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Tiburon Tommies, Tiburon, California ? |
Molokai Mike
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 26, 2003
Posts: 498
From: the birthplace of the Mai Tai
|  Posted: 2005-03-19 2:01 pm Permalink
The first Tiki restaurant I ever visited , upon my arrival on these shores, was Tiburon Tommies in Tiburon. It closed in the early '90's.
I have never come across any photos or mug / menu details. Does anyone remember this place ? Does anyone have any pics they could post? Did they ever have their own mugs? Just curious...
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Tiki-bot
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 24, 2002
Posts: 1345 | Posted: 2005-03-19 2:21 pm Permalink
Didin't AquaRJ get some of the artifacts that were there when they demolished the place, or was that TikiHula?
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10560
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2005-03-19 9:16 pm Permalink
Quite a few SF Tikiphiles ended up with stuff, since Tiki awareness was already high when it closed. There is a nice large postcard of it in existence.
My son ate his first ribs there, ten years ago, when he was two...
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mrsmiley
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3153
From: Las Vegas, NV
| Posted: 2005-03-20 01:25 am Permalink
Otto and I bought a few Tikis from there at an auction and word has it that these items (including) a 20 foot tiki totem where found in a dumpster. The auction had only decor-no mugs or menus. I knew of this place when I got into tiki, but no one ever mentioned it so I assumed that it had closed down a long time ago. It hadn't closed at that time-I could have gone to it! 
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limptiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2003
Posts: 137
From: bay area
| Posted: 2005-03-20 05:14 am Permalink
I walked by the buiding a week ago and you'll all be happy to hear that it is being converted to condos.
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Molokai Mike
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 26, 2003
Posts: 498
From: the birthplace of the Mai Tai
| Posted: 2005-03-20 12:54 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-03-20 01:25, mrsmiley wrote:
I knew of this place when I got into tiki, but no one ever mentioned it so I assumed that it had closed down a long time ago. It hadn't closed at that time-I could have gone to it!
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That's interesting. Quite a few folks I've spoken to knew of the place, but never went - and that includes many Tikiphiles.
I only went there once and remember it being awesome. The type of place I'd only seen in movies.
It also seems to have been forgotten in these pages as well. There's always lots of lamenting about defunct bars/restaurants coast to coast, but nary a mention about this one. I wonder why? That's why I question whether they had any of their own mugs - probably not - that may be the reason they've been forgotten.
[ This Message was edited by: Conga Mike on 2005-03-20 12:57 ]
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10560
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2005-03-20 8:11 pm Permalink
't is the shame of having known and not gone, that makes this place a taboo entity in Tiki circles!!!  ...  just kidding!
Tiburon Tommie's was opened by Tommie Cox and Johnnie Won as "Tiburon Tommie's Pier 41" in 19?? and later (as so often) taken over by the Chinese manager and became "Tiburon Tommie's Mai Tai".
When I went there, the only Tiki mugs I could see were behind the bar, they were the long fogcutter mugs with the elongated Kon-Tiki face (p.42 of Tiki Quest), did not check if they had the name on it...the menu has the face of Wahine in front and a Lono Tiki in the back.
I failed to gain access to the mysterious "Maori Sky Room" upstairs, which had Tiki carvings and designs and a long Maori canoe hanging from the ceiling. At that point in time (90s) it had been turned into storage and the maitre D wouldn't budge from not letting me see it.
Pictures? C'mon everybody, do I have to do ALL the work around here?
[ This Message was edited by: bigbrotiki on 2005-03-20 20:14 ]
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martiki
Official Mixologist
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 3056
From: http://www.smugglerscovesf.com
| Posted: 2005-03-20 9:06 pm Permalink
Having grown up in Marin, I can say that I have never once seen a Tiburon Tommie's mug in any local thrift store or antique shop. That means almost certainly there weren't any for YEARS if at all. It's not like old Marinnites are all hanging on to them.
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PolynesianPop
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2341
From: Corona, Ca
| Posted: 2005-03-21 06:40 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-03-20 20:11, bigbrotiki wrote:
Pictures? C'mon everybody, do I have to do ALL the work around here?
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Aquarj and Trader Woody have posted pics this before. Here's the link --
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=1899&forum=1
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10560
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2005-03-21 07:42 am Permalink
Yayh! Viva the TC detectives! Thanks for doing the work to dig that up, Adrian.
See, it DID get mentioned, and even with pictures!
I also once pointed out the fact that the name of this joint is another proof of the lasting impact of Trader Vic's up north:
Many of the Tiki joints up there followed it's "pre-nickname" concept:
Trader VIC's
Tiki BOB's
Skipper KENT's
Tiburon TOMMIE's
Also, I seem to remember that Hans Richter once told that Johnie Won used to work for Trader Vic's, and then went into business for himself, which was also not uncommon: "Sneaky Bob" Bryant had the audacity to open Tiki Bob's right under the eyes of his former employer, Michael Tsao used to work for Trader Vic's (Chicago?) and got the managing job at the Kahiki under Lee Henry and Bill Sapp. There was much more cross-migration like that. From all the Trader Vic's islands in the U.S., the hardworking and ambitious Chinese continued to spread the Poly Pop tradition, often carrying on after their American employers had (re)tired.
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mrsmiley
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3153
From: Las Vegas, NV
| Posted: 2005-03-21 09:37 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-03-20 05:14, limptiki wrote:
I walked by the buiding a week ago and you'll all be happy to hear that it is being converted to condos.
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Otto and I went a few years back to check on the progress of whatever was happening to the building and as we turned the corner in his car we...saw......NOTHING!! The building was completely gone!! We walked on the "beach" we it once stood and I found a pottery shard from a restaurant plate-I kept it as a "souvenir". Those condo's are 100% percent new--no Tiburon Tommies in them at all.
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thejab
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2984
From: Forbidden Island, CA
| Posted: 2005-03-21 10:30 am Permalink
Having worked in Marin County since '92, I have witnessed that tearing down and rebuilding instead of reuse is the typical treatment of old buildings in Marin County. For example, the Nave Lanes demolition a few years ago which is still a vacant lot, and the remainders of old highway 101 along the freeway frontage roads in San Rafael which have been torn down or drastically redesigned to look faux-mediterranean.
Just a couple of weeks ago in Corte Madera I saw a vacant lot where this great googie 60s bank building recently stood.
About all that remains of commercial architecture in Marin from the 1950s and 60s are Marin Joe's Restaurant, Rancho Nicasio, and the Birkenstock building in Novato.
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Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2005-03-21 11:05 am Permalink
I've got a cocktail napkin and a matchbook. I'll try to post pictures soon.
Sabu.
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limptiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2003
Posts: 137
From: bay area
| Posted: 2005-03-23 09:58 am Permalink
I stand corrected by Mr. Smiley - I should have said there are horrible condos on at least part of the old tommie's spot.
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puamana
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2002
Posts: 291
From: Seattle, WA
| Posted: 2005-03-23 2:00 pm Permalink
Here's a few pics of a Tiburon Tommie's menu:
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