Kahiki Supper Club: A Polynesian Paradise in Columbus

by David Meyers, Elise Meyers Walker, Jeff Chenault, Doug Motz

Overview

Inspired by Florida's famed Mai-Kai restaurant, Bill Sapp and Lee Henry opened the Kahiki Supper Club in 1961. Patrons lined up for hours to see the celebrities who dined there—everyone from Betty White to Raymond Burr.

Sapp and Henry set out simply to build a nice Polynesian restaurant and ended up establishing the most magnificent one of them all. Outside, two giant Easter Island heads with flames spouting from their topknots stood guard while customers dined in a faux tribal village with thatched huts, palm trees and a towering fireplace moai. One wall featured aquariums of exotic fish and another had windows overlooking a tropical rainforest with periodic thunderstorms. For nearly forty years, the Kahiki was the undisputed center of tiki culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626195943
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	09/16/2014
Series:	American Palate
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	637,450
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

A graduate of Miami and Ohio State Universities, David Meyers has written a number of local histories and various works for the stage. Among the former are Columbus, the Musical Crossroads" and "Ohio Jazz: A History of Jazz in the Buckeye State, " while the latter include "The Last Oz Story" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Condominium Association, Inc."Elise Meyers Walker is an author and frequent presenter on local history. Jeff Chenault is a prominent member of the Fraternal Order of Moai, Kahiki Chapter. Doug Motz is the president of the Columbus Historical Society and was a 2012 recipient of the Bicentennial Leadership Award from Columbus Foundation. Linda Sapp Long is the aughter of Bill Sapp, co-founder with Lee Henry, of the celebrated Kahiki Supper Club."

Table of Contents

Foreword Linda Sapp Long 7

Preface 11

Acknowledgements 13

1 The Rise of Tiki Culture 15

2 The View from the Top 21

3 Sail to Tahiti 29

4 The Story of Kahiki 38

5 Song of the Islands 44

6 Mugs, Bowls and Gravy Boats 51

7 The Maker of the Moai 61

8 Mystery Girls and Mystery Drinks 68

9 Starry, Starry Nights 74

10 The Roast Beef Wars and Other Campaigns 80

11 The Man Who Put the Tiki in the Kahiki 88

12 Passing the Tiki Torch 93

13 Tropical Memories 99

14 Trouble in Tahiti 107

15 All in the Ohana 113

16 National Treasure 120

17 Bon Voyage 126

18 Afterlife 131

Appendix A Kahiki Dishes 13 7

Kahiki Beef KaTiki 140

Tahitian Mermaid 140

Chicken Pineapple Kahiki 141

Kahiki Egg Drop Soup 142

Kahiki Ham Fried Rice 142

Chinese Chicken Sauté with Star Anise 142

Kahiki Caesar Salad 143

Appendix B Kahiki Drinks 145

Port Light 148

Polynesian Spell 149

Kahiki Bahía 149

Kahiki's Jungle Fever 150

Kahiki Smoking Eruption 150

The Kahiki Outrigger 151

Polynesian Martini 151

Appendix C Cuban Adventure 153

Notes 155

Bibliography 159

Index 165

About the Authors 175