More tiki at Foundation Bar, Milwaukee with Lake Tiki

The Foundation in Milwaukee's Riverwest has had a theme along the lines of punk rock and skate culture. That has changed and it seems Milwaukee has it's first tiki decor bar in a long time. From the Shepherd Express newspaper:

"With its recent remodeling, the Foundation tilts towards the tropical: you'll find deep red walls, a lava top bar and lots and lots of tikis. Tropical drinks complete the illusion. Be sure to check out Paul Block's tiki murals- one's based on a tiki from the late "Hawaii Five-O" star Jack Lord's front porch."

And from onmilwakee.com:
Foundation bar gets facelift
By Molly Snyder Edler

After nine years, Riverwest's Foundation is transitioning from a skate punk-ish smoking den to a hip, Hawaiian lounge featuring everything from soul 45s to "The Simpsons" to breastfeeding mothers.

"(We're going for) a cozy, cleaner, slightly tropical lounge with patio seating to accommodate the diversity of the Riverwest neighborhood," says owner Charles Jordan.

"We love Riverwest. Both Don (Nelson, the manager) and I chose to buy houses and make it our home."

The new tiki-loco theme is a work in progress and the result of Nelson's imagination and sweat labor. So far, the walls are freshly painted red, the windows trimmed in leopard skin, and on some nights, there are as many tiki statues as there are patrons.

The front room also features two mammoth tattoo-art pieces -- one of a fish and one, surprise, of a tiki head -- created by "Flash" artist Paul Block. The back room is a blank canvas.

Jordan and Nelson, who is a member of the surf band The Exotics, feature some form of a fiesta very night of the week. For instance, Monday nights are tagged "The Soul Hole" with Dave Monroe spinning soul 45s.

Tuesdays are "Tiki Nite" (and have been for nearly a decade) with lounge, surf, exotica and island-sized cocktails.

"We currently feature the 'Surfrider' and the 'Blue Malahini' but many other concoctions are available upon request, especially weeknights after 10 p.m. when Don is in drag," says Jordan.

Wednesday nights host a guest DJ, Fridays bring a frenzy of punk and garage rock and every Sunday Jordan plays his favorite records and new releases from Atomic Records.

On Thursday nights, Milwaukee moms belly up to the bar to talk trash with bartendress and mother Wendy Ruenger who started an informal Thursday night "Milk Club" for thirsty matriarchs. Ruenger is quick to uncap a beer or mix a martini -- including her famous "Brazen Hussy."

Ruenger usually brings in healthy homemade snacks or crock pot creations. On a recent Thursday she had a sweet spread of homemade granola and lemon bars.

"The whole goal of the 'Milk Club' is to get moms out of the house to relax, have a drink and share stories, recipes, whatever," says Ruenger. "It's a 'Calgon take me away' kind of thing.'"

Overall, Jordan and Nelson strive for a comfortable and friendly vibe, a diverse clientele, a variety of quality music and the occasional Marge or Homer spotting on the bar's television.

"'The Simpsons' are a favorite and pair nicely with our Lakefront specials," Jordan says.

The Foundation, 2718 N. Bremen St., is open every night from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and will open earlier during the summer months for patrons to enjoy the new outdoor seating. For more information, call (414) 374-2587.

James... I think you may need to come up and check out the remodel... let me know... I'll have a few with you...

I'm going to try and get over there Friday night and get some pictures to post...

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2006-03-25 23:58 ]

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2006-03-26 00:06 ]

That's good news, Lake Surfer! I can't wait to see the photos. Have fun.

Sabu

I stopped by today to talk to Don Nelson the bar manager and the guy who did all the remodel work... Its looking really nice! "Lava" top bar, leopard print shelves behind the bar holding Coco Joes tikis and many, many tiki mugs. Great paintings on the walls by a very talented artist, and the door frames all have huge bamboo...

I'm still going to try and get over this evening to get photos...

That's sweet. It seems like the revival is driven by the same individuality that made Tiki great in it's heyday:
BOT p.55: "...Though there is a distinct tradition that was followed since Don the Beachcomber, with certain devices being employed and elaborated on again and again, what characterizes Tiki style is how the individual entrepreneurs that were struck with Tiki fever re-created it in their own way..."

I always thought that Foundation was the best (only?) punk bar in Milwaukee; I have had many fun nights there. Reminds me a lot of Delilah's in Chicago.

In TRT, I mentioned the remodeling effort, but wasn't able to justify including as much full information as I would have liked since it still isn't strictly a Tiki bar - although it sounds like it is becoming more Tiki by the moment. Thanks for posting the further info here!

I was just in Milwaukee yesterday for a job, and I really wanted to stop by Foundation... but I finished work at 3 AM and still had to drive back to Chicago.

It is interesting the a punk bar has slowly gone Tiki, and I think that this is largely due to a 'six degrees of Tiki influence' at work.

To wit:

Tikiphiles have overlapping interest with lounge culture, which overlaps with swing, which overlaps with rockabilly, which overlaps with punk.

The Lounge culture had embraced the Tiki by the mid 1990s (when the Lounge revival included a lot of Exotica and general cocktail culture), and by 2000 or so, Tiki was staple for neo-rockabilly types. Now it has finally trickled down to the Punks who will pass it along to...?

Rude boys?

Wait, that's Carribean!

Which connects to...

Parrotheads?

Oh, no, say it aint so!

:)

On 2004-05-08 17:06, tikibars wrote:

Tikiphiles have overlapping interest with lounge culture, which overlaps with swing, which overlaps with rockabilly, which overlaps with punk.

To me there is one big paralell that Tiki shares with Punk:

The great liberating premise of Punk was that ANYONE could pick up a guitar or form a band and it didn't matter how professional they were, they were a Punk band. It was inspiration and ingenuity that counted.

Similarily, what matters more in Tiki than being a professional is the degree of inspiration and love for the subject matter: Your Tiki fever is what makes you a Tiki carver, painter or a Tiki Bar owner, at home or in business.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2004-05-09 14:49 ]

It was packed on Saturday... there was a local surf/spy music band named The Nelsonics playing that night...

I only got a few photos because of the crowd...
Here's some of the mugs behind the bar...

A wide shot of the shelves of tikis behind the bar...

More tikis featuring a collection of Coco Joes...

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer on 2004-05-09 22:13 ]

Hey Lake Surfer,
The place looks great! Do I hear the call of the Brat Stop on the way to Milwaukee in the near future? Looks like the Wahini and I will be taking a little cruise up soon. Hey is Don in the Nelsonics, and what happened to the Exotics?
Dave & Coalbe

The Exotics broke apart... some became "Johnny Z and The Uptown Savages" and the others including Don became "The Nelsonics."

I've been doing bits and pieces for Donnie over the last 2 years and he also continues to tiki transformation of the former punk/skater themed bar.
Donnie just returned from marrying his sweetheart on the island of Oahu and inspiration continues at the bar. I'm currently working on a 4 panel carving for the bar...
hope to have it done by next week and installed. Don has tikified the dj booth with a mix of nautical, historical surf photos and tiki. Lake Tikis can also be found standing guard behind the bar.

For an extra $3, enjoy your drink in a tiki mug that you take home with you.

Tuesdays are Tiki Night with a mix of Hawaiian, Surf and Exotica... at the home of Milwaukee's Best Mai Tai!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2006-03-25 23:57 ]