Hawaii Kai, New York, NY (restaurant)

THEN & NOW THE HAWAII KAI

By Anthony Connors

Sunday, January 24th 1999, 2:05AM

Movie memorabilia. Rock guitars. Poi? The premise behind theme restaurants can be just about anything. Think Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe.However, long before anyone had ever heard of Sylvester Stallone or Jimi Hendrix, folks were lining up at Broadway's Polynesian paradise The Hawaii Kai.

Located at 1638 Broadway, in the Winter Garden Theater building, the Hawaii Kai, which was billed as "the world's greatest Polynesian restaurant," was a nonstop luau. Undulating waitresses in sarongs served roast pig, poi and other island delicacies in an atmosphere of caged exotic birds, tropical flowers, murals and more. Hula girls instructed diners on the proper techniques of that native dance, and staffers delighted and informed with native songs and island lore. Conga lines formed on the dining-room floor as the music blared and guests sang along.Never mind the snow outside, inside the weather was always tropical.

The Big Kahuna of the Hawaii Kai was a guy named Joe Kipness, a pudgy-faced fellow who was about as far from Polynesian as one could get.Born in Russia in 1911, his family came to the United States when Joe was a little boy. He held a number of jobs from amateur boxer to garment manufacturer and Broadway producer before going into the restaurant biz in 1961. His first place, the Lanai Restaurant, folded after several months. The experience, though, served him well a few months later when he opened the Hawaii Kai.

A precursor of today's theme restaurants, the Hawaii Kai had a souvenir shop where diners could purchase mementos of their visit. They also served a number of Polynesian novelty drinks. The most elaborate one was a volcano a rum punch concoction in a bowl that had a ceramic cone in which sterno was placed and then ignited. This one was a hot seller!

In 1972, Kipness said aloha to the Hawaii Kai, selling it to a pair of businessmen. It remained open for another 15 years before closing in 1988. Today, the site is home to Backstage Memories, a theater gift shop.

I know the facts are kind of sketchy, but did he say they put sterno in the middle of a scorpion bowl? Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Also note that as late as in 1999, the word "Tiki" was not used once.

Good point Sven. The wahine's mask is not tiki at all, but is a comedy/tragedy face which plays on the Broadway theater theme.

Thank you for those great articles, senioraqua!

Just to clarify: I did not want to suggest that the Hawaii Kai was not Tiki (though they really did not have a logo Tiki), just point out that the term "Tiki" was not used as a descriptive designation for these places even as late as 1999, simply because it did not exist in the public discourse as a name for the genre.

I should have stated my intention was to add a footnote targeted just about the Lanai logo and not a broad take on Hawaii Kai.

Found this old photo of the exterior entrance to the Hawaii Kai and Pee Wee the doorman on-line with the following caption:

"Former Birdland emcee, Pee Wee, who paced like a hen at the entrance of Hawaii Kai since 1960, adjacent to the Winter Garden."

Some nice Tikis & lava rock, not to mention Pee Wee.

DC

Here is another photo from the internet showing the Schiess family having dinner at the Hawaii Kai. Great shot of the youngest son hamming it up for the camera with the glare from dour Dad!

A nice look at the interior decorations and some of the Hawaii Kai gear in action on the table.

DC

I picked up an oversized postcard from the Hawaii Kai that shows a few new views of the restaurant.

The card was like a bad wine, cheap and a bit thrashed.

You can see the Tikis at the entrance here.

A nice view of a dining room.

The bar.

And the band stage.

DC

cool^

Thanks Sneakyjack.

Here is the back of the postcard with the descriptions of each view.

DC

I went there many times as a kid and adult. my first visit was 1968. It was a magical place. The doorman was not a nice person(lil person) The food was great, the shows were great. They used that locaion to film the tiki bar sceen in Good Fellows I heard. It has gone the way of all cool places.

I went to luau 400 once too, but it burned down in 60's, why do so may of these places burn down?

Maybe they burned down from flaming drinks? There are a lot of interior shots including the diarama behind the bar in the movie "Suffering Bastards"

A great thread. I recently got this menu from the Lanai, which was the precursor to the Hawaii Kai. It clearly shows the Monte Proser connection with the graphics and style that come directly from his previous Beachcomber chain of restaurants.

The cover.

The back.

The drinks

The Beachcomber graphics.

Rum story.

There was also an insert advertising the pre-Theater meal and Sunday special.

DC

Acquired this Hawaii Kai ad recently for free S & P shakers - amazingly enough not one of the many posted by Bifcozz.

DC

On 2013-01-16 21:28, Dustycajun wrote:
Acquired this Hawaii Kai ad recently for free S & P shakers - amazingly enough not one of the many posted by Bifcozz.

DC

I think those are the mugs, not S&P.

Swanky,

The reason I assumed they were S & P shakers is from this previous ad posted by Bifcozz that also used the "Twin Tikis" name for the other set of shakers they gave away.

These are the S & P shakers I think were represented in my ad.

(photos from Ooga Mooga)

They sure gave away a lot of cool stuff.

DC

On 2013-01-17 15:35, Dustycajun wrote:
Swanky,

The reason I assumed they were S & P shakers is from this previous ad posted by Bifcozz that also used the "Twin Tikis" name for the other set of shakers they gave away.

These are the S & P shakers I think were represented in my ad.

(photos from Ooga Mooga)

They sure gave away a lot of cool stuff.

DC

Could well be.

Makes collecting their mugs fairly easy too.

Here is the Hawaii Kai Moai mug from my collection .
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A little ad that I just got from the Hawaii Kai. Seen on Bifcozz's post put I thought I would show a bigger scan.

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Shows the tie in between Joe Kipness the owner of Hawaii Kai and his Broadway play producer era with the soundtrack give-a-way. Not something you see ever-day.

DC

On 2013-08-06 09:47, drgoat456 wrote:
Ad found on devilduck.tumblr
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(Putting drgoat456's finding here, in this thread.)

Aloha,

Some footage of the Hawaii Kai has surfaced.

Why does their wahine look like Michael Jackson?

Youtube direct link with some interesting comments.

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Matchbox from my Hawaii Kai collection......

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Gives us a little insight on the Rum they poured.

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Plus an ad for the Thanksgiving Tiki feast!

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DC

That turkey-bearing Tiki must be the most ridiculous Tiki rendering of Tiki Pop, ever!

Two very close versions

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Spotted the Lanai sign in this photo. The car in the foreground is a 1961 Plymouth, which jibes with the dates discussed in this thread:

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TT

THis on eBay now:

The Sound of Music movie ticket backed with Hawaii Kai.

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"Mai-Kai: History & Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant" the book

[ Edited by: Swanky 2018-11-20 06:24 ]

Picked up this ad from the Hawaii Kai 2nd anniversary featuring the Nectar of the Gods liqueur as the give-away. Have not seen this one before.

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Also spotted this photo showing some pretty cool carvings on wall and a giant pufferfish!

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DC