RIP Sonny, owner of Hala Kahiki

We cried in our Scorpions tonite over the untimely passing of Stan "Sonny" Sacharski. He died in his sleep last nite at age 57. He was a real character and he was a gracious and great guy, and we will miss him. Our hearts go out to the entire Hala Kahiki family.

TT

Wow, that is an absolute shocker! Our thoughts and prayers are with Cookie and the rest of the Hala Kahiki family.

D&C

wow....this is quite a shock. he will definately be missed....his stories and sense of humor always kept us entertained. .....this bodes ill for hala kahiki...without sonny on board, who was the main driving force behind keeping the place running i fear a bleak future for hala kahiki.....i hope i'm wrong.

That sucks a bunch... This photo was taken late one evening and the middle man is Sonny - with freddieballs on one side and sneakyjack (me on the other)

[ Edited by: sneakyjack 2007-11-04 16:37 ]

..that's sonny alright....

My friend Carrie was rather close to Sonny.

Here is what she forwarded to me:

Sonny will be waked @ Sax-Tiedeman on Belmont, in Franklin park.
Phone # 847-678-1950,
Tuesday 3-9 p.m.
Funeral is Wed. 11 a.m.

Carrie also says:

"He was my regular customer and friend and I merely asked if he'd been in lately (apparently Thurs night and wasn't well.) My friends from Hala said that he'd had walking pneumonia and was asked to check in for tests wed. He blew it off , took an inhaler and left. Stubborn Sonny probably thought himself invincible. Now we know he wasn't-how sad."

[ Edited by: tikibars 2007-11-04 23:11 ]

Stanley "Sonny" Sacjarski III

Stanley "Sonny" Sacjarski III, age 57, passed away suddenly, beloved husband of Maggie Sacharski; loving father of Jackie Goumas, and Robert Champion; dear grandfather of Cheri Goumas; cherished brother of Cookie Oppedisano and the late Dolly Dutrisac; uncle of many; friend to everyone. Owner of the Hala Kahiki of River Grove. Member of the River Grove Nationals and the Chief Engineers Bowling League. Visitation Tuesday 3 to 9 p.m. Funeral Wednesday 11 a.m. at Sax-Tiedemann Funeral Home & Crematorium, 9568 Belmont Ave., Franklin Park. Interment Mt. Emblem Cemetery. For info, Please call (847) 678-1950 or http://www.sax-tiedemann.com

Published in the Chicago Tribune on 11/5/2007.

On 2007-11-04 16:22, tikibars wrote:
My friend Carrie was rather close to Sonny.

Here is what she forwarded to me:

Sonny will be waked @ Sax-Tiedeman on Belmont, in Franklin park.
Phone # 847-678-1950,
Tuesday 3-9 p.m.
Funeral is Wed. 11 a.m.

Carrie also says:

"He was my regular customer and friend and I merely asked if he'd been in lately (apparently Thurs night and wasn't well.) My friends from Hala said that he'd had walking pneumonia and was asked to check in for tests wed. He blew it off , took an inhaler and left. Stubborn Sonny probably thought himself invincible. Now we know he wasn't-how sad."

[ Edited by: tikibars 2007-11-04 23:11 ]

..sounds like sonny...stubborn as ever.

i will be going to the wake...i'll be there toward the later end of the evening (at least by 8 p.m.) if any ohana are going, let me know....maybe we can get together for a drink afterward....

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2007-11-05 08:20 ]

Although I did not know him personally, this is quite a shock. I always hope that the veterans and proprietors of original Tiki temples see their places appreciated in my books, so that they get a sense of gratification from their life's work being recognized to some degree. Although I know that some might nor see Tiki "our way", (meaning quite as artsy), I still think most like to find their work in a book. So I wonder if Sonny ever saw the photos I took with James at his place...and also all the Witco history and pieces in the book.

When TIKI MODERN was taking its sweet time, I lived in constant fear that William Westenhaver might not get to see the end result. But he not only did (and loves it), but he is apparently doing great these days and will be around for a while, god willing (though I am sad that his wife passed away a while ago and did not get to see it).

When I heard that George Nakashima's family had the Book of Tiki out at his funeral in Detroit, I was very moved. To have given some sense of a life's purpose to even a small group of people is a nice feeling.

The original Tiki generation is dying out fast, so seek them out, ask questions, and make them feel appreciated while you can.

..don't worry sven..i always made a point to show the owners at hala kahiki any and all publications that they were featured in...including your book of tiki, tiki road trip (james beat me to that one, obviously) and your new book, tiki modern...and any newspaper articles i would happen across that mentioned them....they were always appreciative and got a little chuckle out of it that tiki was so popular amongst so many folks again....no matter what, you've given them their rightful place in tiki history to be shared with future generations of tikiphiles that may follow us....

Longer story today in the Chicago Sun-Times:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/638476,CST-NWS-XSACH07.article

TT

On 2007-11-07 10:38, Tonga Trader wrote:
Longer story today in the Chicago Sun-Times:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/638476,CST-NWS-XSACH07.article

TT

"...
In a 1993 interview in the Sun-Times, Stanley Sacharski Jr. said,
"The whole place was my wife's idea.
She designed and decorated every inch of the place.
I just built it."

Neither he nor his wife had been to Hawaii, the senior Sacharski said.

"Never been there, never really wanted to go," he said.
"What for? It's all right here."
..."

:)

let's hope it stays there...for a long, long time.

We will definitely add a day to the Tiki Eyeball trip in May to pay the place another visit. Ms Swanky has never been and BK has never been. I have not been there in years and never in Spring/Summer. Maybe we can get Pablus and the King over at the same time too...

Sorry to hear about Stan "Sonny" Sacharski. My wife and I had the opportunity to visit Hala Kahiki last July. Friends of ours that live in Chicago told us about Hala Kahiki and said they lived about 45 minutes from Hala Kahiki and offered their car if we wanted to go. When we arrived I took a few photos and then sat at the bar. My wife decided she wanted to take a tour of the place and take more photos. A lady sat next to me at the bar and ordered a drink. I asked her the typical question “you look familiar do I know you?” Now I’m getting ready to celebrate my 15th year anniversary with my wife. So I didn’t even think of this as a pick up line. She told me she was seeing someone and was flattered. I told her it was an innocent question and that my wife will return to the bar soon. At that time I really felt like an ass. Her and her friends was there for a tiki crawl and she was in need for a mai tai. I asked if she heard of tiki central and told me yes and she was a member. She even attended Tiki Oasis 6. I told her who I was and TO6 is where we met. She told me the story behind Hala Kahiki and invited my wife and I to attend the crawl. We were unable to attend since we were in Chicago visiting friends and had to leave for dinner reservations elsewhere. She told me I had to go to the gift shop and get a few items. She helped me pick out an aloha shirt and a Hala Kahiki bucket hat. We must have stayed there for about an hour and sadly did not get the mysterious lady’s name. My wife and I really enjoyed our stay in Chicago and wish to go back. I didn’t have the chance to meet Mr. Sacharski myself but what he created I’m sure he was one hell of a person. I’ll try to locate the photos we took and will post them soon.