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Hale Tiki now closed...but will reopen soon |
Sabina
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Apr 08, 2002
Posts: 367
From: The Lounge of the Seven Pleasures!
|  Posted: 2006-02-27 8:08 pm Permalink
This thread just made my heart sink. Our one night only visit to the Hale Tiki was one of our most magical modern Tiki visits.
Brad spent the time he could that evening lovingly sharing details of the artifacts, and talking story, and made a special point of helping us understand the history of the space itself and the ways in which parts of it were being preserved from the restaurant side to even taking us upstairs and showing us the secrets of the Hale. A gentleman and a beachcomber he surely was that evening!
We talked about Augusta, and his future visions of all he hoped to accomplish on the Hale. We talked well on into the night over finely crafted cocktails and for a brief shining moment, I saw all that a modern commercial Tiki place could be- the many hours of HARD work the TC build out crew had lovingly put into every details, the amazing contributed items, all of it- it just breaks my heart.
He spoke of how he had worked in the climate he was in to keep the liquor flowing, and about his loyal regulars. Perhaps I'm missing details here, after all, I only saw the one evening, but in Brad's post he said very specifically that the business end didn't seem to be the reason for the closing- that the reasons were personal, not business. Maybe there's some backstory on that, maybe it was doing fine economically, I won't speculate- I'd just point out that before we start a thread on 'another one bites the dust/all the reasons modern tiki isn't commercially viable' that's not the reason Brad gave for the closing.
As far as TC and Hale Tiki- was there internal politic between Brad and BK, yeah. And that too, is very sad. Me, I just try not to take sides in things I don't know anything about. Was there major resentment over the mug mess- yeah, clearly that did a lot to sour many TCers on the whole thing. Just getting that right might have gone a long way to make other TCers alot more supportive. The thing is, and again, I could be wrong here, he was really running a local bar- and didn't rely on national and international TC support for an ongoing nightly business- Augusta was just plain in a place off many TCers routes of travel. Could getting the mug thing right in the first place and TCers supportive from afar been helpful- probably, but I'm honestly not sure how much that ultimately affected this decision.
As one of the few TCers who actually saw it full swing, we were treated as royalty- Brad went WAY out of his way for us. I don't know about the experiences other TCer who made the pilgrimage had, but we at least had a one perfect evening. And the local crowd, (many of whom were younger folks who enjoyed the strong drinks) treated us to some 'tribal' drumming.
Say what anyone will, I can only go by what we firsthand experienced- and that was that Brad and Hale Tiki was the kind of place that quite literally shared their spare Tapa with us, and sent home napkins and stir sticks for the MD/DC Tiki Ohana, we were sent away with fine rum and a souvenirs. So a tiny part of Hale Tiki will live on at the Lounge of the Seven Pleasures and we very sadly mark the Hale Tiki's passing.
Thank you Brad the Beachcomber.
And thank you to all the TC Ohana who made Hale Tiki what it was.
It will be sorely missed.
For those who;d like to linger over the memories or 'visit' one last time, our full Hale Tiki Album lives here- http://www.sevenpleasures.org/gallery/Hale-Tiki
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"You're getting more interesting by the drink!" -Pepe le Tiki
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saxotica
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 03, 2005
Posts: 213 | Posted: 2006-02-27 8:29 pm Permalink
Great pictures Sabina.Thanks for the link. Who carved the tikis behind the bar?
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exotica59
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 17, 2004
Posts: 475 | Posted: 2006-02-28 05:54 am Permalink
What a beautiful place! Thanks for the pictures.
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Sabina
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Apr 08, 2002
Posts: 367
From: The Lounge of the Seven Pleasures!
| Posted: 2006-02-28 10:15 am Permalink
If I'm remembering correctly, (and it's been a while, so I'm not positive on this) the Tikis behind the bar were from a carver he found on e-bay, he liked them so much he had the carver make the 4.
Truely, these are unique and BEAUTIFUL carvings- they really brought a certain focus to the area behind the bar- huge, and although new, had that feeling of being time worn.
If anyone here on TC was responsible for these, I for one, would love to know!
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4815
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2006-02-28 5:59 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-02-27 20:29, saxotica wrote:
Great pictures Sabina.Thanks for the link. Who carved the tikis behind the bar?
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They were an Ebay steal. BK found the auction in which the seller had put in an incorrect Buy It Now amount and they scored them very cheaply.
A bit of backstory and pictures of the build out HERE
I do think that the business did well in the beginning for sure and had support all along from what I gather. They were named #1 bar last year I think. There were plenty who did not get it, but more who absolutely did.
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Traitor Vic
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 02, 2003
Posts: 428
From: Greenville, SC
| Posted: 2006-02-28 11:38 pm Permalink
It was an absolutely beautiful place and I'm seriously sad to see it go. I wish I'd gotten back down there after the Grand Opening but, sadly, it was too far away for me to be able to make it a regular hangout.
I hold out hope that there are still places on the Eastern Seaboard that could support a good Tiki Bar and keep it afloat.
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Futura Girl
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 01, 2002
Posts: 933 | Posted: 2006-03-01 03:26 am Permalink
man - i wish that someone would pick it up and deliver it to vegas - i have such tiki ti withdrawals up here...
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Brad 'The Beachcomber' Owens
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 17, 2003
Posts: 97
From: Augusta, Georgia
| Posted: 2006-03-01 8:43 pm Permalink
Aloha,
Since closing the doors almost three weeks ago I have been bombarded with folks interested in buying or buying into the Tiki. Many folks are very sad to see it close.
There is a deal in the works now to sell Hale Tiki. The new owners would change a lot things but the overall theme and the name would be the same. Nothing has been signed but it is pretty much a done deal (I am 90% sure this is going to happen). All is agreed upon except for a few details that are being worked out tomorrow. I will know by this time next week for sure.
I would like to make it clear that I am not doing this for finacial reasons. It is mostly personal and has little to do with business. In fact the restaurant side is all but ready, too bad I was not. I am tired of living the "bar vampire" life and must give it up. We had a two year run and it is just time for me to take my life in a different direction now.
To those of you that have posted I say, thanks for all of the kind words. 99.99% of my business has been locals and will continue to be that way under new ownership. However, when ever ANY member of TC has come by and identified themselves I have always made sure that they were treated like royalty. You all love tiki and that is all that has mattered to me. So, don't think that this is another Tiki place biting the dust. Its just one guy leaving it his way, on his own terms.
Mahalo,
Brad
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Brad 'The Beachcomber' Owens
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 17, 2003
Posts: 97
From: Augusta, Georgia
| Posted: 2006-03-03 1:48 pm Permalink
Hope everyone got the last post I made. I changed the topic title to get the word out.
Brad
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pappythesailor
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 07, 2005
Posts: 1563
From: Mass.
| Posted: 2006-03-03 2:15 pm Permalink
More good tiki news this week! Thanks for the update.
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Kaikaina
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Feb 14, 2006
Posts: 63
From: Columbus, OH
| Posted: 2006-03-08 4:03 pm Permalink
What an amazing place. It's good to hear that it's going to remain a tiki bar. I only wish I knew about it before it closed - I would have made the trek from Atlanta to check it out.
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