The Bahooka is closing their doors March 10th

As a minor follow-up point to my post of a few days ago, when we visited Bahooka on Monday night they were using photocopied menus that were difficult to read. We asked our waiter where the regular menus were and he said in the two days since the word went out the restaurant was closing virtually ALL OF THEIR MENUS WERE STOLEN. No doubt some of them are now in the hands of a few TCers and other selfish individuals only looking out for themselves. So for the next three weeks patrons have to use crappy paper menus to order from. When I asked Darlene at the front desk about them she told me the menus would have been included among the items auctioned off with the decor after the restaurant closes.

So there's some money that won't be going to the Schneiders family to help pay the aforementioned medical bills. And the rest of us won't get a chance to bid on those pieces of Bahooka history. I'm sure it won't be long before they start showing up on craiglist or eBay for a ridiculous amount. Now everyone on TikiCentral will know that anyone who sells a Bahooka menu stole it!! >:(

On 2013-02-21 16:00, 20th Century Man wrote:
As a minor follow-up point to my post of a few days ago, when we visited Bahooka on Monday night they were using photocopied menus that were difficult to read. We asked our waiter where the regular menus were and he said in the two days since the word went out the restaurant was closing virtually ALL OF THEIR MENUS WERE STOLEN. No doubt some of them are now in the hands of a few TCers and other selfish individuals only looking out for themselves. So for the next three weeks patrons have to use crappy paper menus to order from. When I asked Darlene at the front desk about them she told me the menus would have been included among the items auctioned off with the decor after the restaurant closes.

So there's some money that won't be going to the Schneiders family to help pay the aforementioned medical bills. And the rest of us won't get a chance to bid on those pieces of Bahooka history. I'm sure it won't be long before they start showing up on craiglist or eBay for a ridiculous amount. Now everyone on TikiCentral will know that anyone who sells a Bahooka menu stole it!! >:(

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, you are absolutely right....but on the other hand, this place was sold out of the blue, with no warning. Bahooka knows how the tiki community has supported it. They could have held an auction already, especially for us, to bid on the stuff there. Frankly, we don't know for a fact that anyone here has taken those menus or anything else.
Look, we buy most of our vintage gear from someone. better us then them.

I've seen tons of menus from 'still in business' restaurants/ bars in private collections. I can't stand that. It's stealing. And it goes against Otto's rules of tiki or whatever he called it in "Tiki News"; Basically that we shall never steal anything from a current tiki bar/ restaurant in business.
This may be a different situation since the place is going anyway...

...But it still infuriates me that all of the super cool Don the Beachcomber coctail menus are gone now to theives. Same reason why they don't serve drinks in tiki mugs or rum barrels any more. To many dishonest people just sneaking them out of the building without paying for them. Watch it happen to Trader Sams too... I bet there comes a time when they stop printing those great menus too.

On 2013-02-21 17:34, Luckydesigns wrote:
Watch it happen to Trader Sams too... I bet there comes a time when they stop printing those great menus too.

That time is here. As of last Saturday they only had the plastic "outside" menus available, as all of the others had been stolen.

That's a shame! At I least I took a couple of cool pics of them with my drinks.

Didn't that happen to Tiki Ti looooooong ago.

On 2013-02-21 17:34, Luckydesigns wrote:
...But it still infuriates me that all of the super cool Don the Beachcomber coctail menus are gone now to theives. Same reason why they don't serve drinks in tiki mugs or rum barrels any more. To many dishonest people just sneaking them out of the building without paying for them. Watch it happen to Trader Sams too... I bet there comes a time when they stop printing those great menus too.

Totally agree with your outrage! There is a solution to this situation, and I'm particularly surprised Disney, who is excellent at extracting revenue from consumers doesn't do this: Sell them (note they do sell their souvenir mugs)

Sure, there will be some shrinkage, but us honest folks would gladly pay a more reasonable price in store for it then the inflated black-market price.

The Facebook page is viewable without logging in...

FaceBook: Bahooka

They have T-shirts

I cannot believe I am going to write this down but I agree with LucasVigor (!!!) on his stealing menu viewpoint.

Since i will be in Hawaii I will miss the last gathering at Bahooka so I am coming down this weekend for my final cocktails there.

If I could steal anything from that place it would be the COCKTAILS part of their outdoor sign sigh
Anyone have the ability to help me out in my quest please let me know!

On 2013-02-21 16:00, 20th Century Man wrote:
....We asked our waiter where the regular menus were and he said in the two days since the word went out the restaurant was closing virtually ALL OF THEIR MENUS WERE STOLEN....

That's pretty funny...WHY !? Those menus were really not such great examples of Tiki art. I think it was more the regulars there that took them, the families that have been coming there for years who wanted some memento from the place they loved, Tiki or not.

And it's those regulars that kept the place afloat. The Tiki community had its events there, but very sporadically over the years. They certainly weren't the place's bread & butter. Bahooka always had a very pragmatic relationship with us Tikiphiles: Glad to take their events and parties, but beyond that, it was not their world. They were working class proprietors with a working class clientele, we were the artsy fartsy nerds. And that was fine with me.

I also do not condone the taking of anything until it is up for sale by the owners. Those ladies have slaved behind a hot stove all their lives and they deserve every penny they have coming to them.

Last Tuesday: Ribs and Yams with Scott and Josh (and Martin McIntosh behind the camera) :)

I was asked on Facebook today about my visit to Bahooka last night and two of my friends asked, what was your favorite cocktail when you visited Bahooka?. One friend said "I want to know because I never found a cocktail there I liked" before I knew it I had written a goodbye letter so I will share it for those interested.

"I love Bahooka, it was always a package deal for me, an extraordinary venue and it will be missed by so many, it's neighborhood, tikiphiles, visitors and vacationers. I don't think I considered the cocktails as a reason to go there or be there in more resent years. The cocktails are very commercial and rounded out to sell in mass and volume and Bahooka is very good and successful at what they do and in part it's because they understand that fine line. Here is a successful, exotic venue, a Tiki Palace of sorts NOT losing money per se and closing, a great loss for all, people want Chili's and TGIF and Olive Garden! It has made it tough for tiki venues and mom and pop shops for years as we already know, damn corporate America.
I have a vintage Bahooka menu a gift from Tom Morgan (Trader Tom)from 1972 when they were located on Francisquito and Sunset. This menu has 64 Cocktails as today's menu does BUT! most are LOST Bahooka original cocktails we have never seen or tasted before! Trader Tom and I were about to embark and study all of this menu when Tom relocated to Portland.
So in the end, I have no favorite cocktail at Bahooka, if I have a cocktail I have a "Grenade with the pin pulled" or a "Tropical Itch" a Diet Coke most often because of a long drive home. Sometimes I partake in a "Honey Bowl" with others and then complain about the salad bowl it was served in 'wink' :wink:
I will miss it as dearly as any of you, so many fun, fun times spent with so many of you.
My dearest memory will always be the Book of Tiki 10 year Anniversary mug release party. Sven Kirsten asked me to make Jeff Beachbum Berry's "Tiki Reviver" a cocktail created by the Bum for the celebration of the BOT and the mug for over 200 people. I will always be humble and feel honored to have been asked and included in the evening and i'll tell ya, that's better than any memory prize I could purchase to take home.
Goodbye Bahooka I'll miss ya... a lot."

As to the Menu crisis, last night management told us, we pulled the menus back as NOT to be stolen. You can BUY a colored cover menu for $10 or black & white for $5 also you can BUY a parrot for $20 .
People have stole menus for years we know that so this was smart on Bahooka's part. Good for them.

P.S. Yes, some of us did buy menus and/or parrots
TOO Many Rumors, every employee & even mgr. owners tell different variations of what will happen. We have to wait and see what happens in the BUYOUT, some items have been bid on if the items are left behind Said Management. Most likely there will be a public auction. When the end comes we will know.

http://hiphipahula.com/

[ Edited by: Hiphipahula 2013-02-22 20:17 ]

Heads up, tomorrow on KPCC 89.3FM at noon, Offramp will be doing at least a segment on it.
http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/

Kelly, thank you so much for getting the truth about the "The Great Bahooka Menu Robbery." It's a relief to know there are still menus available for sale even if I can't get out there again to buy one before they're gone. I only brought the topic to everyone's attention because three of the staff (apparently not informed by management) told us they had been stolen. Wish I'd known they were for sale when we were there.

We're really looking forward to joining the ohana for the grand farewell on March 10!

Thanks again!
Glenn

Well, they've started to sell off the flotsam and jetsam. :(

Dibs on the flotsam, how much are they asking? :)

That is very bad news... No hope for the place staying open then? :( :.(

I went last night (four hour wait for walk-ins at 7:30) and they had a table set up near the entrance selling some items:

$1 stickers
$5 paper menus (real menus were all gone, they said)
$10 plastic lunch special menus with Party City Tiki on front
T-shirts
$20 plastic parrots (I snagged the last one they had out...but there are still many more hanging about the restaurant, so it's possible that they might be selling more of them on other nights. I don't know for sure, though.)
$25-$35 Watneys plastic red barrel and pub-style mirrored signs, and a license plate

[ Edited by: MauiRose 2013-02-24 23:06 ]

MAN I hope those Watney's Red Barrel mirrored signs are not gone... :D

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2013-02-25 11:28 ]

this is sad news...
I was at the bahooka only once, back in 1996.
but i'll never forget the time I spent there.

sad, sad, sad...

On 2013-02-22 14:34, bigbrotiki wrote:

And it's those regulars that kept the place afloat. The Tiki community had its events there, but very sporadically over the years. They certainly weren't the place's bread & butter. Bahooka always had a very pragmatic relationship with us Tikiphiles: Glad to take their events and parties, but beyond that, it was not their world. They were working class proprietors with a working class clientele, we were the artsy fartsy nerds. And that was fine with me.

Case in point... So what happens when 2 artsy fartsy Tiki nerds (namely HB Tiki and myself), who poached a booth just to drink and kvetch, are asked by a patched member of the Mongols (outlaw) Motorcycle Club to move so he and his family can have dinner ??...

They move !!

So I guess that's fine with me too. :)

Went to Bahooks last sat. at 6pm. tried to make res but the phones ring without answer. I tried several times, and I mean a lot. 100+ over the day.
Got there and it was a 3 hr wait at the most optimistic. We bailed kinda pissed they didn't answer the phone!
I figure they had no reservations left to give out but why not answer the phone and say so. You would know what to expect before you did the drive. Or an answer machine with a "we are full up" msg. But I guess thats beating a dead dog, and the dog named Bahooka is almost dead.

Now if a restaurant can book up for a 3 hr wait why can the thing be sold instead of closed? Its a shame to plow down a unique place like this only to build something that could be built anywhere.

"patched member of the Mongols"
I thought they could not by law wear those patches?

Tiki bars are a lawless place !! And if you really want to see anarchy, show up on March 10th.

I'm already getting kind of scared. :(

I'm with John-O! I'm nervous if I can even shoot/film it on March 10th and do it justice. Put yourself in their shoes, its gotta be crazy beyond crazy around there. Who wants to answer the phone? Forget about it...

"Tiki bars are a lawless place !!"
I hear that, what with all the cut throat menu theives.

Would like to see the place, but it's already gone.
Saw this play out once before at Kahiki.
But the best time I had at the Kahiki was when on one was there.
Me and bartender Skip, it was awesome, so quiet just great!
Then at the end madness, packed with young hip folks that
were just the types I went there to avoid.
Not the Tiki mag party, but the months leading up to the last
night party that was very cool.

This is from their website, I didn't steal a menu. I'm sure their website will be shut down soon after closing. It's got a lot of pictures and information on it that should be saved. http://bahooka.com/

I dunno, is there really any ephemera, flotsam & jetsam, or even Tikis that are considered good Tiki art (aside from its strictly sentimental value) at the Bahooka ?

To me, the Bahooka was always about the sum of its parts rather than as a treasure chest of noteworthy Tiki booty (unlike the Hala Kahiki or Mai Kai). I don't think I need a plastic parrot.

I know this sounds bad but probably the only thing of iconic or historic value might be to have Rufus mounted like a prize trophy (Sorry Rufus).

I obviously concur, Bahooka never had a well executed menu design, or any such ephemera:

On 2013-02-22 14:34, bigbrotiki wrote:
That's pretty funny...WHY !? Those menus were really not such great examples of Tiki art. I think it was more the regulars there that took them, the families that have been coming there for years who wanted some memento from the place they loved, Tiki or not.

It's pretty silly what people clamor to get their hands on just because the place is closing. I like your description of Bahooka being about the sum of its parts: One fish tank by itself would just be a couple of sheets of glass glued together, it is their sum, and the sum of nautical jetsam and flotsam that makes the place. The only thing rare and hard to come by for the Tikiphile are their resin fishnet float lamps, and they are only gonna sell those with the whole lot.

That said, I sheepishly admit to buying a skanky, abused plastic Tridacna shell bowl for ten bucks after lunch yesterday. Purely for said "sentimental value", nothing to display in my museum. So I herewith forgive all you foolish fan boys and girls who bought one of those dreaded plastic parrots :D

On 2013-02-27 12:05, JOHN-O wrote:
I dunno, is there really any ephemera, flotsam & jetsam, or even Tikis that are considered good Tiki art (aside from its strictly sentimental value) at the Bahooka ?

...

Agreed. But there are a few Tikis worth considering.

I wouldn't mind owning these:

Although not a style I'm fond of, if someone gifted me some of the ones at the bar, I'd probably keep them.

And that AQUARIUM bar, what a great concept! I agree, of all the nouveaux Tikis that have been but up at Bahooka's since the dawn of the Tiki Revival, those are really nice, they totally could be vintage. I don't even know who made them, kudos the the carver!

I don't need much, I'd take this guy :)

I finally checked this place out the other day. There was a 45 minute wait for food, so we skedaddled over to the bar. I agree, the aquarium bar is a fantastic idea. Sampled the Monkey Business, Grenade with the Pin Pulled, Zombie, and Blue Hawaiian. The exotic ribs were tasty, the cheese and crab stuffed fried shrimp were good, but my overall impression when it came to the drinks was:

Well soon the place will be gone forever so you won't have to put up with drinks that don't meet your high standards.

Edited for spelling.

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2013-02-27 16:30 ]

Oh, I wish I could be in California on 3/10...John O, despite your brave face I sense you are becoming a wee bit cantankerous...obviously for justified reasons. Okay, What is a Grenade w/ the pin pulled? I know, I'm in the Dairyland, don't ya know. OGR

On 2013-02-27 16:24, JOHN-O wrote:
Well soon the place will be gone forever so you won't have to put up with drinks that don't meet your high standards.

Edited for spelling.

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2013-02-27 16:30 ]

Because you have never criticized any places drinks, right?

Nice way to treat a new poster.

A look back at some old footage of the Bahooka 2010 Mug Release Party. Apologies for the poor quality, we had no idea what we were doing in those days :wink:

Bahooka 2010 Mug Release Party:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhMER0tmdis

Chris,

You have come a long way since then, but I love the old school footage. That was a great Bahooka event, thanks for capturing it.

DC

On 2013-02-27 17:33, Jareth Cutestory wrote:

Because you have never criticized any places drinks, right?

Nice way to treat a new poster.

Oh I've criticized plenty of place's drinks, just not when a Tiki bar was lying in its death bed. I thought the picture a bit much, like rubbing salt in the wounds. Anyway, drinks were always besides the point at the Bahooka.

Gunga Galunga, come on out to the Bahooka on March 10th. We will drink straight bourbon. :)

On 2013-02-27 17:33, Jareth Cutestory wrote:

Because you have never criticized any places drinks, right?

Nice way to treat a new poster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99CTxJoFcIo
:) :) :)
You are going to get the worst anyplace has to offer at the end like this.
With being so busy, and hey now your outta work in a few weeks.

I think we all know that we don't go to the Bahooka for the cocktails....right? :)
It's for the middle aged cougar hook ups, Yea Grog knows what I am talking about!

Don't get me wrong, actually enjoyed the place immensely, and yes, I'm planning on being there the 10th, along with probably 200 others for what I'm sure will be a great time. Sure, a little extra bourbon never hurt!

What you as a new poster cannot know is that the fact that Bahooka's mixology is sadly lacking has been discussed and explained here on numerous occasions. Also mentioned has been the fact that nowadays folks that have come from the craft cocktail movement or are otherwise new to Tiki take it for granted that vintage bars should provide such sophisiticated fare (I am not saying that's you!). In this case I always like to quote from my foreword to Tiki Road Trip:

...and that's what Bahooka truly is now, "Paradise Lost"

Words of wisdom! I'm gonns miss that place.

On 2013-02-28 09:59, bigbrotiki wrote:

100% agreed

Just to be redundant, yes!

The atmosphere, The sense of history that draws us to these well worn temples
and the possibility that a cocktail fueled visit from your parents, many years hence
might have led to your conception........priceless!

Very well put.

I just wish I would have been able to go, and get a mug.

Me too, Hale!

:'-(

I will raise a toast with my Corona beer with a Lime in it
to the History of Bahooka.

hey the Lime makes it tiki,
Jeff(btd)