Tiki Tom's burns down! Gone! Adios, giant nameless Green Frog!

Wow, I just saw this on the local news channel. Evidently Tiki Tom's on the Oakland side of the Park Street Bridge burned down last night. It appears to be under "mysterious circumstances", as the building had been closed up, and the gas and electricity turned off for the last two days. And there was a boat floating in the estuary canal that was suspiciously on fire as well, and it turned out to be the boat of the owner of Tiki Tom's. Here's a small article on it.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/08/BA741FQ7G0.DTL

Fire destroys Oakland waterfront restaurant

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle October 8, 2010 10:39 AM

Friday, October 8, 2010

(10-08) 10:39 PDT OAKLAND -- A restaurant on Oakland's waterfront was destroyed by a three-alarm fire late Thursday.

Firefighters responded to Tiki Tom's restaurant and bar at 300 29th Ave. at 11:13 p.m. and found the building fully engulfed, with flames shooting through the roof, said Battalion Chief Edward Kilmartin.

The restaurant, located near the Park Street Bridge that leads into Alameda, is a total loss, Kilmartin said. Its trademark giant inflatable green frog, located on the roof, was also destroyed.

The restaurant was closed at the time, and no one was injured.

Investigators are trying to locate the owner of the restaurant, Kilmartin said. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/08/BA741FQ7G0.DTL#ixzz11nPzYQQF

Here's a better article:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_16287264

Oakland's Tiki Tom's waterfront restaurant destroyed by fire
By Angela Hill
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 10/08/2010 06:24:10 AM PDT
Updated: 10/08/2010 12:14:22 PM PDT

OAKLAND -- All that remains of Tiki Tom's waterfront restaurant and bar this morning is a burned-out shell, destroyed by a spectacular three-alarm fire which began late Thursday night.

Flames were reported reaching up into the sky about 11:15 p.m. at the single-story building on 29th Avenue at the foot of the Park Street Bridge that leads into Alameda. The restaurant, which is usually open Thursdays, was closed for the night, said neighbors from a nearby condominium complex, who could feel the heat of the flames through their windows.

One neighbor also said the electricity had been turned off at the restaurant Thursday, and the giant blow-up frog that sat atop the building for years had deflated. The restaurant's owner had not responded to phone calls from fire officials as of Friday morning. No injuries were reported.

When firefighters arrived, the building was fully engulfed. The roof soon collapsed and the blaze took crews about three hours to control, said Oakland fire Capt. Marlon Brandle.

"We were able to fight the fire from both sides by bringing the fire boat into service, which pumped water onto the structure from the estuary," he said. "Because of budget cuts, the fire house that kept the boat was closed, but the boat is still maintained in case of earthquake emergency. And as it happened, we had a marine engineer here on the scene fighting the fire, and he was able to get the boat out for us."

Crews were still spraying down hot spots early this morning. The cause of the fire is under investigation. A boat tied up to the dock behind the restaurant also caught fire because of the blaze, and a limo parked in front of the building was also damaged.

The building had housed the Pier 29 restaurant for decades until that establishment moved to Alameda. Tiki Tom's took over a few years ago, with its distinctive giant frog atop the building. The frog was also destroyed.

"It's probably in the middle of all that somewhere," Brandle said.

Aloha green frog and terrible drinks! It's a shame the awesome building is gone though. Wish the owner had spared it in his alleged arson attempt.

Crap, I still have $50 in unused gift certificates for that place. Glad no one was hurt!

On 2010-10-08 12:29, Mai Tai wrote:
Oakland's Tiki Tom's waterfront restaurant destroyed by fire By Angela Hill
Oakland Tribune

GROG' money is on this Angela Hill as the arsonist.

Captain Marlon Brandle talks about a fire On The Waterfront...

"By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, we could see it was an Apocalypse Now, that would take a Superman to control. Fortunately no Guys And Dolls were injured in the fire, which was a Wild One, but we had to bid Sayonara to the structure as we saw it Burn! It was also a shame to see The Godfather of giant green frogs consumed by the flames, but sometimes that's how The Missouri Breaks. STELLA!!!"

-Randy

Someone has to know something. Were the neighbors questioned or was it all See No Evil, Hear No Evil ? All I know is there is some Hanky Panky going on ! From what I heard after Thursday's Game that there is The Lady in Question but no one can find her and it's driving the cops Stir Crazy .

All I know is, how can it be an accident, when the guy spent his whole life trying not to be careless. Women and children can be careless. But not men. Maybe somebody made him an offer he couldn't refuse. He coulda had class. He coulda been a contender. He coulda been somebody, instead of a bum. The horror, the horror...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It_I9vuBABU&feature=related

Too bad, the building was pretty cool and the location nice. HELLLOOO more condos! ooof! :(

Yeah, exactly. Or Helloooooo more of just nothing for a good 5 to 10 years, since the real estate market around here is still in the crapper.

Or Habitiat for Humanity housing.....

that was such a cool building...such a shame. I bet Tom and his British sidekick have faked their deaths in the arson fire, Tom's mom will collect the insurance money and send it to those 2 guys who have skipped the country....they are probably on some exotic island sipping a mai tai....

Book 'em Danno!

:drink:
Tacky

I haven't posted on here in ages but I was thinking about this event the other day. And I was wondering what the resolution was with this whole thing. Anyone know?

Mig!

Wow, ages is right. Nice to hear from you again. Sorry, but I have no answer for your question.

For me the one good thing that came out of this fire was that I went to Forbidden Island for the first time . . . lucky me!