TIKI TERRACE: Family-Run Ohana

It would be easy to dismiss Tiki Terrace as just a luau in a strip mall. That was what I was prepared to do though when the Lyft driver pulled up in front of the place. I had just come from another tiki spot, Kahala Koa in Arlington Heights, where I’d had a marvelous time. I kind of regretted leaving to check this place out, but… It was my last night in the Chicago area. I’d never have another chance.

I walked inside and was greeted by a hostess. Was I there for the show or did I just want to go to the bar? I knew the place would be closing in about an hour, at 10 p.m. It told her the bar would be fine. Fortunately, just as I was arriving, a couple was leaving the bar so there was room for me. A few minutes after I was seated, another couple came in and was turned away. 

The bar is just inside of the door. Further back in the building are booths and tables that were filled with diners who were watching the luau-like stage show that was in progress. My vantage point was poor, but I could more or less make out what was going on. It was interesting, not quite what I expected. 

But I had more pressing matters to attend to, like what to order to drink… I decided to try something call a Parma Coco Delight, a mixture of pomegranate, coconut, pineapple, and rum. While it wasn’t overly complex and was kind of on the sweet side, I liked it just fine. I’d also ordered some coconut shrimp.

As I usually do, while I sipped and snacked, I started talking to the bartender. She seemed incredibly young to be a bartender. As we chatted, pieces of a larger picture I hadn’t realized I’d stumbled into began to become clearer. 

I asked about the impressive and elaborate moai statues that flanked the stage. She said that her uncles had made them. Uncles? Yes, her father and uncles had created the whole place. Opening in 2003, brothers Scott, Jim, and Phil Zuziak launched Tiki Terrace as a way to give locals a taste of the Polynesian culture that they had grown to love.

But it was more than just the brothers involved, it was the whole family. Her cousin was working the door as the hostess. Other cousins and her boyfriend also worked there and in the Tiki Terrace mobile food truck. 

“My parents carved the bar,” she said.

Fascinating. For such a mom & pop establishment, it was really well done and looked to be very successful.

Although I was at the far end of the bar, closest to the door, a trip to the bathroom really let me get a good look at the place. The space is really well done for essentially being a dinner theater with a Polynesian-inspired twist. Even the dinner menu is filled with exotic island-influenced dishes.

The action on the stage was interesting, too. It wasn’t just hula girls and Polynesian dancers. Although there were dancers, the show (which I am told is changed a couple of times throughout the year) was hosted by a Polynesian man. There was song, dancing, and some audience participation. What I saw appeared to be a well, thought out experience for the viewers. Cheesy? Perhaps. But no more so than the luaus and other events staged in Hawaii and other places for tourists. The audience seemed to enjoy it all and was very engaged. I came to think of it as a suburbanites’ budget island vacation of a few hours, were they saved themselves large hotel fees and long flights to and from the islands…but still got a touristy taste of island pop culture.

It was getting close to the end of the show and last call. I ordered a Mai Tai (a test for every tiki bar) and my Lyft. My driver was about 15 minutes out, so although I couldn’t quite sip and savor the drink, I didn’t need to gulp it down either. The Mai Tai was actually decent. It wasn’t the best ever, but it wasn’t bad. My hat was off to the bartender (whose name I never got). She’d learned bartending there at her family’s restaurant/bar. 

Although I had initially not been too excited about leaving Kahala Koa, where I had been having such a delightful time, as I walked to my waiting car home, I was glad I had made it to Tiki Terrace. For what it is, I was very impressed. Tiki Terrace is the kind of place where ohana (“family”) really is family. The people visiting that night were certainly made to feel that way.

Tiki Terrace

1591 Lee Street

Des Plaines, IL 60018

(847) 795-8454

http://www.the tiki terrace.com