nrc
10-09-06, 02:13 PM
Once upon a time Columbus had one of the best Polynesian restaurants in the whole country. The Kahiki Supper Club (http://www.kahiki.com/about-us/supper-club.aspx) was built in 1961 and until recently was one of the best remaining examples of tiki culture. Not only was it an wonderful place with it's giant tiki gods, a tiki village, rainforest and aquarium, but they also had good food.
http://www.kahiki.com/images/sub/supperclubpics/lg1.jpg
Back when I was a kid the Kahiki was where we went for really special occaisions. RaceGrrl and I picked up that tradition and we often enjoyed our anniversary dinners in the tiki village with a smoking volcano or mystery drink.
The Kahiki food was so good that the Kahiki frozen foods business they started up on the side eventually become bigger than the restaurant itself. I imagine it was tough to keep the restaurant in the black with all the overhead involved and being ever further from the hotspots.
So when the money grubbing scumbags at Walgreens decided that they had to have that property for a drugstore, the owners sold and moved their frozen foods business to another location. Never, ever, shop at Walgreens.
When The Kahiki was torn down (http://www.haxan.com/kahikisalvage/) many of the major artifacts were put into storage in hopes that The Kahiki could return in some fashion in some other location.
Of course the problem was that a project worthy of the Kahiki name would cost a lot of money. The owners made a couple of runs at city government trying to secure support for a new restaurant downtown, with no luck. Eventually the original owner passed away and while his family has continued to grow the frozen foods business, there's no sign of interest in trying to revived the Kahiki.
But all is not lost. Last spring the executive chef of the Kahiki and some of the other employees opened The Tropical Bistro (http://thetropicalbistro.com) in Hilliard near I270. Most of the original menu is back along with their assortment of tropical drinks. RaceGrrl and I visited last night (surprise for her belated birthday dinner) and the food and service were excellent. They also have that raw fish stuff some of you like. :confused:
If you're in the area pay them a visit. It's not the Kahiki by any stretch, it's a strip mall restaurant with tiki decorations, but the food and the memories are good and we'd like to see them stick around.
http://www.kahiki.com/images/sub/supperclubpics/lg1.jpg
Back when I was a kid the Kahiki was where we went for really special occaisions. RaceGrrl and I picked up that tradition and we often enjoyed our anniversary dinners in the tiki village with a smoking volcano or mystery drink.
The Kahiki food was so good that the Kahiki frozen foods business they started up on the side eventually become bigger than the restaurant itself. I imagine it was tough to keep the restaurant in the black with all the overhead involved and being ever further from the hotspots.
So when the money grubbing scumbags at Walgreens decided that they had to have that property for a drugstore, the owners sold and moved their frozen foods business to another location. Never, ever, shop at Walgreens.
When The Kahiki was torn down (http://www.haxan.com/kahikisalvage/) many of the major artifacts were put into storage in hopes that The Kahiki could return in some fashion in some other location.
Of course the problem was that a project worthy of the Kahiki name would cost a lot of money. The owners made a couple of runs at city government trying to secure support for a new restaurant downtown, with no luck. Eventually the original owner passed away and while his family has continued to grow the frozen foods business, there's no sign of interest in trying to revived the Kahiki.
But all is not lost. Last spring the executive chef of the Kahiki and some of the other employees opened The Tropical Bistro (http://thetropicalbistro.com) in Hilliard near I270. Most of the original menu is back along with their assortment of tropical drinks. RaceGrrl and I visited last night (surprise for her belated birthday dinner) and the food and service were excellent. They also have that raw fish stuff some of you like. :confused:
If you're in the area pay them a visit. It's not the Kahiki by any stretch, it's a strip mall restaurant with tiki decorations, but the food and the memories are good and we'd like to see them stick around.