Nu Bamboo Lounge, Kissimmee, FL (bar)

Name:Nu Bamboo Lounge
Type:bar
Street:4900 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy
City:Kissimmee
State:FL
Zip:34746
country:USA
Phone:407-397-9223
Status:operational

Description:
Replacing the original Big Bamboo Lounge across the street, the Nu Bamboo seeks to recreate the patron-owned atmosphere from the original "Boo" (which was destroyed by Hurricane Charley in 2004).

The bamboo walls of the Nu Bamboo are adorned with nametags and memorabilia from it's many hospitality industry patrons. The music is big band or Jimmy Buffet. The coasters are toilet paper. Cash only.

Relive the laid back tiki vibe at the Nu Bamboo!

While the place has been open for about two weeks now, the owner is on his way to Tallahassee to secure the liquor license. When he returns they will start serving the "Big Bamboo" drink from the original recipee - you know - rum, rum, rum, and stuff. Yummy!

The hubby and I were regulars at the Big Bamboo and were happy to find the Nu Bamboo last night. The bar definitely captures the atmosphere of the old Boo and it was great to see some old faces.

There are a few tiki items around the bar (pics from metromix on the link below).

http://orlando.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/lounge/nu-bamboo-lounge-kissimmee-old-town/536166/content

We'll definitely be back. I can't wait until the liquor license is approved and I can have another Big Bamboo.

I bet the original Barney West Tiki the original used to have is long gone. There is another important icon in Kissimmee it seems:

" Flying car N102D (1960) is yellow and green.[3] It was the last Aerocar built and is the only one still flying. It is owned by Ed Sweeney and is often on display at the Kissimmee Air Museum located at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport in Kissimmee, Florida."

This is the car that Bob Cummings used to fly around in with Esquivel in the Las Vegas desert. There is a photo of Bob in Tiki Modern on page 159. Besides his "Love That Bob" TV show, also check out "My Living Doll" on U-Tube, a must for cad culture lovers. :)

The now have their liquor license and are serving the world famous "Big Bamboo" drink. New items have been added to the decor...this place is really coming along.

Man I miss the "Boo". I left Orlando after Hurricane Charley, and the other 2 storms right after destroyed my house as well. "Boo" Bartender John Kerr had several Big Bamboo parties at various patron's homes after the place was destroyed. I am glad to see there is a reincarnation of the most famous bar in Central Florida.

Do they have Milwaukee's Best on tap like the original???

[ Edited by: Kahiki-Dude 2009-06-15 12:32 ]

The Nu Bamboo has been relocated in January 2010, and I'm wondering if anyone has gone yet? I live north of Orlando and haven't had the time (or willing passengers with me) to go check it out. I'm wondering if the new Nu Bamboo is better than the old Nu Bamboo. (I know that sentence makes perfect sense cuz I'm drinking a rum drink...)

The Nu Bamboo has been closed for several months now. A drive around the building revealed lots of decor items carelessly discarded in a pile behind the building. The front door has a big sticker on it indicating the place was closed down for non-payment of taxes. I'm very sad to see this place didn't survive, although their web site is still up and at least one year out of date. I can only hope that someone else will once again resurrect the ambiance and character of the old Big Bamboo Lounge. I will never forget the great times I had at the old 'Boo.

Man, I have some great stories of the Old Big Bamboo including visiting once shortly right after Hurricane Charley. The place was dark. Like completely deserted dark on a Friday night and I nudged the front door and it was unlocked. Me and my intrepidly sexy partner-in-crime did like a Scooby Doo episode and slowly opened the door and struck a match for light. To our amazement, almost everything was in tact, just like there was a raging party going on one minute and then, poof! Everyone just disappeared a la Twilight Zone.

Ok, we were slightly chemically enhanced, but it happened just like that, really.

Delighted, we ran to the local convenience store just 2 minutes before they cut the booze sales off, got some cheap wine and candles and went back to have what may have been the last call and the last dance EVER at the 'Boo.

Years later I returned again after the fire and salvaged a few artifacts including a styrofoam float that was recently gifted to Forbidden Island in Alameda, CA. The 'Boo lives on.

God Bless the 'Boo.

Matthew E. Mateo "Hukilau" Brown

Tiki Oasis Voluntiki Kahuna
Room Crawl Veteran
"I survived 135"

Palu Ohana, Hale Ka'ahele
Pacific Palisades, CA

Home of "Palu, the Wonder Tiki"

[ Edited by: Hukilau Brown 2012-04-23 03:06 ]

[ Edited by: Hukilau Brown 2012-04-23 03:07 ]

I came to own the discarded but real "Nu Bamboo" bar sign from the Nu Bamboo as seen in the photo on the nubamboolounge.com web site. It's missing a few pieces of bamboo, most of which I have, but I'm wondering if this has any value as any kind of "past Florida" tiki relic? (I think probably none, but I hesitate to throw it away.) I've always held that the Nu Bamboo was mostly a vehicle to cash in on the success of the old Big Bamboo Lounge and therefore probably had little if any real relevance to all things tiki. The place, to me, went through a period of strange operating hours (was never open when I showed up) and then relocated from the original motel location and closed so quickly afterwards that I never was able to make it out there to visit. Can anyone comment on what tiki relevance this place might have had, if any?

Me and my friends still tell wild stories about the old Big Bamboo Lounge in Kissimmee. I really miss that place.

Bump. It's been five long years since the Nu Bamboo closed, and a few more than that since the original Big Bamboo Lounge closed. No news is sad news. Since the Big Bamboo was a successful hole-in-the-wall loved by one and all, I can only hope that somewhere in the future we will eventually see someone reopen another place similar to the Big Bamboo (like the Nu Bamboo in t his thread tried to do) and with long-term staying power. We miss the Big Bamboo. We need the Big Bamboo. If I can't have the original back, I would welcome something very much like it.