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Mauna Loa, Detroit, MI (bar) |
Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
|  Posted: 2009-10-27 4:00 pm Permalink
Wow Trav, congrats on the great find.
Sometimes the milk cocktail is the best may to show off those clear glasses, it looks way better than the rolled up paper approach.
DC
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uncle trav
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2005
Posts: 1531
From: Kalamazoo
| Posted: 2009-10-28 04:51 am Permalink
Thanks guys. I was having milk with my breakfast anyway so it worked for the photo shoot. In the photo I posted that capiz shell globe light is the same as one shown in the Stockton Islander dinning room photo.
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"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann
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Big Kahuna
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2007
Posts: 1908
From: SoMass
| Posted: 2009-11-25 7:20 pm Permalink
I scored this mug in the Spring, but it has the words Concordian Heights accross the bottom of it. It doesn't appear to be paint, but perhaps a glaze that was fired on. It definitely looks like a hand-painted afterthought. I wonder if the mug manufacturer sold off excess inventory, to other reataurants, after the Mauna Loa closed? Anybody have any other ideas?
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uncle trav
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2005
Posts: 1531
From: Kalamazoo
| Posted: 2009-11-26 05:11 am Permalink
Big Kahuna, That's a question that is tough to nail down. As far as I know this design of mug for the Mauna Loa was marked "DESIGN BY MAUNA LOA DETROIT" on the bottom. If these were left over stock they would have had to grind this off of the mug and put on the R.A.M. mark. The case may be that the manufacture had the mold and made a small production run of the same mug with the R.A.M. markings for general sale. Mauna Loa mugs are often found with an "HF" sticker on the bottom also. The HF is linked to "House of Favors" which appears to be a distributor for restaurant supplies and supplied the swizzles for the Mauna Loa. No one is clear if HF actually made the mugs or was just the distributor. Not sure if we have tracked down what or who the "DESIGNED BY R.A.M." stands for. I guess it's another case of the Mauna Loa giving up little in the way of it's secrets.
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"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann
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uncle trav
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2005
Posts: 1531
From: Kalamazoo
| Posted: 2010-08-05 6:43 pm Permalink
Here is a nice description of the Mauna Loa from the inside cover of the small mailer menu. Wish I had one of these but I have not found one yet. These images are from an eBay auction a while back. Sorry for the poor image quality but I thought they needed to be saved and added to the post. These descriptions really set the mood. They sure could paint a beautiful picture with words. Thanks
Iside of front cover.
Inside of the back cover.
_________________
"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann
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ErkNoLikeFire
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 07, 2010
Posts: 423
From: Michigan
| Posted: 2010-08-07 7:57 pm Permalink
Like all good things in Michigan, they burn out far to quickly. I heard stories of this place from my Grandfather but never got to see any pictures of it until now. Thanks!
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manndrew
Member
Joined: Aug 25, 2010
Posts: 2
From: Massachusetts
| Posted: 2010-08-25 1:12 pm Permalink
I posted the following on another topic:
"I surf the web from time to time looking for any information that may have been posted about The House of Favors, Boston. This was a company started by my Grandfather who was in the restaurant supply business. My father joined the company in the 1940's and traveled extensively to Hong Kong, Tokyo and later Seoul where he designed and then imported plastic and china novelties. One of our accounts was the Mono Laua chain and the mugs and bowls were all created for the polynesian restaurant business. My father also designed party goods items for birthdays, baby and bridal showers and weddings. After the jobber/wholesale business ran out of steam we concentrated on retailing. The first location was at 89 Chauncy Street, downtown Boston and we branched out to several stores in the suburbs. The last store was sold in 1993. I spent many years as a child working for my father, learning the business from the shipping room to the accounting books. I still have the last catalog we produced. It was a real joy seeing this post about the mugs and the HF logo which my father designed. Favor-It brand was the trade name for the importing business. Is there a real value for these mugs and bowls? I had a bunch of them years ago, but tossed them when we closed the store."
The fact that you discovered an "R.A.M." imprinted on the mug is unbelievable. This would be my father, his name was Raymund Arthur Mann and he was responsible for supplying all the "Tiki Port" and Polynesian restaurants with these products. I thought he designed them as well, but it seems credit for that has been given to someone else. I know, however that The House of Favors, Inc. (my father's company) was the sole importer of these products into the States in the 50's and 60's.
Regards,
Manndrew
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uncle trav
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2005
Posts: 1531
From: Kalamazoo
| Posted: 2010-08-25 1:21 pm Permalink
Welcome again Andy. WOW!!! the long mystery of the R.A.M. markings is solved. Would love to hear some more stories. Do you know if your father or grandfather had a hand in designing any particular mugs?
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"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann
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abstractiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 29, 2009
Posts: 582
From: Lodi, CA
| Posted: 2010-08-25 6:15 pm Permalink
A great development in the historical record of this Temple. Mahalo Manndrew for this.
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TabooDan
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 18, 2004
Posts: 641
From: BC, Canada
| Posted: 2010-08-25 7:59 pm Permalink
Now we're talkin!!! Very cool!!
Thanks for the info. Manndrew!!
It is great when people like you, especially family, take the time to come on here and add information or memories about these places or collectibles! Solving the "RAM" question on these mugs is a pretty big deal here to us collectors. How cool to see your fathers initials (name) on these collectibles!? Also, the HF logo stickers we see is also a another great point.
Thanks again and please do post any pictures you may have of your family at work (in factory/warehouse/showroom) or play in anything you think may interest us here. Would also be great to see a scan or copy of the catalog you speak of if it features any of these mugs or any other Polynesian decor items.
Thanks again!!
A Big Mahalo, TabooDan
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dewey-surf
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 27, 2009
Posts: 164
From: Clearwater, FL
| Posted: 2010-08-29 4:17 pm Permalink
Figure I post this here, (I saw a picture of it earlier on this thread). I did post this under Collecting Tiki after I found it a few weeks ago. I got this at a thrift store for $3.00.
Marked Mauna Loa Detroit on the bottom.
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johnotak
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Sep 12, 2010
Posts: 13 | Posted: 2010-09-12 07:05 am Permalink
I was born in Detroit and grew up in the suburb of Livonia. My father was an exec at Chrysler in the late 60's, and I remember that when the Mauna Loa opened up it made quite an impact. I remember my dad really talking the place up, and my being intrigued by what he said greeted patrons when they got inside. Well, My father finally decided that he would take me there for dinner. This was about 1968 (when I was around 9 years old). This was not long after the riots of 1967, and I remember my father telling me to keep the doors of the car locked on our way there. It was very unusual for us to go downtown at that time. We traveled about 15 miles to get to there from Livonia. When we arrived it was dark out, and I remember driving past the front of it before we parked, and being awed by the multi colored lights on the waterfall, and the flames of the tiki torches lighting up the night.
It wasn't often I went to a place that I had to dress up for. But this sure was one of them. We checked out the exterior for a minute before going in. It seemed like the ultimate playground for adults, very suit and tie. On the inside it was ultra plush Polynesian, foliage, bamboo, tikis and cool lights hanging from the ceiling - almost mysterious - but very cool. I remember there were many streams and interlocking pools of water. There were numerous multi level waterfalls, some big and some small. And they were all lit with subtle colored lights. I remember that the bar was amazing as it had a wide and beautiful waterfall behind it too. We were taken to our table, and we had to walk across a couple of wooden bridges over deep pools of blue colored water to get there. I remember thinking the pools were big enough to swim in.
The inside of the Mauna Loa was like a man made lagoon with all the interconnecting pools - just amazing. The lighting was subtle and really set the mood, not too bright. It made the lighted pools, waterfalls and the bar really stand out. I don't remember what I ate, but I do remember I was the only kid in the entire place. I recall asking if I could have some coconut milk, it wasn't on the menu but the waiter came up with some anyways, and boy was it good. I remember that the bill came out to $35 for the both of us, an amount that I gasped at. As I only got about 50 cents a week allowance. Well, that's my story about the only time I had the pleasure of dining at the Mauna Loa restaurant in downtown Detroit. Good memories. The place made quite an impression on me.
I have my parents swizzle stick collection, so now I have to check it again to see if there are any Mauna Loa stirrers. I know I have some from Trader Vics, so hopefully?
To everyone, thanks for posting the photos and memories. I appreciate it.
John Brain
[ This Message was edited by: johnotak 2010-09-12 07:08 ]
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abstractiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 29, 2009
Posts: 582
From: Lodi, CA
| Posted: 2010-09-12 09:09 am Permalink
Aloha and Welcome to Tiki Central John. Very nice personal story, thank you for sharing it with us. Stories such as yours are very important to the recorded history of such temples.
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tikiyaki
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: May 18, 2004
Posts: 2676
From: The Exotic Port of REDONDO BEACH, CA
| Posted: 2010-09-12 09:14 am Permalink
Damn...$35 for 2 people in 1968 ?
That's like a $200 check for two nowadays....You're dad really splurged on you. Great story...you never see too many pics of the inside, so it's nice to hear what an amazing place it was once you get through that awesome entrance.
Thanx !
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GatorRob
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 20, 2004
Posts: 1766
From: 3 hrs 33 mins to paradise
| Posted: 2010-09-13 09:07 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2010-09-12 09:14, tikiyaki wrote:
Damn...$35 for 2 people in 1968 ?
That's like a $200 check for two nowadays....
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$219.26 to be exact! (Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics anyway.) I'm guessing Dad had a few rums drinks on that bill.  Then again, they were only a couple dollars each back then...
Good description of the place John. I'm amazed you remember so much considering it was 42 years ago.
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