Tiki Bars That Offer Keeper Tiki Mugs

What current tiki bars serve drinks in tiki mugs where you get to keep the mug? Was this the system with tiki bars of old?

Otto's Shrunken Head in NYC charges a $5 deposit when you get a drink in a tiki mug ($20 for a bowl). Then it's up to you if you want to keep it or not - take it with you or return it for your deposit back.

Actually a pretty good price since most if not all of the mugs are from Tiki Farm. Of course you can avoid the deposit and go with a regular glass, but that's no way to drink a suffering bastard.

I think it's a good system since the bartenders don't have to keep track of the mugs when its crowded and can focus on pouring more drinks.

My whole intro to tiki was the late, lamented HONOLULU Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. There was one specific drink, the Tiki Tumbler, where you got to keep the mug. That drink had a premium price of about $7 compared to $3-5 for most of the other cocktails on the menu. That drink came in a specific mug, but they had other Dynasty mugs for sale at the cash register.

The TIKI LOUNGE on Pittsburgh's South Side has a variety of mugs and charges stiff premiums for the cocktails - they average $11-12, which is outrageous compared to most places in the Steel City, especially in a neighborhood that still has bards that serve $1-2 drafts. But for that price, you get to keep the mug, and sometimes they even let you choose which mug you'd like your drink in.

Cheers,
Rupe

On 2007-10-05 06:44, Bongo Bungalow wrote:
What current tiki bars serve drinks in tiki mugs where you get to keep the mug? Was this the system with tiki bars of old?

As far as I know, the souvenir mug concept might very well have been the raison d'etre for Tiki mugs. If we concede that the first logo Tiki mug EVER was the Tiki Bob, he seems to have been created as an advertising memento mug, as the menu excerpt on page 47 of the Book of Tiki shows. Did the Otagiri sales men use him as an example to sell the concept to other Polynesian posadas, and Tiki mugs spread from there on? Will we ever know?

It would be an interesting survey to be undertaken by menu collectors to see how many restaurateurs used the souvenir giveaway (initially without any extra cost) concept. As far as I know, some did, some didn't, some on all, and some only on one or two cocktails. If we can ever find out if the stash in this post:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=25847&forum=12&11
actually was obtained by drinking, the Stockton Islander would certainly qualify as one of the most generous establishments! :)

On 2007-10-05 09:48, bigbrotiki wrote:

On 2007-10-05 06:44, Bongo Bungalow wrote:
What current tiki bars serve drinks in tiki mugs where you get to keep the mug? Was this the system with tiki bars of old?

As far as I know, the souvenir mug concept might very well have been the raison d'etre for Tiki mugs. If we concede that the first logo Tiki mug EVER was the Tiki Bob, he seems to have been created as an advertising memento mug, as the menu excerpt on page 47 of the Book of Tiki shows. Did the Otagiri sales men use him as an example to sell the concept to other Polynesian posadas, and Tiki mugs spread from there on? Will we ever know?

It would be an interesting survey to be undertaken by menu collectors to see how many restaurateurs used the souvenir giveaway (initially without any extra cost) concept. As far as I know, some did, some didn't, some on all, and some only on one or two cocktails. If we can ever find out if the stash in this post:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=25847&forum=12&11
actually was obtained by drinking, the Stockton Islander would certainly qualify as one of the most generous establishments! :)

bigbrotiki,

I can only tell you what I was told second-hand by someone who purchased quite a few of these mugs from this seller...they were not from an estate sale...the gentleman selling these used to frequent the Stockton Islander...Alot! I also believe that most of these were available for purchase, either with or without a drink. The gentleman appears to have moved to Lodi recently and is retired.

PTD

Current bar options listed so far: 1)Otto's in NYC 2)Tiki Lounge in Pittsburgh

And then, of course, the only other way to acquire mugs is by purchasing them from new craftsmen, buying them from other collectors, making them yourself, or finding them in antique/junk stores.

Forbidden Island in Alameda has a mug. Bali Hai in San Diego I have bought a Mr. Bali Hai mug.

I've also purchased mugs at Trader Vic's in Emeryville.

Purchased mugs at the Tiki Terrace in Chicago.

There are other places that sell them, Kon Tiki in Tuscon is one. Some places even have websites you can order from.

Check the other threads and I'm sure you'll find more.

PTD

Count the Bali Hai in Lynnfield, Mass & the Kowloon in Saugus, Mass as places you can buy their logo mugs but not as a "drink" souvenir, they sell them as a souvenir only.

the purple orchid in el segundo,ca. sell their mugs.

Hula Hula in Seattle, WA has their own mug.

The Rendezvous in Kenosha, Wisconsin:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=25562&forum=12

The Foundation Tiki Bar in Milwaukee, WI. The mugs are by Dynasty.

Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge in Minneapolis, MN charges a $4 for most mugs. However, I believe all of their mugs are from Dynasty Wholesale.

Psycho Suzi's was where I got hooked on Tiki. I acquired most of my Dynasty mugs through Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge. I still stop in hoping there will be a new mug.

http://scott.mcgerik.com/

[ Edited by: Scott McGerik 2007-10-06 08:07 ]

Kona Club has a few now or real soon...

The Kon Tiki Tucson has one specific drink on the menu that comes with the mug as a souvenir.

debatable if its a "tiki bar" but Cheeseburger in Paradise offers a mug.

Doesn't THATCH in Oregon give away Vintage Trader Vics mugs?

(joking!!!)

On 2007-10-07 09:07, RevBambooBen wrote:
Doesn't THATCH in Oregon give away Vintage Trader Vics mugs?

(joking!!!)

OUCH !!!!

The Kon Tiki in Tucson has the Kahuna which comes in a special Tiki Farm mug. And the Hut in Tucson offers the Bamboozer in a special mug. Costs for the drinks includes the mugs.

Kahunaz in Indiana.
Look for a pic of it in the next ish of Tiki Magazine (if they don't use the pic I am sending them, I will post it here).

The Hut in Tuscon (mug as seen in recent banner ads on TC).

I also have a blue 'bucket' mug by Gecko from La Mariana - was this a limited edition, or is it widely available in the bar?

The Bali Hai on Shelter Island in San Diego offers the Bali Hai mug at the bar w/drink or in the gift shop. It's a classic for any serious collector. http://www.balihairestaurant.com/

Mama Kwans in the Outer Banks has tiki mugs, my wife brought me home a couple last month. They're Dynasty mugs. Not sure if she had to pay extra for them or not.

Does La Mariana have any current mugs available at their bar?

On 2008-03-25 13:19, Surf tiki wrote:
Mama Kwans in the Outer Banks has tiki mugs, my wife brought me home a couple last month. They're Dynasty mugs. Not sure if she had to pay extra for them or not.

No they are included in the price of the drink, which is a little high ($9-$12) but you get a discount on refills.

On Tuesday nights Trader Vic's Atlanta runs a "buy the drink keep the mug" special. The drinks are a little more expensive with the mug, but its a much better deal than buying the mug separately.

The Kowloon near Boston has them. when we visited last year we got a logo Hurricane glass when we purchased some yucky alcoholic slush. They sold at the souvenir shop various Tiki Farm items but the website now offers their own mugs as well.
http://www.kowloonrestaurant.com/

The Shrunken Head deposit is a good deal for a really cool mug. Last May I saw their mug for sale at the store beneath the Tiki Heart Cafe in Berlin for 27 Euro.

The Mai Kai in Ft Lauderdale has one and so does Hula's here in Santa Cruz when you get a Zombie ya just gotta pay a few bucks extra to keep it but it's pretty cool, made by Tiki Farm. Also I think Kona's (used to be Sam's Seafood) in Orange County has a Tiki Farm take home mug.

The Tiki Bar at Solomons Island sells a very nice logo mug by Tiki Farm, but only at the gift shop. They cannot serve any drinks in breakable containers because they are outdoors, next to the water, and people can walk up to the bar in bare feet.

HuKeLau in Chicopee, Mass now has a Rum Barrel drink (its ok...its no MaiKai Barrel) that comes with a take home mug ($13)

Anybody have updates for this thread? Wondering who has 'em now.

FRANKIES TIKI ROOM in Las Vegas has 8 signature mugs ( and can be yours for a price )
20 dollars full , and full they are!

didn't read the whole thread.
But Don's in Sunset Beach Ca.
has a few different mugs for sale.

a Head,
a Rum Barrel,
and I think 2 different Sams Seafood mugs,
and they are working on 2 new designs,
a Coconut mug, and a Dons head with hat mug.

Jeff(btd)

The Kon Tiki in Tucson now has three, at least as of January when I was down there:

The Kamehameha comes in the tall Kon Tiki mug, the Lakanookie comes in the footed bowl by Tiki Farm, and the Original Mai Tai comes in the little rocks glass. Since I don't make it down to Tucson every weekend, I had to get all three.

Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco has their barrel mugs :)

I think Thatch in Portland still had some of its first run...as seen in my signature below.

La Mariana has mugs available. Be sure to check the gift shop AND the bar itself as the selection varies!

On 2008-08-18 23:17, mrsmiley wrote:
Does La Mariana have any current mugs available at their bar?

The Reef in Boise has a signature TikiFarm mug, they change glaze colors once in awhile, about 5 bucks.

Trader Dick's in Reno still has mugs and bowls.

:drink:
Tacky

On 2007-10-06 08:05, Scott McGerik wrote:
Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge in Minneapolis, MN charges a $4 for most mugs. However, I believe all of their mugs are from Dynasty Wholesale.

Psycho Suzi's was where I got hooked on Tiki. I acquired most of my Dynasty mugs through Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge. I still stop in hoping there will be a new mug.
I don't know how long they've had it, but Psycho Suzi's has their own signature mug now (by Tiki Farm).