Hu Ke Lau, Rocky Hill, CT (restaurant)

Name:Hu Ke Lau
Type:restaurant
Street:80 Town Line Road
City:Rocky Hill
State:CT
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
I picked up this cool old menu from the Hu Ke Lau restaurant located in Rocky Hill, Conn.

There was another location in Bloomfield, Conn. as well.

The drink menu with all of the classic mugs.

Some neat graphics from the inside of the menu.

Check out the businessman's lunch special, a Hu Ke Lau Martini and a combo plate!

I also found this postcard on the internet with some nice interior and exterior views.

Close up of the exterior

The interior shots.

Now, time for some Tiki Transmission Tradition:

This Hu Ke Lau menu was posted a while back by Big Kahuna from Columbus, Ohio!

Same name and same graphics, wonder if they were related????

I think I have seen a mug out there with that palm tree logo - maybe Tikisgrl has got some more stuff from this place?

DC

[ Edited by: 2010-02-05 17:23 ]

Boy, I thought that looked familiar. Seems strange they'd be related so far apart, but it sure is the same font & similar menu. I've got friends in CT. I'll see if anyone remembers this place.

[ Edited by: Big Kahuna 2010-02-05 18:10 ]

Nice score DC. While searching the net I came across these 2 Matchcover grabs...cleaned up as best that I could. The pittsburgh glass was shown in this thread from ikitnrev
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=25023&forum=1&vpost=321652&hilite=hu%20ke%20lau%20pittsburgh

OGR,

Thanks for that post. I have that matchbook from the Pittsburgh location, maybe I will start a thread for that one and add that cool glass.

The other matchbook is interesting in that it lists two locations in Rocky Hill. So based on the menu and the matchbook, there were at least three of these Hu Ke Laus:

80 Town Line Road, Rocky Hill

Corbins Corner Shopping Plaza, in Hartford

12 Mountain Ave, Bloomfield

Here is some more the info on this place from James T in Tiki Road Trip:

Great story on the floor show with Duke and the Samoans. So, the Conn. Hu Ke Laus were also owned by the same group that owned the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee, Mass. Makes you think that they could have operated the one in Columbus Ohio as well.

Classic 1980's story on the Hu Ke Lau in Bridgeport: Tiki + Drugs + Fire = Gone!

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2010-02-06 09:39 ]

Great stuff DC, BK and OGR.

I adjusted the contrast and brightness on this menu pic to see the address.

Ok, so with OGR's Matchbook pics, I guess we now have four locations.

Oh wow, i can't keep all these locations strait. Dusty I now see seven places all with the same name. Is this right? Maybe only a few were owned by the same group but they all share the same name at least.

From DC,
80 Town Line Road, Rocky Hill Connecticut
12 Mountain Ave, Bloomfield Connecticut

From BK,
1939 Fountain Square court, Columbus Ohio

From OGR
4721 McKnight Rd, Pittsburgh PA
Corbins Corner Shopping Plaza, Connecticut

From James T.
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Chicopee, Mass

Here's what I've got from the location in Chickenpee.



They still have a Polynesian dinner show every Friday night. It's pretty good.

Nice mugs BK.

Here is a picture of Chef Jimmy Chan of the Hu Ke Lau on McKnight Rd in Pittsburgh PA. He is cooking in a Wok for a grand opening of some business.

Pittsburgh Press Photo Jan, 31 1980

Here is a glass that surely came from one of the East Coast Hu Ke Laus.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2010-02-07 10:29 ]

DC, my buddy scored one of those at a Hot Rod/Rockabilly show we went to last summer in CT.

[ Edited by: Big Kahuna 2010-02-07 11:44 ]

As always when I see 1970s and 80s Chinese Tiki joints like this and Fiji Island get a lot of attention, I like to put things into perspective and remind folks of where these places fall in the evolution of the style:

Ouch! That hurts, Bigbro. It's a good thing I don't have feelings! :lol:

Newspaper clips regarding Pittsburgh PA Hu Ke Lau.

Polynesian music still offered in 79, that's good.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette Dec. 20, 1979

Generic restaurant listing, notable that devolution is in progress with the introduction of Italian food.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette Dec. 20, 1979

Abstract.

If you look at those two matchbooks posted by OGR it sure looks like the Pittsburgh location was related to the CT locations - same text on both matches.

Here is another one I saw from Portland, Maine.

DC

[ Edited by: dustycajun 2010-02-08 21:05 ]

Another Hu Ke Lau menu style spotted on ebay.

Looks like a dead ringer for the Maine matchbook. I think these places were all related in some way.

DC

Ok, with the new one from Maine we are up to 8 restaurants now, i think!

The Maine matchbook has a resemblance to the restaurant exterior on the Postcard.

This blue one from Maine has Sonny N# listed as the proprietor at the bottom.

On 2010-02-05 16:29, Dustycajun wrote:
Name:Hu Ke Lau
Type:restaurant
Street:80 Town Line Road
City:Rocky Hill
State:CT
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

I also found this postcard on the internet with some nice interior and exterior views.

Hey DC, I picked up the same postcard yesterday and was able to get a pretty good scan of it for posting here.

The dining area looks like it had an entertainment stage on the left and plenty of seating and appears dark & mysterious...

...also very quiet for these two couples!