Mahalo to Liane Fu and Christopher Teves for including me in August 2014 issue of the Hawaii Beverage Guide https://www.hawaiibevguide.com/
HAWAII BEVERAGE GUIDE AUGUST 2014
Tapping the Trade - By Liane Fu Tapping the Trade - By Liane Fu
Michael Miller, General Manager & Director of Marketing of Tiki’s in Waikiki, comes from a long line of seafarers. Six generations ago his forbears came to Hawaii from Massachusetts on whaling ships. He has family sprinkled all over the island chain. Michael was born and raised on Maui. Considering his family history, it is not surprising that Maui is where he grew up since Lahaina was once the capitol of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Before King Kamehameha the III, Kauikeaouli, moved the capitol city to Honolulu, Lahaina was the place to see and be seen. It was where the whaling industry was anchored. Seafaring is in Michael’s blood. He also owned and operated Happy Maui Diving and Tours for eight years in Lahaina. I suppose when you do what you love, it’s not so much work as it is passion.
While at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, he was the Student Body Vice President. One of his friends in student government asked him to help with putting on an event, so he helped and started to become more involved in student government. They put together events and concerts and enriched student amenities by starting the Manoa Shuttle which picked up students from distant neighborhood parking locations and brought them back to campus. They also lobbied to build the Stan Sherriff Center on Campus. Both of which continues to this day. Amidst all this flurry of activity, he also found time to participate on the UH Sailing team.
Once out of college, he was the Manager of Gerard’s at the Plantation Inn. He also worked on the Independence Cruise Ship as well as being the public relations manager for the former Bobby McGee’s restaurant and night club. He was about to leave the restaurant industry and do pharmaceutical sales when Bill Tobin one of the Tiki’s owners who he knew from his student government days in college convinced him to work for Tiki’s instead. Michael's vision for Tiki's is to make it a place where you can be proud to bring friends and family.
A good place to start making Tiki’s a great place place to bring your friends and family is with the beverage program. They do a few signature craft cocktails but not so many where they would not be able to keep up with the volume. They also serve the expected cocktails in a bar that overlooks Waikiki beach. One of their best selling items is their foaming Mai Tai. They also have a great wine program with easily recognizable wines so that their clientele will feel at ease and comfortable when looking at the wine menu. For the past two years they’ve done Wine Wednesdays when every wine on their menu is half off, even their by the glass wines! They move a lot of wine on Wednesdays.
With a great drink in hand and watching the sunset over Waikiki beach, one only needs live music to make the picture complete. A good number of Hawaiian entertainers who have gotten their start at Tiki’s have appeared at the Na Hoku Hanohano awards. Executive Chef Ronnie Nasuti was the Executive Chef at Roy’s Hawaii Kai before laying his knives at Tiki’s. Chef Ronnie changes the menu a couple of times a year. He also creates Winemaker Dinner Menus to which I can personally attest are spectacular! A perfect recipe for repeat visits. Just as Michael Miller lives his passion, so do the people at Tiki’s. ■
PLEASE SEND CORRESPONDENCE TO: LIANE FU, CERTIFIED SOMMELIER & GENERAL MANAGER OF THE WINE STOP: LIANE@HAWAIIBEVGUIDE.COM
You can find Liane Fu at the The Wine Stop at 1809 South King St. Phone: 808-946-3707 www.thewinestophawaii.com