Bahooka To Be Reborn!

Just read this:

http://www.lamag.com/citythink/askchris/2013/03/21/tiki-paradise-bahooka-to-be-reborn

Actually the Bigbro pointed that out on the Bahooka memories thread. But since this one has been created let me state this...

I don't want the Bahooka to be reborn at Clifton's !!

I was really hoping that the new "Tiki" bar would be a literal homage to the 1940's Pre-Tiki style that existed at the Pacific Seas. Check out that super cool neon palm tree...

Do you see any nautical style, flotsam or jetsam, or even Tikis in that picture ??

On 2013-03-22 11:15, JOHN-O wrote:
...

Do you see any nautical style, flotsam or jetsam, or even Tikis in that picture ??

No, but adding some would definitely improve it! :)

From what I read, it's being billed as a 21st century version of Clifton's original Pacific Seas Cafeteria. So in a way it's still an homage to the original Pacific Seas but with more. And as long as there are no party city clown tikis, I can't complain.

Sounds like the best possible thing that could have happened! I'm really looking forward to it... Clifton's Brookdale is already an amazing, one of a kind place, and it's only going to get better! It's incredible good fortune for us that so much from Bahooka will still be together, for us to enjoy in an appropriate atmosphere.

I see it as two lost tiki establishments being given a new lease on life... I certainly can't find anything about which to complain in this scenario.

Now imagine that any remnants of Bahooka never resurfaced anywhere. And that nobody thought enough of The Pacific Seas to feel it warranted any sort of rebirth.

Please try to appreciate our good fortune to have what we still have, to have memories of great things past, and be grateful of what the future holds in store for us tikiphiles.

http://ericoctober.com

[ Edited by: tobunga 2013-03-22 13:25 ]

I think that was one of the best responses/comments I have ever read Tobunga. Well said!!

Great news for sure!

A few facts:

The NEW South Seas Cliftons will be just one of many themed rooms in the place. It will be upstairs in the front, facing Broadway (but with limited, if at all window space).

It will be an homage to the golden age of travel, before jets.

It will neither be an exact replica of Clifton's Pacific Seas, nor of Bahooka's - it will be its own thing.

Nothing to complain about whatsoever!

I have been working intimately with the owner of Clifton's now for many months and can assure everbody that the end result will be nothing short of breathtaking. The owner has a keen sense of the history of the property and is working with some of the best collaborators to restore it to it's original days of grandeur! It's gonna be... AWESOME!!

Any idea when it's going to open?

Good news Holden!
This thread title is very misrepresentive of the subject.

So that's why the yardsale never happened.

At least it gets a good home. I look forward to going there. Make it a Clifton's/Trader Vic's two-fer.

On 2013-03-22 17:38, tikijackskeleton wrote:
I look forward to going there. Make it a Clifton's/Trader Vic's two-fer.

Oh Yeah! I fergot about that! Now that will be fun!

On 2013-03-22 17:00, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Good news Holden!
This thread title is very misrepresentive of the subject.

Sorry about that guys, I had just read the news while I was eating lunch and posted it via my mobile. Wanted to share the news.

Mahalo

Here's another article, this one from Zagat (Blog). Similar content but a more appropriate title:
Bahooka's Tiki Decor Goes to Clifton's Cafeteria Downtown

On 2013-03-22 20:54, CincyTikiCraig wrote:

On 2013-03-22 17:00, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Good news Holden!
This thread title is very misrepresentive of the subject.

Sorry about that guys, I had just read the news while I was eating lunch and posted it via my mobile. Wanted to share the news.

Mahalo

Aloha CincyTikiCraig!

Don't sweat it... the title is accurate enough, and intriguing! It's not like you said BAHOOKA REOPENS!!!! or anything like that.

I wouldn't have known the specifics if you hadn't started the thread!

And I'm sure it generated interest! Plus, it's an interesting topic, in any event!

Can hardly wait to see all of this!

(being that I was on Tiki Iniki during the last days of Bahooka)

[ Edited by: RevBambooBen 2013-03-23 09:17 ]

I hope they install the bahooka sign in there somewhere as part of the decor...

wow, that's fantastic! Holden, can you tease us with some vague details on timing of the opening? It goes without saying that we can't wait to see what you guys are designing for the muggery. ; )

I think that it's great news! My wife never got a chance to see Bahooka, and now it won't be scattered into 100 different basement bars throughout southern California, but retained in 1 piece for everyone.

Is the opening not until Christmas?

A comprehensive article about the Bahooka and it's closing

Themepark Adventure: Bahooka
or
http://themeparkadventure.com/bahooka-farewell-and-aloha-to-you/#more-5239'

So the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA offered Rufus a home for free?

The writer of that article sounds like a giant douche. They act as if Bahooka or the family owed them an explanation as to why not to open up on the Sunday. For anyone who waited till the very last day to go to Bahooka and say their goodbye. They got what they deserved.

The article by Rick West turns from a recap of Bahooka history,into an ignorant editorial attack on how a family is supposed to run "THEIR" business!!! Thortiki

Sorry, but I disagree. From a managerial perspective, the writer is absolutely correct when he says:

"You plan accordingly, and have a fully-stocked restaurant and bar for all of your customers. Family members show up and walk around to the tables, work the line and thank guests personally. And as you enter your last hour of operation, you give just a little more to your final loyal patrons – you don’t charge for the last round, you bring shots to each table, and you go out with a bang! Not a whimper and sob story about how exhausting it is to have an extremely busy restaurant and quit before your posted date because you simply can’t do it anymore!"

"Bahooka To Be Reborn"
This is great news.

And on Bahooka closing early I would guess they really did not want to.
I grew up in a family that was in the restaurant biz and I can tell you the restaurant CAME FIRST.
And the CUTOMERS CAME FIRST.
My mom had a heart attack and called in the meat order before she called for help.
And when she needed a double by pass we closed 1 hour early to go be with her before the
surgery, well a regular came to the door as we were leaving and was sooo upset that
she could not get her milkshake that she was NEVER coming back.
She came back the next day and the next and so on, I hated her, she still got great service
because the customer comes first, But I had hoped we would never see her again.

When my mom died we had the funeral on the weekend because we had to open on Monday
so that B!(%$# could get her milkshake. ( but then we did get two days to get over her death)
On Monday people who did not know would come in and ask "how's your mom" this went on for months.
It was so hard to deal with.

I have many more good and bad stories like that, but that is how it works in these family type places.
You can't just close, you can't take vacations, You can't get sick! (who would do your job?)
So If they closed I would bet they felt they had to.

Thank you to all those families who give up their lives heart and soul so we can
come and enjoy their hospitality and forget about our woes, as we sit and eat drink
at your restaurant and plan our next vacation.
We will send you a postcard because we know where you will be,
at work.

That's all very true and it is the same if you are in a band or orchestra and have a gig...if you can't give enough notice, sorry, but you have to do the gig no matter what because it goes beyond you personally..there are other people depending on you. Once, I had a gig at the Galaxy, pre-sold, headlining. The drummer's dad died that morning and sure enough, he was there to play the gig that night. We as a band had no choice, and he was a pro and wouldn't let anyone down despite a very personal tragedy.

Now, I don't know much about the Bahooka or who worked there, but surely they had a manager that was not part of the family....if the family had some horrible medical emergency at the very least the manager should take over and keep things running.

Just seems to me weird how they did things the way they did. I think in general, the writer of that article was correct. Lots of people drove very far to get there for that final day. I am glad I wasn't one of them. There might be circumstances that occurred that we are not privy to, but in general, you don't just cut and run when you own a business. You tie up all loose ends and go out in style, just as the writer said.

All true I can see both sides really.
When I had the place I wanted to be there on the posted hours.
Hate places that you go to and they are sometimes open sometimes not.
But then they soon go out of biz.

Knew a girl who worked for the state of Ohio, she took a day off because her
hair dryer broke.
Dam they don't know how good they got it.

Plus on the last day of the Kahiki THAT'S when the stuff really walked out the door.

To me, both sides are wrong. :D There's no reason to jump to "poor Bahooka's" defense, just as it is wrong to get pissy about their erratic canceling of their last day events:

As long as have been going to Bahooka, the owners always did what they felt like, anyway. They were very much like other old timer Tiki veterans I have encountered over the years - a bit ornery, in a "take it or leave it"- way, not really too concerned about what you thought a service industry business SHOULD act like.

Bahooka was a place one loved in spite of the fact that that love might not necessarily be returned.

On 2013-03-31 01:32, tikijackskeleton wrote:
The writer of that article sounds like a giant douche. They act as if Bahooka or the family owed them an explanation as to why not to open up on the Sunday. For anyone who waited till the very last day to go to Bahooka and say their goodbye. They got what they deserved.

Now that is just wrong, Since many of us planned to be there on the last Sunday
from the moment the closing became public knowledge, it was planned & coordinated with the Bahooka owners

I knew about a lot of the drama going on behind the scenes & just knew a few day's prior that
the last Sunday was not going to happen, though I was not told as such
I have just worked in to many restaurants in my day to not see it going down the way it did.

Would I have done it that way if I was running the place, absolutely not!
I think the owners just gave up at some point before the planned closing & wanted it to be done with.

Did they owe us? not really & it is unfair to have expected such.
but sure would be nice to have gone out with a bang!

Did they owe us? not really & it is unfair to have expected such.
but sure would be nice to have gone out with a bang!

This is the important part and the main reason why I call that "journalist" a douche. Bahooka's didn't owe use anything. They're a business and they gave us ample warning leading up to it. He complains about it being cash only, about food shortages. So far as to imply that the place, which was going to close up in a few days, ordered more food supplies even though it was unknown how much of that was going to be used.

I went a good dozen times from the moment it was announced to that weekend it did close. I was planning to go on Sunday, but you know what, I had my moments to say goodbye. Besides that, the place was getting picked over pretty cleanly. The front entrance already was missing a lot of the kitsch that made it Bahookas.

How many times did the tiki central event get canceled and uncanceled? It was going to be a shit show. And if you were waiting for the final 11th hour to show up to it and get your last taste, you clearly didn't want to see it badly enough.

If this sounds like a Bahooka's apologist, fine. But it's annoying when people were demanding that the family sold it to someone who wanted to keep the place going exactly the same or to insist that they couldn't sell it at all. They act as if this business was owned by them and not by the family, who could and did decide to close up when they wanted to.

Any service industry "owes" it's customers. Customers are the reason a business exists. If this was a private bar in someone's house...that's different.

If you don't think they gave you advance warning in every sense that they could have to plan accordingly, then I have no words for you.

Does it suck that they closed a day early? Sure. But for this douche to say shit like they don't believe the medical reasoning behind it closing one day early. F-that dude.

I get people wanted to send it off, but there was ample time and leading up to it, it was clear that the experience was on a degradation as the days grew closer. Lack of food supplies - which was suggested to just buy more?! A change in the system where they were slammed far more than they could properly waiter on tables. You had some people complain that there was open tables and still had to wait. As if they didn't get it.

It's a shame to see Bahooka's go. It was one of my favorite places and I have countless memories going there all my 30+ years of life. But some folks feel way too entitled.

http://bitchandmoan.webs.com/

Ben ftw!

I went by the Bahooka on easter and the workmen were disassembling some of the larger items to be loaded onto a truck in the parking lot.

Does anyone have any idea what is to become of the interior of the old location? Of course, freddiefreelance had posted those pictures of the items being moved out recently, and I couldn't help but notice that fish tanks were being moved. I thought the new owners had bought the tanks with the fish, so what does this signify, exactly?

probably that they want to gut the place first before renovating the space and then returning the fish tanks inside. Kinda hard to work on construction when there's fish tanks all around. No one said the new owners wanted to keep the seat lay out the same.

On 2013-04-05 19:49, tikijackskeleton wrote: No one said the new owners wanted to keep the seat lay out the same.

Good point. Unfortunate, though, as that was one of the more interesting aspects of the locale. Wonder if Meieran has any interest in recreating that type of layout inside Clifton's "new Seven Seas". Would definitely be cool.

So what's going on with Rufus?

I have heard he is just sitting in his tank
in the dark former shell of Bahooka, still
someone else said he died a little while ago, all alone? :cry:

On 2014-01-18 20:29, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
So what's going on with Rufus?

I have heard he is just sitting in his tank
in the dark former shell of Bahooka, still
someone else said he died a little while ago, all alone? :cry:

Lance you need to save Rufus!

Less time on TC

More time Saving Rufus!!!

I miss Rufus!

He was always a friend to me and my buddies.

Rufus is still there, but the current owner is selling off the fish tanks. I'm getting the turtles and a few of the tanks. If anyone is interested in getting a fish tank, let me know ASAP. I am NOT selling them, the owner is, and I'm letting everyone know as a courtesy and not as a sales pitch. I spoke with the new architect last week whilst she was measuring and she confirmed that they are going to pretty much gut the place.

The Aquarium of the Pacific had expressed interest in Rufus. I read that on the internet so who knows if that was ever true.

http://themeparkadventure.com/bahooka-farewell-and-aloha-to-you/

Out of the hundreds of fish that called Bahooka “home”, there was none more famous than Rufus, a carrot-eating Pacu that is allegedly 36 years old. He’s appeared in movies, on Tiki mugs and postcards. The million dollar question is, what will happen to Rufus now that Bahooka closed its doors? According to the gentleman I spoke to during my final visit, the family has agreed to sell Rufus – along with the other fish and tanks – to the new owner. Sadly, he noted that the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach has reached out to Bahooka and has offered Rufus and perhaps some of his friends a life of luxury in its state-of-the-art facility, free of charge. Unfortunately, that likely won’t happen according to the Bahooka staff, and that’s a real shame. After almost four decades in a cramped aquarium, it would be wonderful to see this special fish live out the rest of his days in a large, modern tank.

Hi Lori, the architect told me that she was going to call them regarding Rufus. She and the new owner aren't quite on the same page though, but I should find out more today. I'm surprised not a single person has expressed an interest in a tank, they are fabulous and well-made. In a few years, some will start asking "whatever happened to the fish tanks? I wanted one!"

Johnny Depp should adopt Rufus!! Anyone here know him?

On 2014-01-20 19:09, RevBambooBen wrote:
Johnny Depp should adopt Rufus!! Anyone here know him?

Yes!!
Me and Rufus shared a carrot together once.

:D

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga 2014-01-20 19:27 ]

Oh Myyy!

Tell us more Kevin. :D