Ground has been broken on Portland's newest tiki bar

The name: Thatch
the bar: Sunken
the consultant: Charlie, from Portland's old Trader Vic's
the booths: Armet and Davis, famous LA googie architects, from a Denny's

All TCers are welcome to stop by and see how its coming along. Although I'd bring a dust mask if I were you. Concrete gets cut this weekend for pond and sunken bar.

when is Opening Day?

eeeek, fighting words.

something has to look presentable by the NW tiki crawl, so all bamboo work should be done by then.

OLCC taskes a long time, so...late June?

On 2006-05-12 10:25, Robertiki wrote:
eeeek, fighting words.

no pressure
[whisper] open,open,open[/whisper]
just excited to have another bar semi-nearby.

say, I desparately need the contact info for Shameas (SP?)

The guy who makes tiki statues outta concrete.

Anyone???

His website is
http://www.tikisbyseamus.com/

and his email contact is
[email protected]

And I would also like to thank you, most dearly, for opening a Tiki bar within minutes of where I live:)

:drink: :drink: :drink:

(What I will be doing when Thatch opens)

Also please accept my thanks for this endeavor, from the bottom of my (tiki mug?) heart.

Any chance of getting a few pics of progress? Hopefully I'll be able to stop by sometime to check on the progress as I'll be spending a lot of time in Portland in the next couple of months.

Any word on an opening day?

As alays, the only thing you can count on are set-backs. Couldn't locate a sewer, but luck would have it, I had a key to the vacant place next door, so I cut a trench through the concrete, 18 feet long, 4 feet deep and tied in with the sewer. Then I told the landlord.

Actually, he saw the pile of dirt 4 feet tall and wondered W.T.F....

So, electrical is done.
framing is done.
little group VIP section (TCers and Uke players only)is done.
outgoing sewer will be done by Monday
Concrete gets poured on Wednesday
Thursday is for Tiki Charlie, former BAr Manager from Portland's much missed Trader Vic's (in otherwords, GOD) builds the ponds, then bamboo mistro Troy Susan does his bamboo magic.

If you stop by POUR, on the corner, I'd be happy to walk you through.

RobertTiki, I, for one, appreciate your hard work.
Mahalo brah.

About time we got the recognition we deserve.
All 17 of us.

Portland has a ukelale society. I have offered to let them meet at Thatch, with drink specials on any monday they seem fit.
Rober

Robert, I loved to see the ground broken within the soon-to-be friendly confines of Thatch on the NW Tiki Crawl piture threads, do you have any new images to share? Did you get ahold of Seamus and find out about the concrete Tikis?

I was in Portland recently and stopped by Roberttiki's FAB wine bar POUR on Broadway and 27th (?), and afterwards I was lucky enough to be shown the site for the new tiki bar Thatch just a few doors down. It is going to be AWESOME! Can't wait to see the final! Estimated grand opening about a month? Be sure to post on tiki central when it opens!!

Mahalo,

dangergirl

[ Edited by: Swamp Fire 2006-08-12 19:24 ]

I can't wait! I will be in PDX for the Pirate Festival at the end of September....anybody want to meet up at Thatch for a drink?

Hooray! We neeeeeed this!

We'll be dropping by to check on the progress.

Is it open yet?? How close are "we"?

well, For starters, all the plumbing is done. For a sunken bar, you (maybe you do, but I had didn't) have no idea the plumbing nightmere it became.

The Arnet and Davis designed booths are finished in shiny orange.

The sheetrockers finished up their job on Thursday.

The Bamboo Craftsman, Troy Susan is loading tonnnes of bamboo into the place.

Mark Peterson of NW Tiki Crawl fame is helping out too. No one in Portland has more knowledge.

The Velvet Paintings, done by whiz kids Pander Bros. came out so much better than imagined. I almost peed myself at their unveiling. Ask me about the naked chick story sometime.

The bar is en route from Michigan

Looking like some time in Sept, dates will be posted here first.

BUT, between sept 9 and 19th, I will be riding a Vespa scooter across country, so if you want a tour, it can't be during that time.
Robertiki

It takes a year and ten days?

I would have thought only six months or so on a Vespa.

:wink:

Haha

To make matters worse, I'm doing it an a Lambretta.

http://www.scootercannonball.com/

I've been waiting for something like this ever since Trader Vic's closed its doors.

I CAN'T WAIT! :D

So is there any word on the grand opening yet?

I think RoberTiki is on his cross-country tour, so he can't answer our questions, or get an Ohana Hut...

In any case on my way home today (at 5:00pm) I saw the front door to Thatch was open and construction people were working on it. I figured that with Robert gone nothing would get done, but they are still working on it..

I wouldn't hold my breath for it being open by the end of the month, but I think if he really puts the effort in it might be possible.

[ Edited by: MikeyTiki 2006-09-13 20:21 ]

Robert, is that pic of you on yer Lamby participating in a "slow race"? I know that pose. (I own a 1964 All-State VNB, fully restored by Eric Larson of Scooter Shop, Orange CA)

Hey Robertiki,
Will Thatch have its own Tiki mug???

RoberTiki: Are you going to have a pre-Grand Opening night for TC members to come and help break in your bar staff and make sure everything is going smoothly?

Hope your cross country trip is going/went well, and that all the construction you wanted done while you were gone has gotten done!

Robert,

Hope to see a lot the Tiki from the Jasmine Tree there!
We're still saddened that it's gone! :(

Please let us know if you do a TC Grand Opening Event!
Mrs. Mojo and I LOVED Portland and would drive up there from the Bay Area for any decent excuse! :)

I finished the ride.

3,257 miles on a scooter. A lambretta with both brake and pipe problems.

While working on my bike, locals would come around and tell me how they got one-of-em-dang-thangs in the garage.

Just like that, I think I have 4 more scooters.

Anyway, Still in NYC, gonna hit up a steak house and the Zombie Hut in Brooklyn. Will give full report on critiki.com

I fly home tomorow and will see the progress first hand around noon. Then and only then can I assess the progress and try to determine the opening date.

Yes, I think I will have a TC party, unfortunately it will prolly have a short notice, so those who fly in will be forced to pay top dollar for flights. Sorry.

I have real estate friends and I heard a weird rumor.

I heard that Trader Vic's is looking for a Portland location.

Not sure how to feel about that yet.
Robert

Quote: I heard that Trader Vic's is looking for a Portland location.

Well, they can forget about the Benson Hotel by this point.

BTW: We're going to drive by on Saturday to see how things are coming along - very eager to see!

On 2006-09-19 15:12, Robertiki wrote:
I finished the ride.

3,257 miles on a scooter. A lambretta with both brake and pipe problems.

While working on my bike, locals would come around and tell me how they got one-of-em-dang-thangs in the garage.

Just like that, I think I have 4 more scooters.

Anyway, Still in NYC, gonna hit up a steak house and the Zombie Hut in Brooklyn. Will give full report on critiki.com

I fly home tomorow and will see the progress first hand around noon. Then and only then can I assess the progress and try to determine the opening date.

Yes, I think I will have a TC party, unfortunately it will prolly have a short notice, so those who fly in will be forced to pay top dollar for flights. Sorry.

I have real estate friends and I heard a weird rumor.

I heard that Trader Vic's is looking for a Portland location.

Not sure how to feel about that yet.
Robert

Thoughts:

1. CONGRATUFRIGGINGLATIONS on making across the US! :D How many miles did you average a day?
2. Yay for parties!
3. Well, people can have a national chain, or they can have the local experience. IMO, most smarter people tend to lean towards the local experience as it's usually more hospitable, less corporate, and has more soul. Either way, I think you picked a winner. I know that I'll be there as often as I can afford it. :)

Michael.

Average mileage per day was about 360. the longest day was 531 in 35mph wind gusts across nebraska.

The shortest was 320.

The secret was padded bike short underwear.

On 2006-09-19 15:12, Robertiki wrote:
I fly home tomorow and will see the progress first hand around noon. Then and only then can I assess the progress and try to determine the opening date.

So do we get a status update? Did they progress as much as you hoped? (I still see bamboo leaning up against the outside windows....)

On 2006-09-19 17:00, karmalaundry wrote:

3. Well, people can have a national chain, or they can have the local experience. IMO, most smarter people tend to lean towards the local experience as it's usually more hospitable, less corporate, and has more soul. Either way, I think you picked a winner. I know that I'll be there as often as I can afford it. :)

Michael.

I don't know. I may be a soul-less, corporate dope but I'd have to rate the old Trader Vic's at the Benson over the Jasmine Tree and Jimmy's brand of hospitality. The Hale Tiki in Augusta didn't seem to come up with a winning formula. Sometimes the chains can get things right. I'd love to see Trader Vic's back in Portland.

[ Edited by: mrtikibar 2006-09-21 12:25 ]

Hey home for lunch after a morning at Thatch working. Things are coming along but there are a few snags as with any construction job. AND if you stop by on the weekends - you won't find me working!!! C'mon - this is America - I get Saturday and Sundays off! Looking good so far. Big push in the next week or so to gt most of the construction done.

Coolness! I'll be in driving in and out of Portland sometime between next Thursday and the following Monday. Time permitting, I'd love to stop by and take some pics, if you'd like some posted.

I am most always at POUR, the wine bar on the corner of 28th. I love to give tours so stop by any evening other than Sunday.
Robert

On 2006-09-21 11:54, mrtikibar wrote:

I don't know. I may be a soul-less, corporate dope but I'd have to rate the old Trader Vic's at the Benson over the Jasmine Tree and Jimmy's brand of hospitality. The Hale Tiki in Augusta didn't seem to come up with a winning formula. Sometimes the chains can get things right. I'd love to see Trader Vic's back in Portland.

[ Edited by: mrtikibar 2006-09-21 12:25 ]

Ok, I did speak a little too broadly and I'd just gotten out of a local/chain conversation on another board, where chains are almost universally depised. I guess I was just trying to say that usually more people prefer local for those reasons and most national chains don't seem to have any soul.

Trader Vic's before it disappeared from the Benson truly was a great place to go. I was legal on for a few years before it pulled up stakes. And I too would love to see it return.

On 2006-09-23 09:43, Robertiki wrote:
I am most always at POUR, the wine bar on the corner of 28th. I love to give tours so stop by any evening other than Sunday.
Robert

If I do stop by for a tour, could I bring my camera or would you like to wait until it's open for the pictures?

Take pictures, go for it.

Just put your hands in your pockets when you get to the velvet paintings.

There is something about Velvet Paintings that make everyone drawn to touch them, even me.
Robert

On 2006-09-19 15:12, Robertiki wrote:
I finished the ride.

3,257 miles on a scooter. A lambretta with both brake and pipe problems.

Okay, so I have to admit, I really didnt understand the enormity of the scooter undertaking until this week. PDX to NYC on a scooter is pretty ginormous. I've been making from DC to PDX in my car (albeit dragging a trailer) and 3 days have been a task. Granted, I'm doubling the scooter mileage, but even in a car, places like nebraska and South Dakota can be no easy going (its the trailer that does it)

I think, that once your new place is open, I might have to buy YOU a drink, out of respect for the completion of your undertaking!

OK, it didn't make it open by the end of Sept. do you have a new estimate for when it will be open?

RoberTiki,

Any status on how Thatch is coming along?

Was there all day, cleaning cough the old Jasmine tree stuff and hanging it.

Funny, out in another room, I thought I would have too much tiki stuff.

I WANT MORE!!!

Bar arrives on the 23rd.

As always, stop by Pour and I'll give you a tour.

Had to yell at 3 adults as if they were small children on touching the velvets. Keep your hands in your pockets, or your friends pockets. Just don't touch the velvets.
Robert

*On 2006-10-15 16:34, Robertiki wrote:*Bar arrives on the 23rd.

Do you mean that Thatch opens on the 23rd, or the bar that you were getting shipped in will finally arrive on the 23rd?

the bar arrives, it will still need to be plumbed.
rv