The Bali Hai Supper Club was a Polynesian-themed restaurant in Maplewood, MN. The Bali Hai Supper Club had pu pu platters, volcano bowls, and a Polynesian dance show.
The Bali Hai Supper Club opened in 1976 by Ping and Pat Chan and closed in 2000. It was subsequently demolished and replaced with a strip mall.
Found in the Labeled, Matchbook, Polynesian Pop, Tiki, and Twin Cities Collections.
This is a glass ashtray from the defunct Copper Squirrel nightclub, formerly located at 413 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, Minn.
Found in the Ashtray and Twin Cities Collections.
This matchbook is from Curly’s Beachcomber Room. On the front outside cover is printed “Famous Steaks and Finest Liquors”, “The Fun Spot of Minneapolis”, “Curly’s”, “20 South 5th Street”, and “Between Nicollet and Hennepin.” On the back outside cover is “Curly’s Beachcomber Room” and “Famous for Steaks” against a backdrop featuring a grass hut and a palm tree. On the inside cover is the following “Number of Miles from Curly’s Cafe, Minneapolis, Minn To” with a listing of numerous cities and the distance to them.
Found in the Labeled, Matchbook, Polynesian Pop, Tiki, and Twin Cities Collections.
The Curtis Hotel, another Minneapolis hotel lost to time, had a tropical pool worthy of being marketed on a postcard. It was a tropical beach, with palm trees and hanging ferns, right in your hotel. If you look carefully, you will see a Tiki statue hanging out under the palm trees.
James Lileks, on his Mpls Long Gone site, has a collection of postcards for the Curtis Hotel, Minneapolis.
Found in the Labeled, Postcard, Tiki, and Twin Cities Collections.
Don the Beachcombers was started in 1934 by Ernest Beaumont-Gantt. Beaumont-Gantt legally changed his name to Donn Beach. The Don the Beachcomber chained expanded to 16 locations before finally collapsing. One of those locations was in the Saint Paul Hilton in St Paul, MN.
On the front cover of this matchbook is “Greetings from Don the Beachcomber” and “Island of Mahuukona, where good rum is immortalized and drinking is an art” against a tropical island backdrop. On the reverse, it reads “Don the Beachcomber” and “Host to Diplomat and Beachcomber, Prince and Pirate” against the same tropical island backdrop but with a beachcomber lounging on the beach.
In the inside cover is a quote:
There’s nought no doubt, so much the spirit calms as rum and true religion
Don Juan, Cantoz - Stanza 34
Also is listed five locations:
Hollywood, Calif.
1727 No. McCadden Pl.
Palm Springs, Calif.
1101 No. Palm Canyon Dr.
Chicago, Illinois
101 East Walton Pl.
Hotel Sahara
Las Vegas, Nevada
Saint Paul Hilton
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Found in the Labeled, Matchbook, Polynesian Pop, and Twin Cities Collections.
This matchbook is from the Mai Tai restaurant in Excelsior, MN. This restaurant closed in 1989 and was founded by John Logan, former head chef at the Ambassador Hotel in St. Louis Park. According to Tiki Road Trip, 2nd Ed. by James Teitelbaum, the Mai Tai was Marvel Comics kingpin Stan Lee’s favorite Tiki bar
.
On the front outside cover of the matchbook is “Mai Tai” with a drawing of a restaurant in the background. Printed on the back outside cover is printed “Rum Runner” and “687 Excelsior Blvd. Excelsior, Minn.” with a grass hut and palm tree in the background. On the inside cover is “Famous for Polynesian & French Cuisine” and “Located on Lake Minnetonka.”
In addition to this matchbox, I have a matchbox from the Mai Tai restaurant in Excelsior.
Found in the Labeled, Matchbook, Polynesian Pop, and Twin Cities Collections.
This matchbox is from the Mai Tai restaurant in Excelsior, MN. This restaurant closed in 1989 and was founded by John Logan, former head chef at the Ambassador Hotel in St. Louis Park. According to Tiki Road Trip, 2nd Ed. by James Teitelbaum, the Mai Tai was Marvel Comics kingpin Stan Lee’s favorite Tiki bar
.
On one side is “Mai-Tai” with an outdoor picture of sand, trees, and what looks like a hotel. On the other side is a picture of the interior of the Mai Tai restaurant. It has a vaulted ceiling, bamboo chairs, Tiki statues, and other Polynesian-themed items. On the side of the matchbox is “687 Excelsior Blvd.”, “Excelsior, MN”, and “474-1183″.
In addition to this matchbox, I have a matchbook from the Mai Tai restaurant in Excelsior.
Found in the Labeled, Matchbook, Polynesian Pop, and Twin Cities Collections.
This is an ashtray for Mr Joe’s Supper Club, formerly located at University Ave W and Prior Ave N in St Paul.
Along the rim of this black, glazed ceramic ashtray, in gold lettering, is “Cocktail Lounge”, “Restaurant”, “University and Prior”, “St. Paul Minnesota”. In the bowl is “Mr. Joe’s” and the head of man, possibly Mr Joe, wearing a bowtie and glasses. On the back, again in gold lettering, is “Royal China, Inc”, “Made in USA”, and “Warranted 22-K-Gold”.
Found in the Ashtray and Twin Cities Collections.
This Yipwon figure from Papua New Guinea reportedly decorated the walls of the Bali Hai Supper Club in St Paul, MN.
Yipwon are characterized by a one-leg base and opposing-hook imagery.
Similar Yipwon figures can be found on pages 42 and 43 of Night of the Tiki - The Art of Shag, Schmaltz and Selected Primitive Oceanic Carvings by Douglas A. Nason.
Found in the Carving and Twin Cities Collections.
After seeing at this postcard for the Waikiki Room in the now demolished Nicollet Hotel, I wish I could travel back in time to dine at this long lost treasure of Polynesian Pop. The bamboo and rattan furniture, the green vinyl seats, and the bamboo roofs over the tables create an atmosphere of the exotic that is hard to find in modern day restaurants. I can imagine myself sitting on one of those green vinyl chairs and enjoying a Mai Tai while listening to the exotic sounds of Martin Denny.
On the back of this postcard is the following blurb:
Exotic Waikiki Room
As Hawaiian as the glowing splendor of Diamond Head . . . The Waikiki Room’s exciting tropical decor . . . its fabulous Polynesian cuisine and beverages have been imported directly from Hawaii to give you a thrilling new experience in dining pleasure.
The Pick-Nicollet
Minneapolis, Minn.
James Lileks, on his Mpls Long Gone site, has a collection of postcards for the Nicollet Hotel, Minneapolis.
Found in the Labeled, Polynesian Pop, Postcard, and Twin Cities Collections.
This mahogany shield, possibly of Philippine (Igorot) origin, is from the defunct Bali Hai Supper Club, formerly in St Paul, MN. It was purchased for the restaurant in 1948 and I purchased it in 2006.
On the front are two faces and there is a carved handle on the reverse side. The six holes in it were for the screws used to attach it to the wall of the restaurant.
Found in the Carving and Twin Cities Collections.
A matchbook from The Lexington, in St. Paul, MN. Located at 1096 Grand Ave, St Paul, Minnesota, The Lexington was established in 1935.
Found in the Matchbook and Twin Cities Collections.
This is a glass ashtray from the John Skowronski’s defunct Wig and Bottle restaurant, formerly located on the corner of Lowry Ave and Marshall Ave in NE Minneapolis where Betty Danger's Country Club now resides. Originally a grocery store, the one story building was a grocery store constructed by John Ingenhutt in 1891. In 1904, a saloon was added to the structure. Sometime in the 1940’s, the building was converted to a restaurant. John Skowronksi operated the Wig and Bottle restaurant from the location from the 1960’s to the 1980’s until a fire combined with changed zoning regulations forced him to close the restaurant. [from A Walking Tour of Marshall Street Northeast, Minneapolis, original tour conducted on September 19, 1999]
Found in the Ashtray and Twin Cities Collections.
These are matchbook covers from the Waikiki Room in the Hotel Nicollet which later became the Pick-Nicollet Hotel.
The Hotel Nicollet matchbook is relatively simple with “Waikiki Room”, “Hotel Nicollet”, and “Minneapolis” on one side and a drawing of a Tiki on the other. The Pick-Nicollet matchbook cover has “Jolly Miller Charcoal Broiler” on one side with the following on the other: “Pick-Nicollet an Albert Pick Hotel”, “Minneapolis, Minn FE 3-3177″, and “Exotic Waikiki Room” with a drawing of a Tiki and a Tiki bar.
Found in the Hotei, Labeled, Matchbook, Polynesian Pop, Tiki, and Twin Cities Collections.
All Original Content on Scott McGerik's Collections © 2002-2025 by Scott McGerik.