Safari Restaurant in Sunnyside

A Critiki user, Michael Houser, emailed me this fantastic image today. This restaurant is in Sunnyside, Washington. I've been to Sunnyside before, and it is absolutely astonishing to me that this place is there. Here's how small Sunnyside is: when I was there, I went to a wedding. Both Sunnyside's Fire Chief & the Mayor were there, and when the keg went dry, the two of them hopped in the fire truck to go get another one. The overall impression I took away from Sunnyside is that the residents I encountered had an almost rabid desire for newness -- anything old was not treasured one bit. That makes this place truly amazing, to me, and I'm sad that I missed seeing it when I was there:

Michael didn't have a chance to look inside, unfortunately. The outside is enough for me, though.

Wow! Great image. Someone has to have interior shots....

I wonder if it looked anything like this place:

http://www.francescacontreras.com/roadtrip/2001/13b.html

[ Edited by: Tangaroa 2006-01-04 10:25 ]

Wow, how is that gonna look at night!?

The Safari Restaurant around the corner from the Lucky Tiki can't compete with that...

Does someone have a link to a pic of the great Safari Motor Inn sign on Olive in Burbank?

WOW!! That Safari Restaurant in Sunnyside is awesome! I bet the inside is just as cool. I remember seeing the Safari Inn in Burbank. It is pretty close to Atomic Records. Does anyone have any pictures of the Safari Restaurant that used to exist in Scottsdale, Arizona?

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Wow! Totally awesome picture!!!

Question for Tang, wasn't the original Tahitian terrace in DL also a "safari" theme?

Nope - Tahitian Terrace was pure Polynesian all the way....

Man, I miss that restaurant!

On 2006-01-20 09:10, Tangaroa wrote:
Nope - Tahitian Terrace was pure Polynesian all the way....

Man, I miss that restaurant!

Chris, Do you know anything about This rumor I saw on Mouse Planet? Is there anyone's ear we could bend to improve the odds of a new Tahitian Terrace happening?

On 2006-01-20 09:19, freddiefreelance wrote:

On 2006-01-20 09:10, Tangaroa wrote:
Nope - Tahitian Terrace was pure Polynesian all the way....

Man, I miss that restaurant!

Chris, Do you know anything about This rumor I saw on Mouse Planet? Is there anyone's ear we could bend to improve the odds of a new Tahitian Terrace happening?

On 2006-01-17 09:19, some over eager guy or girl on MousePlanet wrote:

No doubt, this will increase calls for management to revive Aladdin's Oasis into the restaurant it once was.

Yes, the River Belle Terrace will be rebuilt as a 2-story restaurant. Probably better for guests - but as the resident moldy fig on this board (in terms of Disneyland anyway), I'm again' it! I like the design of the original - it still feels like Walt to me...

As far as the rumor of the Tahitian Terrace returning, I've heard nothing about that at all. To quote Jeff Lebowski, "Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man..."

A very sad week for Exotica lovers in Central Washington! The Safari restaurant In SunnySide Washington Burned Down! About the only thing salvageable was the giant neon sign on the front of the building. As a child in the 1970's I remember going there to eat with my family. The place was filled with African masks weapons and animal skins on the walls. There was even some Tiki and Polynesian things . Most of the items in the restaurant where brought back from the owners trips to exotic locations. Here are some news links of the fire.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/05/16/smoldering-ruins-keep-investigators-at-bay-in-sunnyside

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/05/15/fire-destroys-two-sunnyside-restaurants

http://www.dailysunnews.com/DSNNews2.shtml

Postcard from the Safari showing the inside (at last) that I just won on ebay.

I love the chairs, shield and masks.

Tiki? Maybe not, but it sure was exotic!

aloha, tikicoma

When the restaurant was demolished the sign was saved at the last minute from the wrecking crew and the city hopes to display their classic neon... someday.

Unfortunately it's storage is less than ideal, it just sitting beside the road.
That image was made by Mama's Boy on flicker (I think thats right), he also found an old rural road sign that he shot last December.

There was some really nice neon around eastern Wa at one time, another one they saved was from Sunnysides Golden Pheasant chinese restaurant.

aloha got to run, tikicoma
[ Edited by: tikicoma 2012-11-30 20:59 ]

[ Edited by: tikicoma 2012-11-30 21:01 ]

I thought I had posted these already...

Interesting how old tiki restaurants basically served Cantonese food, and a safari restaurant served indian food.