Jasmine Tree Rumors

There have been rumors flying around town (that would be Portland) that our 2nd best commercial tiki bar, Jasmine Tree, will be closing. I believe the rumor is based on an article in the paper that suggested that the light rail line would be expanding and that JT would have to be torn down. I just spoke with the manager of JT who told me that they have been told that the light rail has been re-routed and that there are no plans as far as he knows to close the place. Does anybody know otherwise?

If they DO close, I want to get the inside scoop on any auction or sale they have, because they have a bunch of Oceanic Arts and other stuff that I've coveted since I moved here. But all in all, I'd rather they didn't close. Unless they're going to sell the stuff for really cheap.

I heard they were going to tunnel the train under the Jasmine Tree which would give the establishment a unique volcanic rumble effect every half hour, but the plans were derailed. :)

Don't sit in front of your monitor waiting for the hundreds and tens of Portland based TC members to feed you info...Get your maxton down there and start asking questions. If it does close there's no one more deserving of gettin' his hands on their decor than you...Because that way we could all visit it.

Mark, git me those Tahitian Cannibal Carvings please, OK?
Tizz tizz, what cannibalistic cravings I detect in myself, smelling a carcass before it's dead, shame on me, the Tiki addict for succumbing to Tiki Greed, 'tis not right.
The Jade Tree will live!

Following are some of the ten commandments of Tiki that just came to me:

Thou shall not covet your Neighbour's Tiki!

Thou shall not swipe a Tiki from a living site!

Thou shall not paint a Tiki in garish colors!

Thou shall not mix Tiki with Reggae and Jimmy Buffet!

Thou shall not use the name of Tiki in vain!
(On e-bay or in any other commercial scams)

Thou shall not kill a Tiki! (or was that WITH a Tiki..?)

...any more? These could easily become the 20 something commandments of Tiki....

Thou Shalt not claim a tiki is carved by Leroy if it isn't.

Thou Shalt not claim a tiki if vintage if it isn't.

Thou shall not use the words kitchy, tacky, retro, whimsical, fun, or funky when describing or referring to Tiki establishments.

(Except one may use the word tacky when referring to a certain new bar in Minnesota)

Thou shalt not throw away your broken tiki mugs.

Mark,
Can broken Tiki Mugs be used in creating a Tiki mosaic? You bet. Check out this thread. A new Portland member even.http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6233&forum=1&4http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6233&forum=1&4

Broken Tiki Ceramics

[ Edited by: mrtikibar on 2003-11-12 13:48 ]

[ Edited by: mrtikibar on 2003-11-12 13:49 ]

Actually, TikiAngi is one of my recruits! She helped me out at the haunted house AND she's a well-respected member of a certain society whose work I admire (I will allow her to name the society of which I speak, should she choose to). She ahd asked about broken mugs for her project and I turned her on to TC. I'm hoping her bar will be part of an upcoming crawl, but we shall see...

The last time I was in the Jasmine Tree was during last years crawl. I was there during the "specified" times. There was a gawdawful experimental electronic noise band playing. I ate a No.1 combo, no one showed up, so I moved on to the Alilbi. The food was suprisingly edible. I certainly hope it's not closing. We can't afford to lose anymore Tikibars. Keep on this Maxton. You've got me worried. When's the next crawl?

MrTikiBar and I are planning to meet sometime this weekend for preliminary discussions of the NW Tiki Crawl II. My guess is that it will happen in May again, but it's all TBD. We have some cool stuff planned, so keep your eyes open for the new thread!

Is this 10 commandments of tiki stuff for real? I can understand the ethics of the commandments that involve stealing, coveting and painting tikis and using the name of tiki in vain, but no reggae?!?! Well, I am a sinner, and I shall continue my sinful ways. I possess no Buffet (a touchy subject, I know), but I have more reggae in my music collection than any other genre, even (gasp) exotica. Reggae is a humongous genre that encompasses ska, rock steady, dub, roots, dancehall, and more. Yes, there is some schmaltz in this genre, (I do have some problems with "Ja-waiian" reggae) but reggae figures such as Lee Perry, Jackie Mittoo, Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, the Studio One and Channel One house bands, and even Bob Marley and the Wailers cannot be denied. Viva Jamaica! If listening to reggae, and loving it, in my tiki infested home is a sin, then I must accept any ostracizing from this community, cuz I ain't giving it up:).

I will have to say, The English Beat were one of my most favorite bands a while ago.

I saw them 3 times at the Coach House. Great memories. Is the Coach House still there?

On 2003-11-13 10:41, Tiki_Bong wrote:
I will have to say, The English Beat were one of my most favorite bands a while ago.

On 2003-11-13 10:25, Selector Lopaka wrote:
Is this 10 commandments of tiki stuff for real? I can understand the ethics of the commandments that involve stealing, coveting and painting tikis and using the name of tiki in vain, but no reggae?!?! If listening to reggae, and loving it, in my tiki infested home is a sin, then I must accept any ostracizing from this community, cuz I ain't giving it up:).

One time I heard reggae in a tiki bar was in the Tiki Bar in Modesto. The volume on the jukebox was blasting and a bunch of drunken yahoos were singing/shouting to the music. UGH!!!! Not pleasant at all! The last time I heard reggae at a Tiki Bar was at the Kon-Tiki in Tucson, AZ. For some reason it worked for me there and I actually found it quite pleasant. Maybe it was because I was in such a glorious mood being in Tucson( I had a BLAST there)-or maybe it was because the music could have been worse! (there were MANY cars blasting Rap music as they were going to/or leaving the Kon-Tiki.
Reggae is not a traditional or 20th century style of music that is considered Polynesian-so in that respect it is not considered by many to be appropriate Tiki music. But, in your own home, in your own bar (as long as you aren't being a bad host and alienating your guests), why not play what you want!!! I will take reggae over rap/techo in a tiki bar any day!

Mr. Smiley is the most thirstiesterest of
all!
Have a nice Tiki Day!
If you like it,it is ZAZZ! If you don't, give it a RAZZ.

[ Edited by: mrsmiley 2006-02-16 17:26 ]

Please nobody worry about being ostracised from the tribe, we are all sinners.
I confessed to breaking the FIRST commandment right there in the post, and I am sure many of us are guilty of coveting our neighbours Tiki, but we are weak...

The Tiki Cult does not prohibit the practice of other religions or non-Exotica music listening. I like early Ska, too. Josh Agle is a huge Calypso fan. Just don't say it's TIKI.

Like 'Bahama Mama' and "Sex on the Beach" are NOT Tiki Drinks.

And don't come back with that "Oh, Tiki always was a tropical island mish mash..."

Tiki has a specific iconic tradititon and symbol language that is very complex, but I believe has been adequately introduced in the BOT. The fine balance of Beachcomber, Trader and Polynesian clichees is easily upset by an unsure eye and fickle sense of style.

But as in classic Polynesian Pop, an inventive concept with an intelligent sense of humor can always broaden the rules, off course. Tiki is not a dead religion, but a living tradition.

Interestingly (at least to me) my love of reggae and exotica have formed along side each other. I was introduced to reggae via Peter Tosh on Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s as a youth, and I was introduced to exotica via Martin Denny by a musical mentor friend late one evening at least 15 years ago. I continue to delve deeply into both genres simultaneously, and always have my ears open for more of both. I love other genres of music too, if you can believe it. That said, I am fully aware of what music is appropriate where. You'll never hear exotica and reggae back to back in my DJ set, but select reggae can pop up in the latter part of my set. In a tiki envirnonment nothing else comes close to exotica and it's Polynesian influenced relatives. I'm just shocked that bigbrotiki has two of my loves at odds with each other in a list of commandments no less. I can handle being an iconoclast among iconoclasts :). Apologies, for completely going off the course of the original topic of this post.

Edited to add:
Bigbrotiki,
Thanks for your eloquent response. You are so right on! I find it interesting as we all have other interests outside of tiki, it's important to be aware where the lines are when meshing our other interests with it. I just had to defend my reggae.

[ Edited by: Selector Lopaka on 2003-11-13 12:51 ]

I wonder if we could maybe split the commandments/reggae conversation off to another topic - ordinarily I'm not a stickler, but there's developing news on the Jasmine Tree front so there will likely be more posts that are on topic and of interest to those who don't want to see another tiki bar shut down...

That being said, I've heard a new report on the fate of the JT: Apparently it wasn't a light rail issue, but an expansion plan for Portland State University that was threatening JT. My understanding is that the owners refused to sell, and that now the city is considering condemning the property in order to snag it for PSU expansion. I need to dig more deeply into this. MrTikiBar and I hope to meet at JT tonight or tomorrow to find out more, and I have a reporter friend who might be able to help.

We'll find out everything we can about the status, and if they're going to close, we'll do whatever we can to secure some of the stuff. How many of you would be interested in coming to Portland for an auction, should it come to that?

Tikimaxton, Tikitronic and I visited the Jasmine Tree yesterday evening. I'll let Tikimaxton give you the full story but the good news is Jasmine Tree will stay open at least until 2005. It will definitely be part of the upcoming NW Tiki Crawl II.

Phew, that's good news for now. Sorry Mark that I went off on that commandments thing, at that point it sounded the situation was not going to develop further...I am all for splitting it of...but now things seem to have righted themselves for a while, anyway.

Thanks for the update. Good work! But don't breathe too easy and turn your back. You gotta watch out for those Metro bastards up there in Stumptown. That nonelected gestapo have more power than the Governor. Once thet get something on their "agenda" theres no telling what might happen.

On 2003-11-15 23:22, bigbrotiki wrote:
Sorry Mark that I went off on that commandments thing,

No problem, BigBro - I do it myself all the time. I just got worried 'cause new news seemed to be coming in daily and I wanted to be able to diseminate it accurately as I got it.

So yes, the bulldozers are at bay until, as we were told, "at least the winter of 2005". So the 2004 crawl is safe. But I'm hanging on to my sources, and I'll post new info as it arises.

I came across the following article on Portland's Jasmine Tree. It doesn't look look too good.

In a nutshell, the Portland Development Commission issued a request for proposals last Friday for land developers to rebuild the city blocks that contain the Jasmine Tree. The Jasmine Tree will either have to close or relocate. The Jasmine Tree currently has a lease that expires at the end of April, and nobody seems to know what will happen after that date. There is mention of a lightrail system taking the Jasmine space sometime in 2007, to help serve some mid-range housing that will soon be built in the area.

The full article can be found here
http://www.dailyvanguard.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/02/14/43f35e7334912

After seeing the D.C.'s area's Honolulu Restaurant close down two years ago due to transportation infrastructure expansion, I feel saddened to see this news repeating itself on the other coast.

Vern

I love the Jasmine Tree! I hope it survives!!

On 2006-02-16 16:15, mrsmiley wrote:
I love the Jasmine Tree! I hope it survives!!

Where's the razz?

On 2006-02-16 16:37, thejab wrote:

On 2006-02-16 16:15, mrsmiley wrote:
I love the Jasmine Tree! I hope it survives!!

Where's the razz?

Jasmine Tree=Zazz
Bulldozer=Razz!

On 2003-11-13 12:07, mrsmiley wrote:
I will take reggae over rap/techo in a tiki bar any day!

And most sefinately over Salsa too!

Although rumors have been flying for years (this post goes back three), this time it does seem a lot more likely. Maybe we can picket (dressed in our Aloha finest, and carrying signs decorated with tikis), or pass a petition or something. PDC isn't known for its warm fuzziness, though, so it's unlikely anything we do will accomplish much more than generating a bit of noise over the situation.

I'll be headed down that way to talk to management soon, as JT is, as always, part of the NW Tiki Crawl. I'll report back if there's any new news, or if I find there's anything we can do to help.

TM

Ouch! I thought Jimmy would probably keep it open for a couple more years but now it looks like the end will come this spring. We need that new tikibar to open on NE 28th and Broadway so we have somewhere to crawl to from the Alibi.

A final send-off has been scheduled. Critiki.com is referenced by Willamette Week in Portland.
http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3219/7339/
Sketch comedy? Dang......

if anyone is friends with the owner, please have them contact me about purchasing some of the artifacts for the new tiki bar. I know they have some items from the old Heathman's tiki bar, it would be nice to hand down the tradition.
Robert
503.267.2800

This just in. The Jasmine tree is not closing. I just spoke with Jimmy and he insists that he is not closing for a long time and his lease, although month to month, is not being terminated. He also said, if anyone wants to book his big room for an event, say at the end of June, they better hurry as that date could go soon.

I visited Portland and Seattle last May-I am SOOO happy to hear that the Jasmine Tree is NOT closing! The food was average and the Mai Tai was a little, well it wasn't Trader Vic's. But the atmosphere! And great service! I read somewhere that they were closing at the end of this month, and I've been sad....

The Alibi was my absolute favorite place anywhere ever! Great food! We stayed just down the street so I wouldn't have to take a bus ride at night after drinking... Just staggered back to the hotel with the big neon sign in front. Makes me want to move to Portland. That and the Classical Chinese garden. Portland is great!

Aloha

Tacky :drink:

So...it isn't closing?? REALLY???? What's the latest?

Cause my Savage Kitty Weemus might have to Really Bite someone on the planning commission over THIS issue. Grrrrr.

Tiki "Jasmine Tree" Vixen

and it is especially still worrying me 'cause I can't make the NW tiki crawl this year which already stinks.

Any updates? I'm going to be in Portland next Tuesday night only and want to see if I should try to hit both the Jasmine Tree and The Alibi

I had lunch there today and will be there again tomorrow at 2:15.

There is a "Public Notice" sign on the outside. It reads a hearing will be held about the possible taking of the land for development. After asking Jimmy about it, he claims they want to do 2 things, have light rail go through there, or ear-mark it for a high rise.

The way Portland works, if they just close, they will get $20,000 for their lifetime of efforts. HARUMPH!

If they find a nice place to relocate, they will receive big bucks for a new place.

They have a realtor working on it, as well as my scootering butt looking for a cool spot for them to be in.

I really like them and want to see them thrive once again.
Robertiki

Ahh! I stand with Selector Lopaka. Any music that helps me relax/chill, I listen to and love. That includes some reggae, smooth jazz, and even country western. Tiki is about chillin'. DIG! It doesn't have to be exclusive.

Hijack! Hijack!

Sorry, but for me, The Jasmine Tree is not worth the time spent to see it.

[ Edited by: Jungle Trader 2006-07-26 16:10 ]