch party!

See ya there Tiki Bob.

[i]On 2005-03-23 09:45, bigbrotiki wrote:

I believe if more proprietors would show staying power and not give customers an alternative, more members of this Exotica-ignorant public would get EDUCATED and eventually realize that to a Tiki Bar, Exotica music is the fourth dimension, the GLUE that (with the help of strong Polynesian Potions!) FUSES all the elements of the decor (the tropical wall textures, the lighting, the carvings) into one dreamy illusion. And some might learn to like Exotica and listen to it somewhere else to conjure up that experience.

BRAVO BIG BRO!! I couldn't agree more. So much Exotica music will be lost if we don't educate the public and playing the right kind of music in the right atmosphere, as a tiki bar, magically transforms the entire environment. A Mystical Tiki Fourth Dimension!! Yeaah!!

Jeff

Thanks Jeff-
Congrats on your article in TM ! I saw it and must say a fine tome it is, worthy of it's wise contributors! What is your next article going to be about? Arty or Marty?

Thanks Bigbro, I really am excited to be onboard this wonderful magazine. The next issue will have an article/interview with the MaiKai Gents. I am also working on features with Don Tiki, King Kukulele, Les Baxter and an exclusive interview with Billy Mure that was conducted at the Hukilau last year. I have a couple other ideas up my sleeve but they are top secret for now. See you at the Tiki Oasis! You're gonna be there right? I can't wait to tell you about my Witco piece I recently won on eBay.

All The Best,
Jeff