Business Matters: The Story of Tiki's Grill and Bar

Tiki's Grill & Bar has been a staple in the Honolulu restaurant scene for the past 20 years, offering a unique combination of good food, live music, and breathtaking views. Bill Tobin, one of the three co-founders of Tiki's, recently sat down with KHON2's Howard Dashefsky to share the story behind the restaurant's success.

Tiki's was founded by three friends who attended the University of Hawaii together. They wanted to create a place where they could enjoy good food, drinks, and company. Little did they know that they would eventually turn their dream into a successful business that has been serving the local community for two decades.

Like most restaurants, Tiki's has faced its fair share of challenges. However, the owners were quick to learn from their mistakes and make changes that helped the business thrive. From the get-go, Tiki's was busy, and it continued to grow as the years went by. The restaurant has survived changes in tourism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and fluctuations in the labor market.

What sets Tiki's apart is its focus on providing a fun and relaxed atmosphere for its customers. The restaurant offers a front-row seat to a nearly perfect view of the sunset, providing a unique dining experience. Live music adds to the ambiance, making Tiki's the perfect spot to enjoy a night out with friends or a romantic dinner with a loved one.

In conclusion, Tiki's Grill and Bar is a prime example of a business that has stood the test of time, overcoming challenges and adapting to change. Its longevity is a testament to the hard work and dedication of its owners, as well as its commitment to providing its customers with a memorable experience. If you're looking for a great meal, beautiful views, and a fun atmosphere, Tiki's is the place to be.

In 2021, Tiki's Grill and Bar added a pop-up Christmas bar in the lava tube, offering a unique and festive experience for customers during the holiday season. The pop-up bar was a hit and added an extra layer of fun and excitement to the already popular restaurant.

Visitors to the Christmas bar were able to enjoy holiday-themed drinks, live music, and a festive atmosphere, all while surrounded by the beautiful natural surroundings of the lava tube. The pop-up bar was a perfect addition to Tiki's already impressive offerings and showed the restaurant's commitment to providing new and exciting experiences for its customers.

For more information on Tiki's Grill and Bar, including their pop-up Christmas bar, you can visit their website at Tikisgrill.com. To learn more about the Christmas bar, visit ChristmasBarHawaii.com. Whether you're a local or a tourist, Tiki's Grill and Bar is the perfect place to enjoy good food, drinks, and festive fun, all with a stunning view of the sunset.

Tiki's Grill has opened a themed Christmas Bar to draw in some extra customers this holiday season.

Several restaurants are also offering pre-fixed Thanksgiving meals, but reservations are going fast.

“We anticipate to sell out this year just like we did last year,” said Michael Miller, director of operations for Tiki’s Grill and Bar. “The demand is high, and we still have some capacity issues going on.”

Restaurants on Oahu are still required to keep six feet of social distancing between tables indoors; proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 48 hours is also required to dine in.

“If you want those special times, if you want a sizable table, I highly recommend you make a reservation,” Miller said.

Even though prices are increasing for just about everything, Tiki’s said they are not raising their prices for Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner includes spiced butternut squash bisque, lemongrass cornbread, slow-roasted turkey, sausage apple chestnut dressing, Yukon gold potato gratin, Molokai potato purée, sage chardonnay pan gravy, fresh cranberry and bacon, macadamia nut, pineapple brussels sprouts, pumpkin cheesecake and live music.

“We know the costs are increasing and we kind of went over it and kind of said, ‘hey, this is what we think that we still should do, at least this year, at the $39 mark,’” Miller of Tiki’s said. “The live entertainment, the free valet — there is the ocean view, it’s going to be a wonderful, wonderful holiday season.”

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The city is located at the junction of the Ovens and King rivers.

HONOLULU -- On the first night of new regulations designed to beat back a pandemic surge, establishments throughout Waikiki looked more like exclusive nightclubs in South Beach or Las Vegas than resort-area restaurants.

But to get past the velvet ropes, bouncers were looking for vaccination cards or recent negative Covid-19 tests, not the best-dressed or those most likely to shell out for table service.

Under the Safe Access Oahu rules effective Sept. 13, all guests and employees at restaurants, bars, gyms, museums and other businesses and attractions across the island must show either proof of vaccination or a negative result on a Covid-19 test taken within 48 hours.

Unvaccinated employees must be tested once a week.

Bars and restaurants deployed barriers, tables and additional staff to their entrances to handle document checks. At Deck, inside the Queen Kapiolani Hotel, after vaccine or test records were verified, diners signed a ledger and provided an address for contact tracing, and they could stay for only 90 minutes. 

On Waikiki's Kalakaua Avenue, dotted with luxury shops and hotels, a restaurant sign trumpeted a surf-and-turf special and, in bold letters, "All Employees Vaccinated." At a sushi spot next door, a line formed to sit at one of its Plexiglas-enclosed tables.

Restaurants reported depressed sales in recent weeks, but the new regulations, coupled with capacity restrictions, created the effect that half-full Waikiki was as busy as ever. 

Michael Miller, director of operations at Tiki's Grill and Bar on the Waikiki beachfront said he is hiring two staff members to beef up presence at the door.

"You've got to have the right person up front," he said. "People are already stressed. They are jet-lagged and hangry on top of that. So you need to hire someone for the door who is an ambassador of aloha, someone who has the training and can start the customer experience off right."

A sign board outside Kelley O'Neil's, a pub on Lewers Street in Waikiki, alerts patrons to new rules on Oahu. Photo Credit: TW photo by Tovin Lapan

Ryan Tanaka, co-owner of Waikiki sports bar Giovanni Pastrami, said a few customers had to be turned away on the first day for not having the necessary documents.

"The majority of our clientele are tourists, and a lot don't realize this is going on," he said. "They're not tracking rules county by county, and this is just Oahu. So they book a ticket to come to Hawaii, and they show up at a restaurant and we say, 'Sorry, can you show us your vaccination card?' There's a little bit of a surprise factor."

In general, restaurant owners said the first day went relatively smoothly, but Tanaka, who is also vice chairman of the Hawaii Restaurant Association, said members across the island were reporting a steep decline in foot traffic.

Vaccination rates rising among restaurant employees

Oahu's new policy does seem to be spurring vaccinations among employees at the impacted businesses.

At Giovanni Pastrami, they expect to go from 83% of staff vaccinated to 95% in the next few weeks, but Tanaka added the new rules could exacerbate an ongoing labor shortage. 

"Not all employees are responding well to the policy," he said. "What it's doing is adding stress to an already stressed situation." 

Miller said an additional 20 of his 110 staff members were motivated to get vaccinated recently, and he thought the new rules could boost hiring.

"In one way, it makes some of the staff feel a bit better about serving visitors," he said.

In addition to labor woes, supply chain bottlenecks and the new vaccine mandate, Oahu restaurants were also hit with capacity reductions and a ban on large events in the past month. Also, in August, Gov. David Ige discouraged visitation to the Islands through the end of October.

"It's definitely a frustrating time to be in the restaurant business," said Tom Jones, co-owner of Gyotaku Japanese Restaurants. "For some restaurants, maybe they've been able to survive until now, but this next down period could be the straw that breaks the camel's back."