It’s tiki time again in Ft. Lauderdale this summer as tikiphiles unite for the 2009 Hukilau. A funk filled the air at last year’s gathering after rumors spread that the Mai Kai Restaurant, the last remaining “polynesian palace” in the United States, would close and thereby make 2008 the last Hukilau ever. On the final night, the owner of the Mai Kai announced that control of the restaurant had been restored to the family and would remain open, much to everyone’s relief.
This year’s crunch is the economy, so the organizers have worked to keep the hotel and event ticket prices in check. The event will have a smaller feel but there’s still a great lineup for visits, with bands Los Straightjackets headlining the entertainment and Jeff “Beachbum” Berry hosting another great rum seminar.
Ticket prices go up 3/1/09!!
Visit the Hukilau 2009 website for all the details.
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“A funk filled the air at last year’s gathering after rumors spread that the Mai Kai Restaurant, the last remaining “polynesian palace” in the United States, would close”
A rumor started by some of the same people who organize Hukilau……
The Mai-Kai has been in business more than 50 years! It was doing great before Hukilau, it will do great after Hukilau. For anyone to think that one weekend of revelry makes a difference to the overall operations of the Mai-Kai is buying their own PR and inflating their own ego.
I personally heard rumors of ownership struggles months and months before Hukilau last year. The intent of that statement was in no way to insinuate that that life or death of the restaurant hinged on the Hukilau — I was in fact saying the opposite! Without the Mai Kai, there would be little point for anyone to gather in Ft. Lauderdale and the event would dissolve or move to a different city.