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Save Luau Room in Louisville, KY |
tiki_kiliki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 01, 2002
Posts: 1046
From: Fort Lauderdale, FL
|  Posted: 2003-05-17 2:48 pm Permalink
If any members are in Louisville or the general Kentucky area you want to get on board and help save this wonderful place.
Most recently a Salvation Army, WITH THE ORIGINAL DECOR STILL INTACT!, the Luau Room has survived as many reincarnations.
We received an email from Nancy Beranek concerning the Luau Room and her one woman mission on saving this treasure. The building was up for lease and was just recently taken up on that from some folks that are planning on turning it into a sports bar. She joined Tiki Central today by the name of Ninenah. I'm sure she will be posting here soon as to how anyone can help.
Hukilau is on board to assist in any way we can!
Here's some pics:
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Yee-Haw & Aloha,
The World of Tiki Kiliki
[ This Message was edited by: tiki_kiliki on 2003-05-17 14:49 ]
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Nineveh
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 17, 2003
Posts: 39
From: Louisville, KY
| Posted: 2003-05-17 3:20 pm Permalink
Thanks Tiki Kiliki! That's right, I'm on a mission to see the Luau Room restored to its former glory. It is 9,000 sq ft of Polynesian paradise, as you can see from the photos (you have to look past the thrift store goods.) Whoever owns the building has guarded the treasures through the various incarnations as a Mexican restaurant, thrift store, and its soon to be life as a sports bar.
The people leasing it have been given my name and number. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to tell them about the resurgence of Tiki culture and convince them to take advantage of the extraordinary opportunity which they have been given.
Ideas and suggestions about how to do this are welcome. I'm also looking for other Tikiphiles in the Louisville area, to patronize the place when it opens and voice our desires to the establishment.
Nineveh
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Bring back The Luau Room, Louisville, KY!
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PolynesianPop
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2370
From: Corona, Ca
| Posted: 2003-05-17 4:12 pm Permalink
Nineveh, Welcome to the tribe. I applaud your efforts in saving this treasure. Unbelievable, I say -- a thrift store where you always find tikis - but can't take them home!
Good Luck with the cause. I wish I were there to lend a helping hand. Let's hope the new Sports Bar coming in is Polynesian themed!
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Poly-Pop *
Bartender, make mine a glass of WATAHHH!!!!!
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Rorysm
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 17, 2003
Posts: 161 | Posted: 2003-05-17 6:25 pm Permalink
Hey--great to see some others on here from the Commonwealth of Kentiki.
I live in Owensboro, so there isn't much I can do to help, but let me know if there's anything I can do from here. I only get to Louisville 2 or 3 times a year. I would definitely make the trek to see it every now and then though.
Also, anything else Tiki in the 'Ville? What is that Polynessian place near the malls? It's located in front of one of the malls and kind of close to the J Alexander's resteraunte?
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3836
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2003-05-17 11:13 pm Permalink
I feel your pain.
As you can tell by my posting, the same tragedy is occuring here in Los Angeles. The tragedy is all the more apparent because both bars are so thouroughly decorated in the tiki style and have a relatively high tipsy factor.
How can the A-frame front anything but a tiki bar?
Good luck.
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 5298
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2003-05-18 08:55 am Permalink
This is 4 hours from us, and Indy and Columbus, Nashville... Should chance arrise, we could see about taking over the place one night. This is all down the road, but maybe...
Can you imagine walking into that thrift store?! I want more pics! That A-Frame, I want a side shot to see it's majesty!
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"Mai-Kai: History & Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant" the book
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Nineveh
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 17, 2003
Posts: 39
From: Louisville, KY
| Posted: 2003-05-23 08:53 am Permalink
Well, things are starting to roll. There were cars and a pickup truck in the lot yesterday and the doors were open so I went in and made my pitch.
The guy I talked to, Mike, was really nice. He admitted that he doesn't know anything about Tiki but he's interested in learning. I gave him a bunch of articles about the resurgence of Tiki and told him briefly about it's history and the history of that bar. I told him there is a lot of info online and he said he would check it out. Hopefully he'll log in and read this forum.
I told him that I'm trying to form a Louisville Tiki Club that will patronize the place. I ran the idea past him of having Tiki nights where they turn down the lights and play Hawaiian music. He's open to it but just wants to get the place up and running first.
I showed him my copy of _Tiki Road Trip_ and the neo-Tiki bars I'd bookmarked. He wrote down the name. He said he'd been wondering if he might be sitting on a goldmine and I did my best to convince him that yes indeed, he is, and he should work with it rather than against it. I told him that people will come from all over just to hang out in the place, and how my husband and I have made the 300 mile trip five times to hang out in Hala Kahiki.
I told him about all the Hawaiiana merchandise that's been flooding retail stores for the past several years. I told him that the University of Louisville students in the four dormitories less than a half a mile away from the place will think Tiki is really, really cool.
He said that right now his focus is just getting the place open, dealing with inspectors and filing permits. He said he has my number (the realtor gave it to him, as promised) and will call when they get ready to open and he's not so swamped, to talk more about having Tiki Nights, but in the meantime he will read the articles and poke around online and learn more about this thing he's stumbled into.
They were building an extension to the bar in the main room but aren't going to touch the decor (I imagine they aren't allowed to, as a stipulation of the rental agreement.) They had two brand new televisions in boxes sitting by the front door. He mentioned the word "grill."
As always, suggestions, comments, ideas are welcome.
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Bring back The Luau Room, Louisville, KY!
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tiki_kiliki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 01, 2002
Posts: 1046
From: Fort Lauderdale, FL
| Posted: 2003-05-23 09:15 am Permalink
Great work Ninevah!
Keep bugging him! Give us the address and we can start sending him pleas and our own stories.
_________________
Yee-Haw & Aloha,
Tiki Kiliki
The Hukilau
The Most Authentic Tiki Event in the World and the Official Event Honoring the Mai-Kai est. 1956
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Nineveh
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 17, 2003
Posts: 39
From: Louisville, KY
| Posted: 2003-05-23 09:55 am Permalink
I was hoping you'd say that. I was going to just post it, but then, I wouldn't want to appear pushy. (Who me? "I told him this, and I told him that, and then I told him....") 
His name is Mike.
2420 S 4TH ST
LOUISVILLE KY 40208-1526
_________________
Bring back The Luau Room, Louisville, KY!
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Rorysm
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 17, 2003
Posts: 161 | Posted: 2003-05-23 12:48 pm Permalink
Hey... why don't we get some T-shirts made up. We could even give the profits to Mike as a sign of good-will.
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Rorysm
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 17, 2003
Posts: 161 | Posted: 2003-05-23 12:50 pm Permalink
I hope he names it:
The Luau-Ville, Ken-Tiki Room.
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Nineveh
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 17, 2003
Posts: 39
From: Louisville, KY
| Posted: 2003-06-13 2:10 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2003-05-17 18:25, Rorysm wrote:
Also, anything else Tiki in the 'Ville? What is that Polynessian place near the malls? It's located in front of one of the malls and kind of close to the J Alexander's resteraunte?
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It's a chain Caribbean restaurant called Bahama Breeze. The decor is nice but the Mai-Tais suck. Their specialty is the "Bahamarita" and it's best to stick with that.
It's a nice place esp. if you sit outside, but it's definitely jerk chicken and steel drum music. Although I did find a nifty pair of Tiki earrings in the gift shop.
_________________
Bring back The Luau Room, Louisville, KY!
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the75stingray
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 447
From: Dayton, Ohio
| Posted: 2003-06-16 8:10 pm Permalink
Well, first of all, I'm jealous! I would have loved to have gone to Louisville and bid on that place!
But, from Dayton, it's a mere 3 hour drive and we'd be glad to make it frequently (say once, twice a month...and then there is work and I'm stuck in KY often.)
I'm sure I could round up some Columbus folks and make a great night of it, if given the opportunity.
Thanks for the update (and pics!) on this. Please keep us informed.
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donhonyc
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2003
Posts: 1173
From: The Quiet EAST Village
| Posted: 2003-06-16 10:17 pm Permalink
Hey Kentucky people!! Hope everything works out for the best and they save this place from being a sports bar. Yeah...that's just what the world needs ...another sports bar. How 'bout more sports bars and more reality shows. We need them too. Anyway, looking at the photos, all I can say is...now (I think) I've seen everything. I CAN'T BELIEVE the Salvation Army actually kept the decor!!! That's an f'in riot!! Wonder if they have any decent old albums in there. Good for them! At least somebody's interested in preserving the place. Good luck and I hope this place is saved from sports bar hell!
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friki_tiki
Member
Joined: Jun 17, 2003
Posts: 1
From: Louisville, KY
| Posted: 2003-06-17 2:05 pm Permalink
Wow Nineveh! Cool photos! You're really on the case!! I would be absolutely tickled to join the Louisville Tiki Club! Sports bars are done to death in Louisville. At least Mike seems receptive to the idea of being totally Tiki.
btw - I responded to your e-mail...let me know if you didn't get it for some reason. My computer sometimes does some very strange things.
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