Hawaii Kai, New York, NY (restaurant)

Name:Hawaii Kai
Type:restaurant
Street:1638 Broadway (at 50th St.)
City:New York
State:NY
Zip:10019
country:USA
Phone:212-PLaza7-0900
Status:defunct

Description:
Hawaii Kai was one of several, now defunct, Polynesian restaurants in Manhattan. It occupied the space at 1638 Broadway adjacent to the Winter Garden theater near Times Square.

[ Edited by: donhonyc 2009-07-13 10:53 ]

I know the Hawaii Kai has been discussed at length here at TC but there was never an official 'Locating' thread, and this place certainly deserves one. Plus I watched the 'King of Comedy' last night for the first time in a long while and noticed that there are some very quick (I mean really quick) glimpses of the HK exterior in some of the scenes with DeNiro and Sandra Bernhard near the 'Jerry Langford' studio.

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We can't leave out the fantastic Hawaii Kai cookbook.
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I have this menu. Always wanted to get that postcard.

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DC

On 2009-07-14 11:40, Dustycajun wrote:
I have this menu. Always wanted to get that postcard.

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DC

I love that menu and wish I could find one around here. In fact I don't think I've ever found any tiki menus anywhere. I have seen Hawaii Kai mugs though. There was a store here that had been around for ages called Love Saves The Day that always seemed to have them. I took it for granted and now the store is closed.

Here is some more images from the Hawaii Kai (part 1)
Large menu version one
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Large menu version two
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Dessert menu 1
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dessert menu 2
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Dessert menu 3
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Dinner Specials 1
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Dinner Specials 2
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Table top 1
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Table top 2
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Table top 3
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Business card
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Swizzle
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Napkin
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Postcard
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Matchbook and match box
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Here is part 2 newspaper articles and adds.
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Thanks Bifcozz, all the jaw dropping you've been causing lately is slowly shrinking my double chin. :)

Sweet History Overload!

It's going to take me a while to absorb all this. That postcard of yours highlights one of my favorite things about the Hawaii Kai - its use of decorative brick or cement block on the outside facade. The Kapu Kai in Cucamonga was another. It really transports you back into the 60s to see that.

Many thanks for the post, bifcozz.

Hey bifcozz, thanks for posting all of that! That's the most extensive collection of Hawaii Kai items I have seen to date on any of the Tiki websites. Great stuff!! Is this something you just amassed on your own, or did you or someone you know work there? I have never seen that postcard before. Very cool!

mind blowing - too good!

mahaloz

Wow!!! This is awesome. Hawaii Kai is my favorite because it is the first mug I ever got. It's so strange to see all of my prized possesions advertised in the paper for "FREE"!!!

Holy cow, bifcozz! Those ads are amazing. I've got to get over to Ooga-Mooga and start renaming stuff.

I had a bit of a problem acquring Hawaii Kai "stuff" but now I know how much more there is to find!
heres some pics to add to the thread:
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need more

Oh Jeeez...you guys must must be collectors or something! Biffcoz, do you OWN all those ads !!? Or did you come upon the Hawaii Kai family's scrap book. That is so amazing...alone all those giveaways they had, I never knew.

Well that explains why the mugs show up with the box so often. They were handing them out that way!

Bifcozz,

Very impresive stuff. Love that postcard, never seen it before. The adds are killer.

DC

Hey Sneakyjack, what the hell do you mean you have trouble finding Hawaii Kai stuff?? Looks like you have a great collection!! Some nice pieces there man!!

Awesome stuff Bifcozz! What a great collection!! It's so good to see the original Ad's with the mugs names and everything on them!! Very cool to see the Hawaii Kai Teapot Ad's which I always thought was an unusual item for a Restaurant to sell/give away!!

Here's a couple more things.

Here's a picture of two of their mug boxes with the old Hawaii Kai take home bag as well:

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Here's a neat Shell Ashtray that you can see in some of the Bar photos on the tables:

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TabooDan

[ Edited by: TabooDan 2009-07-18 17:56 ]

Oh, also, gotta get the old Johnny Coco at the Hawaii Kai album on here:

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Great shot of Johnny and the Polynesian Dancers on stage there.

Here's the reverse:

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The back of the album states:
"Here's Hawaiian music - with a difference. The difference is Johnny Coco, whose unique sounds are currently drawing big crowds to the famous Hawaii Kai, a Polynesian Restaurant located in the heart of New York's theater district.
Once you're there, it is not unusual to find celebrities like Ginger Rogers or Lana Turner (Shouldn't she be at the Kon Tiki??!!) listening to the Coco band. His music is fresh, delicate and subtly swinging!".

It also says that Johnny Coco used to play at The Hotel Lexington in the famous Hawaiian Room.

TabooDan

Front cover of the cookbook with a nice Tiki rendering.

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DC

The fisherman's god from Rarotonga shows up in alot of the Hawwai Kai's print items. Not sure if they were ever carved into a pole but a great image though. I guess this could be considered their logo Tiki?
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"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2009-07-19 05:14 ]

I would say so, too -especially now we saw how many different souvenir mug designs they went thru!

I always thought it was curious how much that Hawaii Kai pole resembled this Spanish Tiki mug:

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...with the addition of this Spanish mug:

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Then there is this classic Oceanic arts pole:
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...which very well might have been in use at the Hawaii Kai.

In the following picture of the Hawaii Kai's cool exterior, you can just see the head of the Fisherman Tiki (under the address) which is the top of their logo tiki:

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Hard to say if this is a carving or some sort of sign or graphic but it is right there outside beside the door. Interesting though as in the other exterior shot, in this thread on page 1, which is actually a better angle, you can not see this Tiki image.
Too bad you can not see the details of the two carving outside the Hawaii Kai. The pictures I have seen and the ones here are always to dark and hard to make out the details.

Here's a cool shot of a Hawaii Kai drink umbrella:

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Mahalo, TabooDan

Good catch, Dan man! Say, is my eyesight going loopy, or are those exterior wall tiles actually not mid-century modern, but a version of those goddamn' chinese wall divider tiles prevalent in so many poly pop interiors..!!?

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Wow, I can't believe all of the great Hawaii Kai stuff that's coming out of the woodwork. I actually scored one of those HK Easter Island mugs at a flea market today (the one all the way on the right from Sneakyjack's photo above). Thanks to those ads I guess that one was call the 'Great Kahuna Goblet'?

[ Edited by: donhonyc 2009-07-19 15:01 ]

Check out this old interior photo of the Hawaii Kai. What a great scene with the mugs, menu, lamp, leis, etc.

The boys got drinks in hand, look happy, the girls not so much.

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DC

Here is a great table topper drink card for the Goddess of Love drink in the skull mug. Missed out on getting this one on ebay. Funny but I did not see this one in all the ads posted by Bifcozz.

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DC

the hawaii kai named skull mug is a bit dark more hefty and a bit bigger here ya go...
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looks like the same mold style though with veins and such on the sides

I have a few extra Hawaii kai items (Ie doubles if ur interested in expanding your collection of Hawaii Kai stuff we should talk - PM me)

Sneakyjack,

Nice find on the Goddess of Love version of the skull mug. Cool to see the two versions side by side.

DC

From a January 1989 issue of "New York" magazine:

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They call it True Lava, but it could be called "Stacy Fine and Alison Mayer Play Broadway." Fine and Mayer, the pair who created the Monday-night Lite Lounge at Carmelita's, on East 14th Street, have brought their campy club ideas uptown: Last month, the duo started giving Wednesday-night True Lava parties at the Hawaii Kai restaurant, a Pacific playground next door to the Winter Garden Theater, on Broadway near 50th Street.

Pee Wee, the club's midget doorman with the Harvey Fierstein voice, only hints at the surreal Polynesian atmosphere that first attracted Fine and Mayer. Inside, tour groups who've just finished seeing Cats sip rum-and-umbrella drinks and pose for photos in front of fake waterfalls, while John Lydon, the ex-Sex Pistol, relaxes in a booth in the back.

"We wanted a summer-in-winter feeling," says Fine, "and this place is just strange enough."

After two grass-skirted dancers finish the participatory Hawaii Kai floor show, Fine and Mayer bring on their own entertainment. A terrific rhythm-and-punk band, the Soul Assassins, appears once a month, with stand-up comedy and more bands scheduled for other nights. The Hawaiian-beach-hut stage turns into a dance floor when D.J.'s Anton and Steve Blush play Rick James' "Super Freak," which is in keeping with the wacky, rec-room-party atmosphere Fine and Mayer have cultivated.

And when summer actually comes, what with the girls do? "A club on a rooftop," says Fine. "Or maybe a garbage barge."

Having just found the s&p moai shakers in Modesto, CA of all places I really appreciate this thread gettinga bump.

Love all the imagery and great collections!

the other link about hawaii kai -
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=10717&forum=1&start=45&hilite=hawaii%20kai

heres a Hawaii Kai sign - Help me find it for my yard! - I bet its under the winter garden theatre in the basement rusting away -
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Its Now an Applebees sign

Yet another Hawaii Kai ad:
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On 2009-11-11 17:44, sneakyjack wrote:

heres a Hawaii Kai sign - Help me find it for my yard! - I bet its under the winter garden theatre in the basement rusting away -
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Its Now an Applebees sign

Isn't that sad? I'll bet you it is stashed down there under the Winter Garden beneath old costumes for 'Cats' and 'Mamma Mia'.

I said this once, I'll say it a thousand times: I moved to NYC in 1986 and was in that area of Times Square often. Why the HELL did I not spot the Hawaii Kai? I could've easily walked in but I don't remember it being there. Shame, just a shame.

wow i been there to hawaii kai a few times. i was just doing what is called a talk section in yelp.com http://www.yelp.com/topic/miami-wheres-the-best-chinese-food
and mentioned hawaii kai in ny. as i can remember it feels like they closed in the early 80's but i could be wrong. i think that's the first place i tried the zombie drink. i got to read through this thread more though, they had a few stages if i can remember maybe a main and then a couple small one(s).there's a polynesian restuarant here in south florida ft.lauderdale on US1 but the last time i was there i did not eat. so i'm gonna soon. but last time i lookes through the menu i could not find hawaiin steak or is it called polynesian steak. it has pork medallions or steak cuts with the beef also. so good.

oh and the girl dancers are so hot looking. LOL

http://www.thehukilau.com/2009/
and june 10 - 13 2010

This is my modest collection of Hawaii Kai stuff:
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This past week, I scored this table card from the Hawaii Kai. One of my favorite scores & worth the buck I paid for it.:
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It advertises a bowl drink called the Sea Goddess & says "Take the Goddess home." With all of the stuff this place gave away, I find it hard to believe that no one here has one of these shell bowls. If you do, please post a pic of it. This is the closest thing I've got & I'm 99% sure it's not from the Hawaii Kai. I think it captures the spirit, though.
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From the "Mexotica" thread:

On 2009-03-19 00:02, Zeta wrote:
Not from Mexico but...
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From Venezuela, like Mister Naufrago.
Here's a good question:
What's the connection between This record and the extinct Hawaii Kai in New York ?
:o :-?

Just found this on ebay

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Looks like Hawaii Kai was once called 'Lanai' at some point. After I looked at this my first thought was that maybe they changed management toward the end, but that would have been in the late 80s and as far as I know telephone numbers were no longer being published with alphabetical prefixes the way it is on the front of the card. So this must have been on the 60s or 70s?

Donhonyc,

I saw that card on ebay a while back and also wondered about the time-line. In looking a little more closely at the back of the card I was surprised to see that the Lanai was started by Monte Proser who also created the Beachcomber chain which I did a post on not too long ago.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=36222&forum=2&hilite=monte proser

Even more surprising was the location of the Lanai - basically at the same location as the original New York Beachcomber at the Winter Garden Theater!

This mug from the Lanai just sold on ebay.

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Interesting twist on the Hawaii Kai history.

DC

On 2010-06-01 12:43, Dustycajun wrote:
Donhonyc,

I saw that card on ebay a while back and also wondered about the time-line. In looking a little more closely at the back of the card I was surprised to see that the Lanai was started by Monte Proser who also created the Beachcomber chain which I did a post on not too long ago.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=36222&forum=2&hilite=monte proser

Even more surprising was the location of the Lanai - basically at the same location as the original New York Beachcomber at the Winter Garden Theater!

This mug from the Lanai just sold on ebay.

Interesting twist on the Hawaii Kai history.

DC

Thanks for the info! I looked at that other post. Interesting. Pardon me for being lazy as I didn't read all of it and maybe it was mentioned there but when was Hawaii Kai known as Lanai? Was it in the 50s or 60s?

Donho,

My Beachcomber post had no mention of the Lanai because this is the FIRST TIME that anybody has figured this out. Monte Proser opened the Lanai in 1961 at the same spot he had The Beachcomber in 1940! The Lanai then became the Hawaii Kai of Tiki fortune and fame (not to mention the movies).

I found these two little clips from a 1961 Palm Beach newspaper about the opening of the Lanai. This is way-cool history.

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DC

On 2010-06-01 23:11, Dustycajun wrote:
Donho,

My Beachcomber post had no mention of the Lanai because this is the FIRST TIME that anybody has figured this out. Monte Proser opened the Lanai in 1961 at the same spot he had The Beachcomber in 1940! The Lanai then became the Hawaii Kai of Tiki fortune and fame (not to mention the movies).

I found these two little clips from a 1961 Palm Beach newspaper about the opening of the Lanai. This is way-cool history.

DC

Wow. So basically that location next to the Winter Garden was the Beachcomber from 1940-1961, and then it was the Lanai for a while and then Hawaii Kai? Man! That's great history but again, I have to totally kick myself because I moved here in 1986. Hawaii Kai and Trader Vic's were both stil here in business. That means that the Hawaii Kai existed in one form or another for over 40 years! And I missed it!!! Damn!!!!

Donho,

The old Beachcomber did not exist much past the 1940's, so the restaurant was something else before it became the Lanai in 1961.

The Lanai did not last long. I found this news clip from 1962.

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DC

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I have recorded and uploaded the LP, "The Exotic Sounds of the Hawaii Kai" HERE.

Thanks Swanky!! That's some good stuff.

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2010-08-22 08:10 ]

I purchased some of the Lanai mugs awhile back on eBay and have been interested as to why this bar was so short lived under this name and changed to Hawaii Kai. I found articles that shed some light on the time line.

March 24th '61 - Monte Prosser (restaurateur and Broadway producer) and Joe Kipness (Broadway producer and business man) are opening the Lanai together.
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March 28th '61 - Work is still being done on the bar and it looks like Joe Kipness has the main stake in Lanai.
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Dec. 6th '61 - Monte left NYC for Vegas.
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Jan. 17 '62 - Joe is now full owner of Lanai and changed the
name to Hawaii Kai.
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Here are a couple articles on Monte Prosser during the era of the Lanai. Sounds like Monte had bad luck with gambling on horses and the success of Broadway shows. I read somewhere that the mob even took The Copa from him. Guess he thought his luck would be better rolling the dice in Vegas.
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[ Edited by: senioraqua 2011-03-04 06:40 ]

[ Edited by: senioraqua 2011-03-04 06:41 ]