Howdy / new tikibar possible in Portland OR

Hello, I'm Greg in Portland, Oregon. I have a dream and it's a tiki bar, and it's gonna be mine. I am an experienced bar manager and a refugee from the technology industry. There are two tiki bars here in Portland, the high-volume Alibi on Interstate Avenue, and the very well-executed Thatch on NE Broadway. Interestingly enough the proprietor of Thatch had the same idea that I had, quite independent of me, and implemented it well ahead of me about one year ago. Both of these bars are very different from one another, as mine will be different as well, and in another, as-yet-indeterminate part of town. I plan to use this site to get smarter as I gear up to follow my passion and I look forward to meeting some of you and receiving your wisdom and encouragement, and one day, pouring you something rum-based. Be well.

[ Edited by: Mai Tai Greg 2008-03-23 22:52 ]

On 2008-03-21 02:13, Mai Tai Greg wrote:
Hello, I'm Greg in Portland, Oregon. I have a dream and it's a tiki bar, and it's gonna be mine. I am an experienced bar manager and a refugee from the technology industry. There are two tiki bars here in Portland, the high-volume Alibi on Interstate Avenue, and the very well-executed Thatch on NE Broadway. Interestingly enough the proprietor of Thatch had the same idea that I had, quite independent of me, and implemented it well ahead of me about one year ago. Both of these bars are very different from one another, as mine will be different as well, and in another, as-yet-indeterminate part of town. I plan to use this site to get smarter as I gear up to follow my passion and I look forward to meeting some of you and receiving your wisdom and encouragement, and one day, pouring you something rum-based. Be well.

Always room for more tiki !!

Welcome.

E Komo Mai Tiki Greg.

You want wisdom ?

1. Hire Bamboo Ben to do your Bamboo, thatch, and any other woodwork....He's the MAN !

2. Don't Play Jimmy Buffett in your establishment :o

3. Don't skimp on the drinks...use the good stuff.

4. Get a custom Tiki Mug made for your bar with the name on it. The kids in here love that stuff.

5. Post your progress here, the kids in here LOVE that stuff too :)

Encouragement ?

F*ckin A', another TIKI Bar...HELL YES !!!!

Good Luck in your new business venture !

I spent about a year researching and talking to everyone in the business, tiki and non-tiki. The Headhunter Lounge was my plan. I can sum up the best advice I got. Keep it small and managable. If you do food, make it support the drinks. Make sure you emphasize not just the quality taste of a good drink, but make sure you work a great presentation. Make sure you have drinks that people see and say "I want that!" Always have a drink for two and a drink for four on the menu. One for romance one for friends. Fire and smoke. Embrace all that beach stuff too in its way. Corona. Yes. Buffet? Sure, if your customers like it. Just plan for a small bar and kitchen footprint that can be managed by the fewest people. Keep overhead low. Emphasize the great cocktails with your food and drink menu. That keeps the profit margin high. Make sure no one comes in and doesn't have to try one of those incredible cocktails they have heard about. Make them look, smell and taste good and make them an experience.

High margins, low overhead.

If you build a better Mai Tai, the tiki world will beat a path to your door.

Go to Forbidden Island in Alameda, California, to see how it should be done. It has only been open just short of two years, but it feels like they've been doing this forever. In reality, the owners, and managers have been doing it forever in great establishments like Trader Vic's and the Conga Lounge. Hire people who know, and appreciate, the genre.

Definitely hire Bamboo Ben to do your interiors. There is no one else on this planet who can do a tiki interior like Ben does. It's in his blood, literally. Decide what your "theme" is, and be faithful to it. If you decide to go with a polynesian theme, leave out the parrots, reggae, and Jimmy Buffet. You'll have a little more leeway if you call it a "nautical" theme. But if you start bringing in a bunch of pirate and caribbean stuff, then it's no longer a "tiki" bar.

Do not compromise on the quality of the drinks. The drinks will be the reason many people return. Make the bartenders measure the ingredients to ensure consistency in the quality of the cocktails. Use the best, freshest ingredients you can get your hands on. Don't worry about how much you'll have to charge for the drink to make it the best it can be. The right clientele will be willing to pay a couple extra bucks for a quality cocktail.

Make sure your staff treats the customer with a spirit of "aloha." The first contact with a customer should be a very friendly greeting within moments of them walking in the door, and every interaction thereafter should make the customer feel like they are a friend in your home, not an intrusion in the server's day.

If you are going to have live entertainment, or even recorded music, a jukebox, etc., it too should keep with the theme. Don't play Madonna and Aerosmith in your tiki bar. Exotica, surf, lounge, even a little rockabilly are okay. Current rock, R&B, etc. are just wrong.

I am not, and never have been, a bar owner or employee. I'm not the person who can tell you anything about the business part of having a successful tiki bar. But I know what makes me want to go back to some places, and what will make me run screaming from others. So take these opinions for whatever they're worth to you.

Good luck in your venture!

don't fgorget the virgins!

Hi Greg, Welcome to Tiki in Portland.

:)

[ Edited by: Melintur 2008-03-21 11:34 ]

My advice is that you rethink your location. Instead of Portland, open your bar in Austin, TX.

Thank you all so much. Keep it coming. I am amazed by Tiki Central. I will keep you all posted- it may take a little while.

On 2008-03-21 10:11, JenTiki wrote:
Go to Forbidden Island in Alameda, California, to see how it should be done. It has only been open just short of two years, but it feels like they've been doing this forever. In reality, the owners, and managers have been doing it forever in great establishments like Trader Vic's and the Conga Lounge. Hire people who know, and appreciate, the genre.

Definitely hire Bamboo Ben to do your interiors. There is no one else on this planet who can do a tiki interior like Ben does. It's in his blood, literally. Decide what your "theme" is, and be faithful to it. If you decide to go with a polynesian theme, leave out the parrots, reggae, and Jimmy Buffet. You'll have a little more leeway if you call it a "nautical" theme. But if you start bringing in a bunch of pirate and caribbean stuff, then it's no longer a "tiki" bar.

Do not compromise on the quality of the drinks. The drinks will be the reason many people return. Make the bartenders measure the ingredients to ensure consistency in the quality of the cocktails. Use the best, freshest ingredients you can get your hands on. Don't worry about how much you'll have to charge for the drink to make it the best it can be. The right clientele will be willing to pay a couple extra bucks for a quality cocktail.

Make sure your staff treats the customer with a spirit of "aloha." The first contact with a customer should be a very friendly greeting within moments of them walking in the door, and every interaction thereafter should make the customer feel like they are a friend in your home, not an intrusion in the server's day.

If you are going to have live entertainment, or even recorded music, a jukebox, etc., it too should keep with the theme. Don't play Madonna and Aerosmith in your tiki bar. Exotica, surf, lounge, even a little rockabilly are okay. Current rock, R&B, etc. are just wrong.

I am not, and never have been, a bar owner or employee. I'm not the person who can tell you anything about the business part of having a successful tiki bar. But I know what makes me want to go back to some places, and what will make me run screaming from others. So take these opinions for whatever they're worth to you.

Good luck in your venture!

Amen Jen....

It's amazing how NO Tiki bars play the right music. I love old Aerosmith and classic stoner rock as much as the next guy, but for a Tiki Bar, it just ruins the atmosphere.

And, yes, even worse is the hip hop and current crap in a Tiki Situation. Nothing says "ALOHA" less than some guy talkin about "bitches and Ho's, and how much money he got off the guy he just "busted a cap" in.

Just leave it out of the juke box entirely.

Te drinks, the decor, the music it all needs to be right.

Ok, off the soapbox now...

Good Luck Mai Tai Greg, we're all rootin for ya.

Welcome Greg,
I don't have any new insight to add but just wanted to reinforce what JenTiki and the others said.
They all had valid and important advice.

People often ask us why we drive an hour to go to a tiki bar in Alameda (Forbidden Island).
"Can't you find a tiki bar closer to home?"
They don't get it.

Forbidden Island does it right. Do they cater only to the Tiki Crowd? Hell no. But when us Tiki Central people come in, they make us feel welcome and appreciated.
Add in the fact that the TC Ohana hang out there, the staff is great, decor is unbelievable, and all the drinks are top notch; you start to understand why people drive long distances to get there.

Good luck and once again welcome.

Learn from the mistakes of those who have failed in the past:

Kahiki Moon

Taboo Cove

Hale Tiki (divert your eyes BK)

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

By the way, I think you will get more responses to your thread if you rename the subject line to something more appropriate to the topic than "Howdy". I ignored the thread for a while until I saw a fair number of responses. Best of luck...

On 2008-03-21 02:13, Mai Tai Greg wrote:
Hello, I'm Greg in Portland, Oregon. I have a dream and it's a tiki bar, and it's gonna be mine. I am an experienced bar manager and a refugee from the technology industry. There are two tiki bars here in Portland, the high-volume Alibi on Interstate Avenue, and the very well-executed Thatch on NE Broadway. Interestingly enough the proprietor of Thatch had the same idea that I had, quite independent of me, and implemented it well ahead of me about one year ago. Both of these bars are very different from one another, as mine will be different as well, and in another, as-yet-indeterminate part of town. I plan to use this site to get smarter as I gear up to follow my passion and I look forward to meeting some of you and receiving your wisdom and encouragement, and one day, pouring you something rum-based. Be well.

Never been to Portland. Can it really support three tiki bars? You've been in the bar business, so you know the difference between a dream and a business plan. The demand in the market for what is your personal dream will largely determine its success. Wish you only great things Greg!

On 2008-03-23 10:49, GatorRob wrote:
Learn from the mistakes of those who have failed in the past:

Kahiki Moon

Taboo Cove

Hale Tiki (divert your eyes BK)

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

By the way, I think you will get more responses to your thread if you rename the subject line to something more appropriate to the topic than "Howdy". I ignored the thread for a while until I saw a fair number of responses. Best of luck...

Just so you know, I talked to the owners of Kahiki Moon and Hale Tiki about what they would do differently and what worked and didn't when I made my business plan. If you want to hear my condensed version, I'll help you however I can. Heck, I'll send you my business plan!

On 2008-03-24 03:19, Bongo Bungalow wrote:

On 2008-03-21 02:13, Mai Tai Greg wrote:
Hello, I'm Greg in Portland, Oregon. I have a dream and it's a tiki bar, and it's gonna be mine. I am an experienced bar manager and a refugee from the technology industry. There are two tiki bars here in Portland, the high-volume Alibi on Interstate Avenue, and the very well-executed Thatch on NE Broadway. Interestingly enough the proprietor of Thatch had the same idea that I had, quite independent of me, and implemented it well ahead of me about one year ago. Both of these bars are very different from one another, as mine will be different as well, and in another, as-yet-indeterminate part of town. I plan to use this site to get smarter as I gear up to follow my passion and I look forward to meeting some of you and receiving your wisdom and encouragement, and one day, pouring you something rum-based. Be well.

Never been to Portland. Can it really support three tiki bars? You've been in the bar business, so you know the difference between a dream and a business plan. The demand in the market for what is your personal dream will largely determine its success. Wish you only great things Greg!

I think it could work, something in mid SE would be perfect. If I won the lottery I would buy Chinese Village on 82nd and Washington.That horse shoe bar is perfect..with all of that bamboo just add tiki and you've got the perfect room. Of course you would have to shut down for renovations long enough for the 10am lushes and coke dealers to find a new home but hey it a dream!

Aloha Mai Tai Greg!
You've got a Tiki-rrific idea there: go for it!
Make a pilgrimage to Tiki-Ti here in Tiki-LaLaLand - it's the Ticoco (like Rococo, only Tiki) of Tiki bars, with absolute maximum TiPSI (Tikiness Per Square Inch).
Their extreme business model does a lot of what you're talking about.
Mind you, it's a one-of-a-kind, and no one should try to clone it, but it's worth noting how they go about doing what they do:

• They're all about the Tiki Beverages and the 'ohana that enjoy them
• Everyone who goes to the '-Ti goes both for the Tiki and for the Beverages; anyone who's been there before goes for the 'ohana too
• Mention Tiki-Ti and everyone who's been there does the Pavlovian thing - in fact you're all doing it right now as you read this!
• Tiki-Ti is about as low overhead as it gets: the entire staff is Mike, Mike, and Mark. And Gil, the master of their awesome web site
• They only light up the torches outside the front door one night a year - apparently that's enough to do the job
• There's usually someone at the door checking ID's; s/he is a volunteer, and there's always someone delighted to do this
• There's no other bouncer, no need: 'ohana take care of this on a moment-by-moment basis
• While they don't waste cash where it's not needed, they do not skimp on top-quality liquid magic: every serving takes the right stuff, the time to mix it the right way, and is worth every penny
• Tiki-Ti sells a few odds and ends (just a few), but pays its bills entirely from the contents of their glasses.
• If you completely gutted the place to the bare walls and removed the bar, you could fit a single car inside; not much more
• If you completely gutted the place and put the contents on display, it would take a museum the size of a large city block to display everything, and a library to tell the stories behind each item
• There's often a line outside, sometimes it takes a while to get in, and people are willing to wait
• They're only open Wed through Saturday evenings, for 7-8 hours
• They take vacations, and when they do, they close

Everything about the place is elegant, every bit of space devoted to one simple mission: to make and serve 86 of the best Tiki Beverages on the planet (or is it 87 now?).
Check out their web site (www.Tiki-Ti.com, natch) before going: it's a delight in it's own right, it tells you a lot about the place, including the complete list of refreshments (sorted 3 ways, including a downloadable checklist for the many who want to sample every one), and will tell you if they're on vacation (like right now. Sigh...).
What would I do differently if there were no Tiki-Ti and I were the god in charge of creating it? Very little.
But just a thought: many of us have their signature natural coconut mugs and love them, nonetheless I agree: if they sold a custom ceramic mug we would all have them.
I'm not suggesting I think they should, it's just an observation.

...and I suspect that if you let the Tiki Central 'ohana know you were coming, you might just get a royal tour of the area's Tiki establishments!

Don't forget the West side. :) I live in Hillsboro and Thatch is way to far for us to spend as much time there as we'd like. I would second (third, fourth) the fabulousness of Forbidden Island. Spend time on creating great and interesting drinks, and they will come.

What tikichef said.

We need a tiki bar out here on the sunset side of the hill.

Don't listen to those westsiders...make it as close to SE 39th & Powell as possible, so it's a quick walk from my house. :lol:

Best of luck!

On 2008-03-21 08:43, tikiyaki wrote:
E Komo Mai Tiki Greg.

You want wisdom ?

1. Hire Bamboo Ben to do your Bamboo, thatch, and any other woodwork....He's the MAN !

2. Don't Play Jimmy Buffett in your establishment :o

3. Don't skimp on the drinks...use the good stuff.

4. Get a custom Tiki Mug made for your bar with the name on it. The kids in here love that stuff.

5. Post your progress here, the kids in here LOVE that stuff too :)

Encouragement ?

F*ckin A', another TIKI Bar...HELL YES !!!!

Good Luck in your new business venture !

I agree with everything he said :)

On 2008-03-21 10:11, JenTiki wrote:
Go to Forbidden Island in Alameda, California, to see how it should be done.

Yes, make a field trip of it and write it off. Nothing we can say here will do Forbidden Island justice, and it's not just the room but the whole experience. That's what Tiki is about. To see what not to do, go to the Kona Club in Oakland. They gave it a good shot, but truckloads of bamboo do not a Tiki bar make. The lighting is wrong (i.e. too bright), there's no cozy factor, the music is wrong, and there's a pool table (which tends to attract the wrong clientele).

Also don't skimp on the water feature, this is extremely important.

Portland is a great town, and I'm sure it could support a third Tiki room. I'll be sure to come in on my next visit!

On 2008-03-21 15:23, BrickHorn wrote:
My advice is that you rethink your location. Instead of Portland, open your bar in Austin, TX.

Hehe...I second that :wink:

Hey Greg! are you still in the dreaming phase of your Tiki Bar? I know that Portland can easily support 3 tiki bars. Even during a recession, the one thing that people will still splurge on is alcohol. Tiki is perfect escapism.

I count myself lucky that I live within staggering distance of Thatch, and I'm eagerly awaiting any new tiki bars in town. Right now I'm trying to convince my husband that we need to convert our basement into a private tiki lounge.

I've heard from Greg a few times recently and he is actively looking for a location. He talked to Trader Vic's and got the location of the new Portland Vic's in the works for '09 and that is of course a part of his decision making too.

On 2008-06-26 06:03, Swanky wrote:
I've heard from Greg a few times recently and he is actively looking for a location. He talked to Trader Vic's and got the location of the new Portland Vic's in the works for '09 and that is of course a part of his decision making too.

Another Vics in Portland? Why so they can tear it down again in a few years? Rent on the west side will kill you! Keep that in mind. As for 82nd area? All you find out there is drunks and dealers... they don't call that felony flats for nothing! LOL! Tricky call on local. Johns Landing/Woodstock area? Hell - Alibi and Thatch are essentially 5 minutes away from each other........... Do not forget to consult your local Tiki freaks in this venture - we are you future customers! :wink:

I'm all for another tiki bar. Keep them coming. I love the idea of one around SE 39th. I say closer to Hawthorne. Then I can crawl home.

I love the idea of one around SE 39th. I say closer to Hawthorne. Then I can crawl home

I'm with ya there, Kupcake! My neighborhood, too...

Update on this?

Hello?

I love love love Thatch. But it's too far to walk home from. Hawthorne really would be the perfect place for a tiki bar.

On 2008-11-05 12:41, Tiki Kupcake wrote:
I'm all for another tiki bar. Keep them coming. I love the idea of one around SE 39th. I say closer to Hawthorne. Then I can crawl home.

SE Tiki would be huge, especially with all the transit links so people can get to/from the place without driving (never understood how people can tiki crawl and drive...)