Bali Hai, Massillon, OH (restaurant)

Name:Bali Hai
Type:restaurant
Street:4508 Lincoln Way East
City:Massillon
State:OH
Zip:44646
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
Opened in 1960 by Emil Chapanar, the Bali Hai was Northeast Ohio's premier Tiki / Polynesian Lounge. Located midway between Pittsburgh and Chicago on the Historic Lincoln Highway. A popular stop off for hungry travelers of that era traveling between NYC and San Francisco. One of the first restaurants in Stark county to feature Chinese food.

The Famous Moonlight Ballroom and the Casablanca nightclub were both within 5 miles of the Bali Hai and thus plenty of locals have many stories of celebrity sightings.

With it's Polynesian architecture the building was designed as a Polynesian Temple. From the gas lit open flame Torches to the Giant Easter Island Moai standing guard outside, the place was truly a palace to Polynesian living.

It was revamped in 1971, but sadly closed in 1984.

[ Edited by: Bali O hai O 2010-05-13 21:17 ]

[ Edited by: Bali O hai O 2010-05-21 18:01 ]

FREE SOUVENIR TIKI MUGS. (There has to be some of those around Canton, I need to get to more garage sales this summer)

[ Edited by: Bali O Hai O 2010-05-06 20:09 ]

WOW! I got goose bumps when I visited the old Bali Hai. I forgot just how huge the place really was. All the original 1959 stone work was still intact, I could just imagine Emil overseeing the masons and supplying all the P.O.C. beer as they built his masterpiece. The original shake siding can still be seen at the peak of the roof, the original entrance area is unchanged and some of the tropical plants still grow. The Welcome/Aloha sign is long gone but the old light box that housed it near the entrance still hangs empty overhead. I peeked inside the big porthole window and was amazed at all the old office equipment and even the old steel desk that was there when I worked there. I can't believe there is not a box somewhere in a closet or storage room filled with mugs, menus or more, there has to be something still in there, it was calling out to me. Oh my god how this would be so easy to convert back to it's original splendor, unfortunately I am too old and too poor to take on that venture, maybe the Tiki gods will bring a young fellow with a dream like Emil had and a gleam in his eye to breathe life back into it. I wish there was a way to preserve these places or turn it into a Tiki Museum and hold Tiki Conventions. The history is there the Lincoln Highway is outside the front door, please god please don't let this become another casualty like the structures on Rt.66 If someone from the Lincoln Highway Preservation Society reads this please please add this building to your list, they knocked down the Lincoln Motel, the Lincoln Diner and the Casablanca, lets save this one for future generations!

Good work Bali O Hai O, now try to make friends with a real-estate salesman and get him to let you inside to take some pictures of the interior. Try to find some treasure or artifacts still hidden away in there. Keep up the good work.

It says for sale on the sign but no phone number?

I would love to scour the place, even for a crumb of history.

Great pictures! I like the ol' porthole windows... I bet that place was super cool back in the day all done up..
Wonder why they did not photograph the Bali Hai face or head in the shots for the ads?

On 2010-05-06 21:02, Bali O Hai O wrote:
It says for sale on the sign but no phone number?

I would love to scour the place, even for a crumb of history.

Looks like there having an auction in the basement of Ashley's restaurant on May 11th @ 9:00pm..

http://www.fasttrackauction.com/

scroll down the page...

Might be worth checking out... could be a HUGE stash of Bali Hai Mugs and Lamps down there.. How cool would that be...

Aloha

www.beachbumz.com

[ Edited by: Beachbumz 2010-05-06 21:07 ]

On 2010-05-06 21:07, Beachbumz wrote:

On 2010-05-06 21:02, Bali O Hai O wrote:
It says for sale on the sign but no phone number?

I would love to scour the place, even for a crumb of history.

Looks like there having an auction in the basement of Ashley's restaurant on May 11th @ 9:00pm..

http://www.fasttrackauction.com/

scroll down the page...

Might be worth checking out... could be a HUGE stash of Bali Hai Mugs and Lamps down there.. How cool would that be...

Aloha

---

www.beachbumz.com

Sorry, actually it's an online auction that ends then... but maybe it would get you in the restaurant??!!

Thanks Beachbumz, how did you find that out? Thats awesome, but I got an email from Ashleys owner and he assures me everything tiki related is long long gone, they never saw anything in their time there and they have had several owners since, so it's a dead deal.

I am off to the hideaway bar in massilon this weekend on a lead that they have some Bali Hai stuff and a local antique dealer who might have several items.

I feel like a kid!

Bali O Hai O,

Nice work getting to the library for some phone book ads, I learned that trick from Bora Boris and Tiki Kate. And, you started this thread, which really did need your name attached to it.

Here are the matchbook photos from Bali Hai.

Look forward to more of your research.

DC

I have been glued to this thread, and the other with the Witco Bar. Great finds and great fun! I am not far from there and might ride down and see the old place this weekend!

Yes, thanks for opening this thread Bali Ohio, we are looking forward to more findings. You have a good eye for architectural detail, regular folks would think there is nothing left of the place worth documenting. One thing: We are still missing a good wide shot of the building from the sign, like the Google street view in the Witco bar thread.
If you find a vintage shot of the whole place at Emil's son's house, it would be fun to shoot it from the same angle, for a "Then" and "Now".

Oh, P.S.: Where is Pablus in all this, someone ought to let him know there is a thread on his uncle's place up on T.C. (assuming that what he called the Bali Hai in Canton is the same as the Bali Hai in Massilon)

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-05-07 08:04 ]

On 2010-05-07 16:04, pablus wrote:
We got bupkis.

Is that the name of a Witco piece I don't know of? :D

You tell a great tale, ol' Pablus! I now fondly remember our gathering at Julian's, and the Balinese Lady carving. Aaaah, Julian's, what a great place!

Let's wish our intrepid new old member Bali Ohio more luck, if not Witco, perhaps he can come up with Photo!

Thanks Pablus, your story was a great inspiration. I stopped at the hideaway tonight after work and the owner said the "Totem Poles" were ruined in the fire 2 years ago, they threw them away. He was blunt and not very friendly.

I did talk to the owners son and he is digging for me

Who knows, but I will definitely send you the stuff after I document it, I have no need or space to save anything.
Your home would be the logical place!

Great post Bali O Hai O. Here is a link to a thread that has some helpful tips from the folks here on TC on doing some research. Keep up the good work.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=32087&forum=1

So, Bali O Hai O, did you know my uncle?

I never saw him mix a drink. He had already retired to working in a candy shop and making milk shakes (awesome ones) by the time I actually hung out with him. My taste for rum hadn't been fully awakened until the late 90s and by that time, he was already gone.

I still see his wife every Sunday at church and I'll make sure to tell her about this thread.

There is still some stuff in the basement of the Hideaway. You should go there when the owner isn't there and ask a bartender or waitress to go down there and check it out.

My curiosity got me and I went to the Auction preview today at the old Bali Hai Restaurant. As you can see in the photos the inside has not changed much, the architectural details of a Polynesian club are still there, some of the original fake tropical plants are still in the basement and there are lots of small details that were chilling to see and touch. The auction employee gave me free run to explore all I wanted, I spent nearly 2 hours searching. I found nothing to bring home, sorry to report that all is gone, well at least from where I looked. The owner was there and said there might be some stuff up front in the utility rooms or in the attic crawl space, and when the auction is done he gave me permission to do further searching after everything is cleared out.

Thank you member ***** and hope you enjoy your treasure, I wish it was better stuff, but heck what did I know it looked authentic, thanks for clearing that up for the both of us.

Still searching!

[ Edited by: Bali O Hai O 2010-05-11 21:09 ]

[ Edited by: Bali O Hai O 2010-05-10 20:54 ]

A photo for Pablus

Pablus, I think I knew of your Uncle but didn't know him well other than to say hello. The Ice cream place he worked at later was Heggy's Nut Shop and we all hung out there. He was a good ol guy and I always wondered what happened to him. He had a nickname but I forgot it over the years.

Thanks again for all your input. It seems you are the only other person who remembers the old place.

MITCH

Most everyone called him Sarge.

Thanks for the photo of the Hideaway. That place cracks me up.
It's one of my favorite dives.

My favorite though is in Wooster - Main Street Grille. Barstools made of copper hammered over oak posts that are over 100 years old.

I gotta get back there this year. Maybe we can hook up and have a Krause's Pizza.

On 2010-05-11 21:11, Bali O Hai O wrote:
A photo for Pablus

Has anyone ever follwed up on 'WITCO' in the basement of this place?

On 2010-07-08 14:30, TIKI DAVID wrote:

On 2010-05-11 21:11, Bali O Hai O wrote:
A photo for Pablus

Has anyone ever follwed up on 'WITCO' in the basement of this place?

THATS OK ....I DID...
BILL, the owner was a real nice guy.
" you want that stuff?....you can have it.
![](https://tikicentral.com/uploads/1828/4c3ce899.jpg[/img
[img]https://tikicentral.com/uploads/1828/4c3ce899.jpg[/img
[img]https://tikicentral.com/uploads/1828/4c3ce856.jpg)

"Pets are welcome,Children 'MUST' be on leash" TD

[ Edited by: TIKI DAVID 2010-07-13 15:35 ]

Just got some Photos from a friend who talked with the children of the former owners.

This is just a sample of what he found from the Bali Hai in Massillon Ohio.

I'm sure glad this is finally being preserved on here for all to see.

Thank you to the Family for digging up this history!

Aaaah, found it, very good! Great to see you successful after such long wait!

I guess it's true, good things do come to those who wait.

I'm sure we will get info on the mugs from someone here, I didn't see any markings on them as to year or manufacturer.

[ Edited by: Bali O Hai O 2010-07-26 05:37 ]

Bali O Hai O,

Awesome find on the historical artifacts! I love that color rendering of the building, what is that from? A postcard?

DC

Geez...I wonder how new/old that menu is. Chow Mein is $6.95 on there. I paid $6.95 for Chow Mein YESTERDAY...IN LA !!! and not at some small take-out place...FU's Palace (the former Wan-Q, a tiki place from back in the day)

So, either that menu is newer, or that place was really EX-PEN-SIVE back then..

like I said before...........

Well, as it was said before it closed in 1984. So it's probably a newer menu rather than one from the 70's or 60's.

Food was pricey during the Reagan era, except Crow meat, just ask the poster above he eats crow all the time .. craw, craw! LOL

On 2010-07-26 17:30, MikenRich wrote:
Well, as it was said before it closed in 1984. So it's probably a newer menu rather than one from the 70's or 60's.

Food was pricey during the Reagan era, except Crow meat, just ask the poster above he eats crow all the time .. craw, craw! LOL

THATS IT!? THATS YOUR BEST SHOT!?

Looking back over the 2 threads,I was not the only one with raised eyebrows
over some of your posts.All I said was "Tread carefully"(with the love fest)

If anyone should be 'spitting BLACK feathers' it should be you.

NOW,"I am DONE with YOU,and all this BALI HAI/WITCO BULLSHIT.
Do NOT reference me again.

Some of you guys are tooo funny! Funny as in "strange", that is. :lol:

On 2010-07-27 12:39, bigbrotiki wrote:
Some of you guys are tooo funny! Funny as in "strange", that is. :lol:

YA THINK?

you??????guys????????
you don't think your right in there too?
sheeeeeeeeeeeeet! give me a break.

Agreed. To hang out here, one must be strange. But which category? There is "funny" strange, there is "interesting" strange, and then there is plain ol' "scary" strange! :D

Tiki David,

What's up with the potty mouth remarks? No wonder kids are not allowed in your place without a leash (which is a really weird image for your tag line to begin with).

I have enjoyed seeing the history of this place unfold, and your continued negative remarks have grown tiresome. Take it off line next time you have a beef with some new guys who are trying to contribute, will ya.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2010-07-27 22:36 ]

VERY cool. Tiki David, I can't believe that the owner gave you that stuff, you must be some handsome and persuasive devil. I couldn't even buy it off of him.

Oh well, at least it was rescued.

Thanks for the posts. I'm asking my aunt to find some old photos of the place with my uncle bartending there.

Some more Photos... ENJOY!

Harry Yee? in that article on Bali Hai.. is it?

[ Edited by: Bali O Hai O 2010-08-04 21:23 ]

The best images yet! Love the kid with the Tiki and torches! How can I get a scan of that for my future projects?

I found another matchbook in my collection from the Bali Hai.

The cover shows a rendering of the sigh Tiki face.

The back lists two proprietors - Julius and Chappy.

DC

Took this pic about a month and a half ago. Most the stone has been pulled along with the overhangs. I hear its being turned into a landscaping store.