Found Witco Bar

Found this Witco Tiki Bar Set in Massillon Ohio. Was wondering if any members had any info on value or vintage?

Should I sell or keep it?

[ Edited by: MikenRich 2010-05-03 12:29 ]

The rare "Tahiti" bar, only 15 made. Would not sell it, because Witco value is still weak in this economy. Instead, I recommend to get the book "Tiki Modern" while it is still available and cheap...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/3822847178/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1272915535&sr=1-1&condition=new

...and read it, to fully understand the work of Witco, and thus enjoy this Witco masterpiece with friends and family :)

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-05-03 16:09 ]

Holy S***!

It's a beauty!

Have you enjoyed your first MaiTai at it, yet? I think that's a find that calls for definite celebration!!!!

ENJOY it!

I think you should sell it. To me. For very cheap.
But seriously, a drool-worthy find! It'll be worth a pretty penny to some collector one day, but I would give it a try and see if it wears on you. First thing you need to do is throw a Tiki party: decorate, put on some appropriate music, mix some drinks, get your friends to wear Hawaiian shirts and muu-muus, and always refer to this site for research and suggestions. That's how I caught the bug!

Thanks to everyone, you are all very knowledgeable and helpful as I do not know anything about this stuff other than it is an awesome piece of furniture. Massillon, Ohio was home to the famous Bali Hai restaurant and I thought this might be from there, but I think this is older than that... Bali Hai opened in the late 1960's.

I also have all the bar stools to go with it and found the Original Witco tag marked K-750 or K-75B also marked 443, but couldn't find any way to decipher the tag.

I'm looking forward to reading the Modern Tiki book

Thanks again for all the help solving this mystery... you guys rock!

RICH
[email protected]
Massillon, OH

My pleasure. Such a find deserves due attention. So far not too many of these have re-surfaced. Here is the 1972 Witco catalog page with the Tahiti bar:

And here is a Tahiti bar (partial view) in a contemporary Tiki habitat (at my home):

And here is the original receipt for it, from the same store in Memphis that Elvis Presley outfitted his Jungle Room from:
The original owner bought not only a complete rumpus room, but also a bed room set:

Note that (with the stools) it was the most expensive item on the list: 798.- bucks (on the bottom) back in 1973: The Cadillac of Witco bars.

The fact that it was not available before the early 1970s makes it entirely possible that it once stood at the Bali Hai, as Witco did outfit many mid-Western Tiki restaurants. But there is always the possibility that some adventurous soul really was inspired by the local Polynesian palace and inquired and bought it for their own rec room.

GROG not Witco fan, but that Tahiti Bar and stools is fabulous.

MikenRich, I looked for info or material about your Bali Hai on Tiki Central, but only found two old posts (by this ol' guy :wink: ):

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4131&forum=1&vpost=65547

Is this the one you knew?

Does anyone else here have anything on this Ohio Bali Hai?

WOW, that is beautiful!! It looks brand new...Nice find...

Bigbro your habitat looks awesome btw...

.

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2010-05-06 11:13 ]

November 23, 2003
Section: Lifestyle

Moment in time

Dark days at Bali Hai

"Bali Hai may call you, any night, any day," crooned Bloody Mary in the 1958 movie based on James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific."
With vivid memories of the film, Stark Countians eagerly anticipated the opening of the Bali Hai Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge at 4508 Lincoln Way E in Perry Township, tiki carvings, torches and all. Emil and Helen Chapanar gave it all the right touches, including Polynesian cocktails. But that was decades ago and the building has been home to several dining spots over the years.

The restaurant’s sign explained the reason 30 years ago for the extinguishing of the flames.

“Torches Out for the Energy Crisis,” said the sign along Lincoln Way E in Perry Township, in front of Bali Hai Restaurant-Lounge.

The torches had become well known during the seven years they had been burning near the restaurant. They burned constantly for that time, on pilot during the day and flaming brightly during operating hours.

But, there was an oil shortage in 1973.

“The nation will start running short of power plant fuel by December, home heating oil by late January, and gasoline by early February,” predicted a story in The Repository Nov. 22.

“Unless very difficult cuts can be made.” the story noted, the country faced energy problems that would dim its lights and cool buildings throughout the nation.

So owner Emil Chapanar darkened his sign.

He turned off for the Bali Hai torches duration of the energy crisis.

— GARY BROWN
Canton Repository Living section editor

There is very little history to be found on the Bali Hai... i wish we could get a good picture of it in it's heyday... I only found this on the Canton rep website.

I worked there as a server from 1968 to 1975

It was right on the Lincoln highway and opened in 1959, Emil told us it wasn't unusual to see Don Rickles or Steve Allen drinking after a show at the Casablanca which was a mile down the road and was a huge nightclub in the 1940's 50's he said the marx brothers once walked in the door at 3 am during cleanup and wanted food and drinks, he opened back up for them. In his office he had photos signed of all of the traveling entertainers of those times, it was really something to see. My favorite photo was Jackie Gleason sipping a Mai Tai with Emil at that Witco tahiti bar. It always reminded me of a big pineapple.

Your bar set was indeed from the restaurant and was bought through Cheton furniture in Canton. Emil the owner had the set in the village room, our smallest room, later he had it at his home then sold it to a friend who must have later sold it to you. it was very expensive at that time and I only wished then I had enough to buy it .... I always wondered where the huge Easter Island statues went, they were sold at auction when the place closed, sold for 50 bucks each and were made of lava rock like in your grill, they looked heavy but were lighter than you thought.... those are someplace in stark county in a backyard... I bought the torches for $25 and never used them, I think my brother scrapped them in the early 80's. ...The Witco stuff inside was all sold and carried off ... a sad sad day in Stark county .... The building is still there and if I squint hard enough I can still see the Statues and those Flames burning, Oh god how I wish someone would return it to it's Tiki splendor!!!

[ Edited by: Bali O Hai O 2010-05-04 03:10 ]

outstanding...i love how a single random post out of nowhere suddenly becomes yet another missing link in a vintage tiki bars history...paints a great picture of how things used to be....thanks for posting everyone....i love threads like this where what used to be mysteries start to become alittle clearer with each posters contributions.....way cool.

Wow! There you have it, guys! Tiki Central serves up the complete history of an item on a platter: From the manufacturer, the production date and price, to the origin and history of the item at a forgotten Tiki haven! Jackie Gleason sat at that bar! Now what would you (and me!) give for THAT photo! Like Tipsy said: Outstanding!

Thank you Bali O Hai O (great name :) ) for chiming in, we here at Tiki Central love those stories. Any more info will be appreciated. Now who will be the local urban archeologist who digs deeper, and photographs the building as it looks now?

Well here's a terrible image from Google Maps Street View. Add some thatch back on like the picture above and away
they could go! Looks like it's called Sammy's Restaurant now.

Cool story on a cool piece of Witco!

Chris

On 2010-05-04 02:48, Bali O Hai O wrote:

On 2010-05-04 08:52, WestADad wrote:

Ha, it's PINK, the classic bad choice of the 80s ...and on! Amazing that the basic bones, including the hut-shaped porte cochere are still there. I wonder what the sign looked like.

I just can't turn off my Tiki photographic memory button in my brain, so here is another likeness:

...and from my Sound of Tiki CD:

NOT an exact "copy of" though, but definitely "inspired by"!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-05-04 12:20 ]

Those are some bad photos, I hope somebody locally will come up with better ones...a lot of people went through those doors so there's gotta be some private photos out there.

I have lurked around on here for years looking for anything about the Bali Hai and that Witco bar made me sign up and join, I'm glad I did!

I am going to visit the Canton Rep newspaper downtown and see if they have any photos.

This is fun!

On 2010-05-04 12:28, Bali O Hai O wrote:
This is fun!

Yyyyyyep! :)

On 2010-05-04 02:48, Bali O Hai O wrote:

That photo is using some creative license, not a historically original photo, right?

-Randy

Just back from vacation and glad to have caught this post, Tiki Central research at its best! Great history on your bar, Sven. Hope to here more from Bali O Hai O.

I went looking through my collection and found a matchbook from the Bali Hai with a nice rendering.

DC

Aaaah, DC to the rescue! Now I have an inkling about the sign. Matchbooks are often the best info source for forgotten Tiki Temples, because so many were collected in jars and giant brandy glasses.

MY bar merely comes from the same store than Elvises, but Jackie Gleason actually SAT on Mike'n'Rich's bar...and who knows what other lounge lotharios that were passing thru!

That matchbook brings back memories for sure! ... The photo is far from historically correct, I found it years ago on WebTV with a small article on Tiki culture in Ohio. I don't remember it ever having the thatch roof, maybe in 1959 it did but not later.

I do have a lead on some really good photos and advertising... so stay tuned

So, two of the 15 Witco Tahiti bars documented here, nice. Lets find some more!

Here is a close up scan of the building and sign.

And this is a slightly different matchbook with Emil's name on it.

Your right, Bali O Hai O, this is fun. If your out researching, try the local library for old phone books and copy the ads from the restaurant pages.

DC

tread very carefully people.

This smells like provenance being created from thin air.

smells like sour grapes to me.

Great find MikenRich!!!
Here's a few current pic's of my Witco Tahiti bar in my Tiki room to add to the fun....

I've only documented 5 out of the 15 Tahiki bars that have surfaced so far...
Mine, Sven's, MikenRich's, one on ebay not too long ago and one on craigslist a few years ago.

Sorry to be a broken record, but this image is really odd. Actually the Handy Wash looks odd too.

On 2010-05-04 22:02, Bali O Hai O wrote:
The photo is far from historically correct, I found it years ago on WebTV with a small article on Tiki culture in Ohio. I don't remember it ever having the thatch roof, maybe in 1959 it did but not later.

Well, it wasn't the thatch roof that first jumped out to me as invoking some creative license. So I'm a little confused about what's real, and wonder why a WebTV (or Canton Rep?) article would augment reality. The matchbook is cool, and maybe more pics will elucidate. Bali O Hai O - maybe you can shed a little more light since you worked there. F'rinstance...

On 2010-05-04 03:08, Bali O Hai O wrote:
I always wondered where the huge Easter Island statues went, they were sold at auction when the place closed, sold for 50 bucks each and were made of lava rock like in your grill

When you worked there, where were the easter island statues that you're referring to?

-Randy

On 2010-05-05 18:10, Tikinomad wrote:
I've only documented 5 out of the 15 Tahiki bars that have surfaced so far...
Mine, Sven's, MikenRich's, one on ebay not too long ago and one on craigslist a few years ago.

...plus one that was found in situ at a Florida resort --which shall remain nameless, for it shall be left untouched in its place.

Indeed, I see nothing but cause to rejoice that another one has turned up, AND that we get to find out about another unexplored Tiki temple.

When I read Pablus' post...

On 2003-12-18 20:28, pablus wrote:
I searched the archives looking for Canton, Ohio (my home town) and found this thread. My uncle was the main bartender at what I believe was called The Bali Hai in Canton.

It was definitely a huge Tiki Bar and lots of gangsters and show-biz types hung out there.

...I immediately thought of another Ohio Lounge:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=22122&forum=2&start=15

These places just drive home the fact of how much Tiki/Polynesian pop was the recreational environment of choice of the Lounge generation. It seems that touring Lounge acts (if not performed at) preferably frequented the Polynesian eateries and bars of any town they went through. Especially, it seems, in Ohio!:

In light of that it also seems especially strange that in its heyday, Polynesian pop was paid so little attention to, and never described much or especially noted by the media.

Randy, those Moais are CLEARLY pasted into that photo, not only the contrast, but the perspective is wrong. So are the burning torches. And then it would not surprise if the thatch, the car and the sign are, too. Someone just couldn't find a good shot of the place and wanted to help it along a little.

Randy, those Moais are CLEARLY pasted into that photo, not only the contrast, but the perspective is wrong. So are the burning torches. And then it would not surprise if the thatch, the car and the sign are, too. Someone just couldn't find a good shot of the place and wanted to help it along a little.

Yes that photo is retouched in every way ... the Statues were closer to the building the torches were near the entrance, the sign was never on the building, the flower beds were lava rock and as i said I don't remember any thatch roof, no waitresses in grass skirts. yes! The artist rendering from the matchbook is not entirely correct either, that was maybe close to how it looked in 1959, it morphed over the years.

A better photo is on it's way, I talked to a former owner today from when it was Jon & Co. cafe, they have some stuff I am sure will be cool to look at. I can't believe there isn't anything left inside that basement, I need to talk to the Realtor to schedule a tour, I will try yo get some current photos as well. The building is empty now, Ashleys went out of business last year.

The sign by the road was made by Canton Sign Co. and was known as the chopstick sign, those signs are popular with the "Googie" sign hunters.

Sounds great, photo documentation and vintage images are what makes these threads come alive. Maybe you find a 8x11 black wood frame with that Jackie Gleason picture under a stack of stuff in the basement... :)

On 2010-05-05 19:30, bigbrotiki wrote:
Randy, those Moais are CLEARLY pasted into that photo, not only the contrast, but the perspective is wrong. So are the burning torches. And then it would not surprise if the thatch, the car and the sign are, too. Someone just couldn't find a good shot of the place and wanted to help it along a little.

hahahaha!

sven, you really do make me laugh sometimes. i love the way you just lay that out. i totally agree with you, but the way you put it just kind of tickled me. it makes me glad to know you. your knowledge is something i look for in these types of threads. cheers!

On 2010-05-05 12:18, TIKI DAVID wrote:
tread very carefully people.

Agreed. Something is wrong here.

Hmmm...the only thing that I can think of that is strange is that we have not heard anything from the original poster for a while....
WHY would anybody wanna spend the energy to create something like this as a hoax?

I believe that MikenRich has some Witco goods but I'm not so sure about the back story that Bali O Hai O is providing. Especially since it appears (to my moderator eyes) that MikenRich and Bali O Hai O share the same computer...

On 2010-05-05 12:18, TIKI DAVID wrote:
tread very carefully people.

Like I said.
This is not the first 'Drive by' Witco teaser.
And I'll bet..not the last

check this one....

http://apps.facebook.com/marketplace/view/-/1898011763/?cat=sale%2Ffurniture

ben- good luck tryin to pull that out without damaging the bar! ..you might end up with $379 worth of firewood.

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2010-05-06 11:12 ]

Ha Ben, that's funny: An entombed Witco Bar! Talk about excavating artifacts!

Well, the computer fact is odd, but I don't want to appear unfriendly. Bali Ohio's posts sound genuine to me, and I am looking forward to further findings. I guess now it's time for Mike'n'Rich to chime in.

And has our Pablus seen this thread yet? Since his post in 2003 he must have found SOMETHING, and talked to his uncle some more?

[ Edited by: TIKI DAVID 2010-05-11 13:50 ]

Kids, please don't turn this into something personal now, I agree Tipsy's sarcasm was uncalled for, but let's concentrate on the subject at hand --which to me is not decided upon yet, and bears much to look forward to. Let's wait to hear from Bali Ohio and M'n'R. I am a trusting person, and happy to be so. :)

[ Edited by: tipsy mcstagger 2010-05-06 11:12 ]

The bar is very real and in my basement. My email is [email protected] you can email me if you have any questions. I think I will keep it now that you have all shed some light on it. Before I talked with everyone on here I had no idea what it was or the rarity, Hell, I almost sold it to my boss to put outside by his pool.

Selling it is not out of the question, but I am kind of enjoying this. I don't want to cause any trouble here, just learning abut Tiki Culture is cool.

Thanks again to everyone's positive input.

RICH

On 2010-05-06 09:02, bigbrotiki wrote:
...

Well, the computer fact is odd, but I don't want to appear unfriendly. Bali Ohio's posts sound genuine to me, and I am looking forward to further findings. I guess now it's time for Mike'n'Rich to chime in.

...

Yes, the computer thing may be odd but it is indeed a fact. I'll reiterate for those that might have missed it.

The posts from MikenRich and Bali O Hai O are coming from the same computer.

Interesting, to say the least...well, either THEY say something about that now, or this thread is dead.

Wait, we still could get some more info about the Ohio Bali Hai from Pablus, if he's around.

okay- in the interest of keeping the topic pure and in light of new info from the original poster i have deleted any of my distracting posts....

hoax or not.

" In a perfect world...Elvis would still be alive ....and all the elvis impersonators would be dead!!"

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2010-05-06 11:15 ]