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Tiki Archaeology - Rummy's Polynesian House, Monocacy & Douglassville, PA |
puamana
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2002
Posts: 291
From: Seattle, WA
|  Posted: 2005-05-18 10:33 am Permalink
Here's a few pics of a recent menu find, from Rummy's Polynesian House, in PA:
The back of the menu lists 2 locations, in Monocacy, PA ( on Route 422, between Reading & Pottstown ) and on Route 2 in Douglassville, PA :
It copies all sorts of imagery from other tiki bar menus ( cover from the Kon Tiki ) and the first inside page with tropical drinks:
.... which copies the Hilton Hawaiian Village drink menu.
Another page of the drinks menu :
And the inside last page has some food listings and "Say it in Polynesian" translations:
Also, a matchcover from Rummy's, which only lists the Monocacy location :
It was interesting to find such an elaborate menu, from such a obscure place and location. I don't have any other info on this place, has anyone else heard anything about this spot ?
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procinema29
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 31, 2003
Posts: 465
From: los angeles
| Posted: 2005-05-18 4:06 pm Permalink
Thanks for those nicely-presented scans! Very nice menu...
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FLOUNDERart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 02, 2003
Posts: 1140
From: Orlando Florida
| Posted: 2005-05-18 4:24 pm Permalink
Sweet find. Never heard of the place.
It would be nice to find places with prices like that still too.
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johntiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 31, 2002
Posts: 1525
From: MD
| Posted: 2005-05-18 4:50 pm Permalink
Hmmm... You know what's odd? I went to Yahoo to see if I could uncover any references to Rummy's and came up with nothing. But then I did a search for "tiki Monocacy PA" and came up with a place named "Tiki Bar" in Boyertown. After a quick Mapquest search I found that the distance between Rummy's Monocacy location and this modern day "tiki bar" is only 15 miles.
Next I went back to Paumana's images and noticed on the back of the one menu it mentions what looks like a second location on Rt. 2 in Douglassville PA. So I did another Mapquest search to figure out the distance between Monocacy and Douglassville and it's only 3.77 miles - 12 miles from Boyertown.
Now this is why I'm finding this whole location very odd... and I begin by saying I can't vouch that "Tiki Bar" is actually a tiki bar... what are 3 tiki/Polynesian restaurants/bars doing in such a close proximity in the middle of Lancaster County? Lancaster County, for those who aren't familiar, is chock full of Amish farms and communities!
Now this is going out on a limb... but what if the surviving "Tiki Bar" in Boyertown had something to do with Rummy's? What if the decor was rescued from Rummy's before demolition and snatched up by the owners of Tiki Bar? Why in the hell was Lancaster Pennsylvania a tiki hotspot? Perhaps we've stumbled upon an Amish owned and operated, authentically decorated tiki bar hiding in the middle of nowhere!
Shit! I should have let this post go for a little while to keep us theorizing before I called the number listed for "Tiki Bar" on Yahoo. I got a perky young woman answering the phone with a hearty "Hello, Tiki Bar." I cut through all formalities and asked her straight up if the Tiki Bar was in fact a tiki bar. As expected she didn't understand what I meant - I explained simply that tiki was a Polynesian or Hawaiian style that was first popular in the 50's. She answered back quickly "No, our place is more like a mix of Key West and New Orleans...” If I wasn't prepared for such a big letdown I probably would have vomited from such a bastardization of themes.
In conclusion - thanks for posting Puamana! I enjoyed doing a bit of daydreaming...
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Sweet Daddy Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 20, 2003
Posts: 1027
From: Edmonton
| Posted: 2005-05-18 4:58 pm Permalink
One of the few places to serve Mai Tias (is that a Mai Tai with Tia Maria?)
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NuAku
Member
Joined: Apr 05, 2004
Posts: 4
From: Las Vegas
| Posted: 2005-05-24 02:22 am Permalink
I used to go to one of these locations when I was a kid. My grandfather (Pop-Pop)used to take me there. He lives in Pottstown, PA. It was a great restaurant. Blowfish lights, big fish tank, bamboo, and of corse TIKIS. The place is now a strip club called Sugardaddies or Sugarbabies, something like that. I have not been there to look around for any tikis outside. I doubt there are any inside, but if there are, they are probably smiling.
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puamana
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 02, 2002
Posts: 291
From: Seattle, WA
| Posted: 2005-05-24 08:22 am Permalink
Thanks johntiki & NuAku for the posting that info. I'm originally from PA, and its always good to find something out about any of the places that were there. It seems like that area in particular was an odd spot for a Polynesian restaurant... all the better for escaping to a tropical atmosphere, I suppose ! Thanks for the info.
[ This Message was edited by: puamana on 2005-05-24 08:23 ]
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4815
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2005-05-24 09:13 am Permalink
A strip club. Sounds like this needs investigating.
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captnkirk
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 06, 2002
Posts: 321
From: Hockessin, Delaware
| Posted: 2005-05-28 5:03 pm Permalink
Rummys Polymesian House is no more. This is what it looks like today.
It now called "Baby Dolls" and has been stripped inside and outside of any vestages of its former tiki glory. Locals told me it closed up in the early 1980s when the owner died. Probably about 1984, then remained unoccupied for several years, it then reopened as a regular bar, and a few years later as this place.
It is right along Route 422, the confusion about the location continues, some say its in Douglassville other say Monocacy. Its exact location is 40° 16.212 N, 75° 46.060 and has always been at this exact location it never moved.
I also visited the other "tiki bar" up the road, no tikis from Rummys or anywhere else ended up there, 'cause they don't have any.
It's a nice place, Here is what it looks like.
I had a good if not somewhat expensive meal there. Only one tikidrink, it's a hurricane mixed up with some pineapple juice in it and it was pretty good.
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tikibars
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 11, 2002
Posts: 2014
From: Aku Hall, Chicago
| Posted: 2006-08-28 3:13 pm Permalink
I've been researching this place for TRT2, and the most curious part of it all is that there is no Route 2 anywhere in the vicinity that I can find.
It is possible that Monocacy was the biggest town around when this place was built, so the owners listed their location as being in Monocacy (you'll notice they just say 'route 422', but don't give actual address). Later on, Douglassville may have become a bigger burg, and being closer to the restaurant than Monocacy, confusion arose.
Still doesn't explain the owners printing Route 2 on their menu - this might have been the name of a local road that was also later changed.
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Jeff Central
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 23, 2002
Posts: 1529
From: Columbus, Ohio
| Posted: 2006-08-29 10:10 am Permalink
Cool menu puamana!!!
Thanks for posting the awesome pics!!!
Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2008-06-16 9:39 pm Permalink
This place has always confused the bejeezus out of me (it's true! I'm bejeezus free!). Adding yet again to the confusion:
William Byrne just added this nifty little zippo to Critiki. It's confusing because... ah, dang, I've already forgotten why it confuses me... oh yeah! I thought that one location was on 422 and the other one was on route 2, but this makes it sound like 422 IS route 2, but then of course it doesn't actually say "route 2" it says "R. D. 2" and probably doesn't have anything to do with route 2. What would that stand for? Anyway, it's sort of neat, if a little plain. A cool find.
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Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki
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TIKI DAVID
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2004
Posts: 1909
From: North Coast
| Posted: 2008-06-17 02:49 am Permalink
R.D. means 'rural delivery'
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The Gnomon
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: May 01, 2007
Posts: 1276
From: MD-DC-VA
| Posted: 2008-06-17 08:12 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2008-06-16 21:39, Humuhumu wrote:
it's true! I'm bejeezus free! |
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Wow! The seamstress is back!
You've been missed.
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craigr
Member
Joined: Oct 02, 2008
Posts: 1 | Posted: 2008-10-02 5:17 pm Permalink
I enjoyed seeing the memorabilia from Rummy's. I grew up in the area, and we used to eat there often as little kids. My sister and I would fight over who got to sit in the peacock chair if we got a corner table!
I wanted to correct a few errors and address some questions:
1. Rummy's was in Berks County, not Lancaster County. There aren't any Amish people for 30 miles from where Rummy's was.
2. There was only ever one location. Route 422 in Monocacy was the physical location. As someone else pointed out, RD 2 means rural delivery, route 2, from the Douglassville post office, so that's the postal delivery address.
3. Rummy's was there starting in the 1940s, not the 60s as reported in one post. My parents were married in 1952 and went to Rummy's well before that, as did other relatives.
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