KAHIKI Columbus, ohio tiki bar restaurant. Lee Henry, The catalog

Great pictures skip!!! I really like the picture of Lee Henry. Was that taken recently? I like the sheild too! Is that the one that used to sway above the Tiki Fireplace in the early days of the Kahiki?

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

That picture was from last year.
And yes the sheild did hang above the fireplace.
It's the one in your picture.
Melissa has it now.

Is that photo going to be in tiki magazine?

I hope so!!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

This is Mr. Bill Sapp and me. Behind us is the Top restaurant.
A restaurant started by Mr. Sapp and Lee Henry. (Pic 2006.)
They paid the Top restaurant loan off in one year. And that's hard to do!
This is also where Mr. sapp met Sondro Conti.
Kahikis bar manager, and drink inventor.
Mr. Conti came into the Top late one night.
Bill said in spanish" If you want a drink you will have to get it
yourself"
Mr.Conti said back in spanish." Ok, thank you"
Then he went behind the bar and made himself a drink.
They were friends from that day on!

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2012-09-12 15:47 ]

These are awesome photos of all things Kahiki! I only joined TC a few days ago, but I live in Columbus, and had only been to the Kahiki a handful of times, much to my chagrin. My father used to own The Volcano restaurant (Winter Haven, FL) when I was a kid back in the late 60's and early 70's. (There is a resurrected thread going on about it now.) When I finally discovered the Kahiki (only a year or two before they closed), we took Mom and Dad there for dinner on one of their visits. Dad asked to speak to the manager, and so we got to take a behind the scenes tour into the office and past the kitchen. I was amazed, because Dad always had photos of the celebs who visited The Volcano all over his office. I love seeing things from the inside of the Kahiki. The chairs and masks and ALL of it is so memorable! So much about the Kahiki reminds me of Dad's old restaurant, so thanks for sharing all your info with us!

Thank you, Volcano Girl.
If you would like to come over to our house and see our tiki
collection we would love to have you.
Or we could meet at the Tropical Bistro.
The Tropical Bistro has alot of Kahiki items in it as well.

My wife and I would love to meet you.
I will pm my phone # to you.

ps, Great Volcano post!
You should ask your mom about the Volcano
to get more info.

It looks like you have been a Kahiki devotee for quite some time, seeing as you know so much about the place. I look forward to getting together sometime in the future!

Skip is truly a Kahiki madman!!!! Wait to you see his back yard!!!

The Fraternal Order of Moai are having their monthly "meet and greet" on March 12th at the Tropical Bistro. Everyone is invited to attend. Maybe we could check out skips place then too! Just a thought.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

I did go to the Kahiki alot. But most of the info came
after the Kahiki closed! Some I got from here on TC,
Some came from e-bay old ads and stuff for sale.
Even more came when the Hulacats (Melissa and Greg)
who are doing a book on the Kahiki came to town
and I got to tag along on some interviews.
Then Jeff Centeral and I interveiwed Bill Sapp and
the son of Hoffman pottery.
Jeffs interveiws will be in Tiki mag soon.
Right Jeff?
So thats why I say ask your mom about the Volcano
she may come up with some new stuff.
Some of Bill Sapps family had not heard the stories
he told.

Good info, tikiskip. I will probably be talking with Mom sometime today, and I'll bet that she and my siblings will all have some stories to pass on.

This is one of the coolest lamps I have from
the Kahiki.
It has a blow fish inside it. The fish is too big to take
out so they must have stuffed it inside of the float, then
dried the fish.

I think we need to crack that bottle of Barbencourt open tomorrow skip!! :wink:

I had posted this in another thread a while back and thought it belonged in the catalog. Thanks to Tikiskip for all the information. The Grass Shack was owned and operated by the owners of the Kahiki. The Shack burned down and the great Kahiki rose from the ashes.

Those matches are great! I remember Bill saying that they were the first ones to have the raised boob matches. I had never seen them so I thought he was mistaken.
But whoomp there it is. Thanks UT.
Ok here is some new old Kahiki stuff pics.


These are some sheilds like the ones in the entry way.


This is a light I am rehabing for the Tropical Bistro.
After pics to follow.

This light needs some help.
But we can look at this light and know how to make a
duplicate. Cool design.

Here is a tiki that stood to the left of the Kahiki.
This used to be a garden area.
They took out the garden for parking.
He is concrte and his eyes used to light up.
Thanks for the trade Hula cat.

Here is the Kahiki lamp rehab.
Pic #3 above.
This lamp hangs in the Tropical Bistro.

This is what I always called a Firefish.I don't know who told me thats what
It was called. Let me know if I'm wrong.
These were on the roof of the Kahiki. They are 8' long by 2.5' high.
They seam to be made of 1/8''thick aluminum.
I just found out that the first Firefish were made of plywood.
There were two styles. and one pelican at the front.
The pelican is a symbol of a plentiful supply of food.
And the fish are symbolic of good food.

This is Bill Sapps desk.
very cool design.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2007-04-30 08:55 ]

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2007-11-19 19:27 ]

I love that red dragon design up top there. That's very cool.

I am going to add the velvets on this thread.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2012-02-29 09:44 ]

This is some examples of those old tiles tied into the walls
at the Kahiki.

Wow, Skip, you must have taken over their whole warehouse! It's good to see that at least, even though the place could not be saved, so much of its artifacts ended up in appreciative hands. Too often they disappear to that great mysterious Tiki "Elephant graveyard" in the sky.

Did any of the Tiki tiles around the entrance (see BOT p.147) make it? And how about Lee Henry's desktop, which had a map design embedded in resin? I know Jeff got that cool "Hi-Tiki" from it (also p.147)....

That stuff is not all mine. The desk went to bills daughter.
The walls,Lees desk and the bulk of the Kahiki stuff went to
one other buyer.I was able to take pictures of it all.
I am just trying to document all of the stuff I have, or have
seen.
We all know that as we sit here today this stuff is fadding away.
Breakage, fires, theft, WATER DAMAGE, And people just throw it away sometimes.
So if we put it here at least it will be here for all to know what was.
I know when people post pics of old tiki joints I look for the lights.
These photos give me ideas on how to make the old lights.
Also how to trim out a bar.
And on those tiki tiles in the entrance I think those were by a company
called Pan-L-Art. They are still around today. But do not make those
any more. They went down with the ship.www.tectum.com
And on that statue. I was bidding on that against Jeff! Before I knew him.
But he flashed those cute puppy dog eyes at me so I let him have it.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2007-04-30 08:57 ]

Hi tikiskip, you got the desk tops mixed up as I'm sure you meant to say Linda Sapp got her dad's (Bill's) desk top. The map/desk top is in storage waiting for it's place in Vermont's future home tribute bar/palace(?) to the Kahiki (and all things Tiki). The photo of the lower portion of Lee Henry's desk as seen in "The Book of Tiki" (page147) will be faithfully copied and matched to the original top. The Pelican and some other fishes will be along the roof of the addition( as the Kahaki). TikiCat67 and I are working on plans while researching possible construction methods that can fit in our budget AND faithfully honor the history of the Kahiki (there will NOT be any Walgreens nearby!). I hope soon to be able to post photos of the desk top and much more. Thanks John, Sven (and others) for your dedication while fostering the aloha spirit.

[ Edited by: Hula Cat 2007-04-25 05:47 ]

Boink! You are right. I have changed The names to
right that wrong. Thank you.
And yes do post pictures. I would love to see Lees desk again.
And if all that stuff got damaged that would be that.
Never to be seen again.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2007-04-30 09:02 ]

Ok kiddies time for more Kahiki.
First is a HUGE patch it is 11 1/4 inches tall.

Next is the back of the Key Visitors guide to Columbus.
It's dated April 1993 vol 35 no.11.

Now we have some chopsticks and some toothpicks.

Last is a napkin and the back of the chopsticks.

Skip the bartender Otto Jim the bartender.
Last night Kahiki.

Svens birthday cake.

One of the tiles in the front (Pan-L-art)

Hoffman pottery was one of the first makers of the Kahiki mugs/bowls.
This is Eric Hoffman son of the man who started Hoffman pottery.
He is holding a mystery bowl.

This is the Idols cast bowl and the mystery bowl.
The mystery bowl is the larger of the two.
Eric got this mystery bowl from a lady who found it at a garage sale for 25 cents!
These bowls are very rare!

This is a Hoffman pottery coconut mug.

View of asst Kahiki mugs.

Awesome pictures skip!!!!

Talking story with Eric Hoffman was a real thrill. Boy,I still wish he had the molds for those Kahiki mugs and bowls. What did he say happened to them?

Cheers,
Jeff

I think I just wet myself.

Great pictures Skip - thanks for sharing with us all of your work. I'm glad I was able to see a close-up picture one of those 'firefish' - that is a great design

Vern

*On 2007-05-08 12:43, tikiskip wrote:*This is a Hoffman pottery coconut mug.

I picked one of these up in Lubbock, TX. Just incase you wanted to know. Great thread there Skip!

Yes Jeff that was fun.
As I remember it he said they were all in a garage and got wet.
(ie destroyed)I think I would have taken them anyway.
Thats why my house is full of crap.
And on the firefish I would like to make smaller copies and put them on my shed.
Nice score unkle john! Those are not mine they were Eric Hoffmans.

On 2006-08-19 18:32, kttykat wrote:
We have all of the items from the Kahiki that have been in our storage for a proposed new Kahiki. The present Kahiki Co. has ordered us to dispose of these items, which include the large Tiki God from the fireplace, the 2 smaller Tiki Gods which flanked the front door, the bar, the booth separators, the 7' diameter ships steering wheel, the metal sculpture from the top of the building, etc.

If anyone is interested in purchasing items, please contact us, as they will be available in about 2 weeks, when we finish sorting and have them ready for viewing, by appointment.

Kapac Co.
email: [email protected]

Well this is sad :(

I didn't know they got rid of all the items from Kahiki... I guess I always hoped that some day they would reopen it :(

On 2007-06-04 05:10, Ratzaroony wrote:

On 2006-08-19 18:32, kttykat wrote:
We have all of the items from the Kahiki that have been in our storage for a proposed new Kahiki. The present Kahiki Co. has ordered us to dispose of these items, which include the large Tiki God from the fireplace, the 2 smaller Tiki Gods which flanked the front door, the bar, the booth separators, the 7' diameter ships steering wheel, the metal sculpture from the top of the building, etc.

If anyone is interested in purchasing items, please contact us, as they will be available in about 2 weeks, when we finish sorting and have them ready for viewing, by appointment.

Kapac Co.
email: [email protected]

Well this is sad :(

I didn't know they got rid of all the items from Kahiki... I guess I always hoped that some day they would reopen it :(

The Torch for the Kahiki still burns !......the saving, shipping,buying,and restoration of these treasures and the history
of this palace from its creation to demise (and its importance in the history of poly/pop) is our mission ! ........

I think they may have sold the egg roll factory as well.

Yeah, I have very fond memories of the Kahiki, so this is all very sad to me.. I hope people can get a lot of the items and restore them.

Oh, anyone know what happened to the big fireplace tiki?

skip, did you let craig know about this?

No, I just heard it myself.
Hey, Craig I think they sold the egg roll factory.

It could be because they just merged with some big corporation...
You can read the news story here http://kahiki.com/investor/news.aspx#

"the rollover of certain shares owned by Alice, Tim and Jeff Tsao (all members of the family that founded Kahiki)",

NO WRONG!!! I can't let that go. The Tsaos did not build the Kahiki.
Mr. Tsao took it down.
Now the Kahiki, Or whatever it is makes mediocre frozen Chinese food
at best!

Mr. Bill Sapp and Mr. Lee Henry along with other craftsmen built/created
the Kahiki PERIOD.

I'm just mad because I guess I had hoped that somewhere down the line they would rebuild the Kahiki. Now it looks like that's never going to happen.

The fireplace is in Vermont.
Here is a cool clip on You tube of the Fireplace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28TTiyqh8aM&feature=fvsr
And I tried not to bash the tsaos.
But the new website makes it look like the Tsaos were the start and end
of the Kahiki.And then that statement.
A lot of heart and sole went into building the Kahiki.
Not to mention 1 million bucks!
And that was at a time when a million bucks, WAS a million bucks.
( Now a million bucks is about enough for some brats sweet 16 on MTV)
I don't think that the Kahiki was ever going to be rebuilt.
Yeah I know he had plans drawn up, And they stored all the stuff.
But I still think that it was just a ploy to sell egg rolls.
The people who started the Kahiki made an artful, unique, Restaurant.
Mr. Tsao made egg rolls and money.
Nothing worng with that. But I don't think the Tsaos would like the Kahiki founders
claming they founded the egg roll factoy.
And I konw the founders of the Kahiki would not like the Tsaos claiming they
founded the Kahiki.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2012-02-26 12:57 ]

Hey, at least the fireplace is safe. I was wondering what happened to it. Hopefully, if people can just keep these items in good shape, who knows. Maybe in time if the Tropical Bistro does well they'll expand :)

[ Edited by: Ratzaroony 2007-06-06 06:40 ]

[ Edited by: Ratzaroony 2007-06-06 06:52 ]

and in time (hopefully a year or so), you will see the restored fire place as the center piece for a small but fabulous home tiki bar.....and it'll be surrounded by many of the decorative elements of that palace....There will be some kind of special tiki events/worship after it's completion....and i will post progress as it occurs.....there will be a beautiful Mystery Girl (at least I can't figure her out !) ...present for such occasions ! Aloha

Here is a cool rendering of the Kahiki.
It was once used on a box of Kahiki matches.
The one on the box of matches was in color.

Ok here's something new.
These are two of the Otto von Stroheims Tiki news Bon Voyage Kahiki last night party posters.
See Otto's take on the party here.
http://www.tikinews.com/kahiki.html
I think this was Don Tiki first gig on the mainland.
The first one is by dirty donny.

This is the program for the event.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2012-02-29 09:40 ]

This is a last night postcard for Otto von Stroheim Tiki news Bon Voyage Kahiki last night party.
And a mailer menu.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2012-02-27 14:56 ]

Wow! never seen this before. Picture off ebay.
Kahiki Hoffman pottery candle holder. Price $153.50
No big suprise who got it.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2007-06-13 08:15 ]