Tiki Bar History

Tiki idols and carvings were popular garage sale items as the generations of veterans aged and discarded the items of their youth. As fads often do, Tiki has returned mainstream.

Tiki is the Polynesian word for wood carved figures and posts. The popularity of Tiki furnishings was born of war, as sailors and marines returned home from battle in the South Pacific. The Islands that missed the fighting were a respite in paradise when sailors landed and after the war, the Tiki surroundings were equated with the comfort they felt on those islands. Tiki pieces and accessories in the homes of sailors and marines made an entire generation feel a little more comfortable.

Tiki idols and carvings were popular garage sale items as the generations of veterans aged and discarded the items of their youth. As fads often do, Tiki has returned mainstream. Large department stores opened Patio Luau shops with Tiki Inspired place settings, centerpieces and décor. Home improvement centers sell Tiki torches and idols for the yard.

A simpler time

Tiki artist and hipster Shag has made a career of Tiki art. His illustrations for Tiki drinks are in a tight, clean style reminiscent of 1950s commercial art. His Tiki art is popular with Time, Entertainment Weekly and Forbes magazines. Shag is transitioning to gallery work and the “Madonna of Kahiki”, his latest work, closely follows his previous themes.

Art represents life and this culture is no different. The Tiki revival may be a leisurely low-tech break from the frantic pace of a wired generation. The revival may be a reminder of a simpler time that older people remember nostalgically. Generation Xers, as named by author Dennis Coupland, may be longing for experiences they never had, and hunger to be a part of a previous generation they have only experienced second hand. Tiki bar on your patio can give you a link to that simpler time whenever you like.

Tiki bars and tropical drinks

Tiki bars are really about a South Pacific get away, however brief it is. Tropical drinks have been popular since 1945. President Richard Nixon, who served in the South Pacific theater in World War II, took a liking to Navy Grog. He was known to escape to Trader Vic’s for some tropical comfort. When Jimmy Buffet's "Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes" album was released, the last revival of Tiki in the early to mid-1970s saw the proliferation of South Pacific themed bars.

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