Great video here, I worked at Trader Dicks 1985-1989. Was there when Traders remodeled from old tiki style to newer digs with aquarium. Video brings back lots of memories. Thank you
Died out as the World War 2 Veterans from the Pacific Theater began passing away. My dad LOVED the South Pacific Tiki Rooms/Restaurants ! He served 4 years in the South Pacific and these places brought him fond memories of LIBERTY calls. Great Walk through time !
Another great story Steve! Being born in 1950, I came of age during the Tiki movement, but alas never really got to experience it. Bums me out that I was in Reno several times while many of these Tiki Lounges were in operation, but never visited any of them. Thanks for the opportunity to see what fun I missed out on! BTW I'm digging your Tiki themed man cave studio.
I just discovered the Channel. I am almost a Native, I lived in Reno in the Sixties and Seventies and left for much of the Eighties and Nineties but returned in 2000. I am sad to see history like this totally wiped away. But I love Tiki and I’m thrilled to have come upon this great video. Awesome to see that you have an interest in the History of Reno. I remember it well as a child and am sad that downtown Reno has lost its character and charm that it once had when I was growing up. Thanks for this tour and your other stories that I’m excited to watch.
I remember back in the 60's Harvey's Lake Tahoe had a great tiki lounge at the top of the wheel. My parents went there all the time. Total fun especially at night.
I never would have imagined Reno would have anything Tiki related. In my trucking travels, I've been to a Tiki bar near Key West a few years ago. Now you've got me wondering if Fallon has anything like that. I'm not going to hold my breath. On a side note, I've always heard that casinos had underground tunnels leading to different locations. I talked to a casino manager last year at the El Capitan casino in Hawthorne NV, and he told me they had a tunnel to the bank nearby. I think it would be awesome for you to explore!
Cool to see Jack Bedient’s name on the headline at the Reef Inn. My grandfather was a band member of Jack Bedient and the Chessmen back in the day and I’m sure he played and imbibed at many of these establishments in his prime. Love all the Reno history content you’ve been making and looking forward more
There was a Tiki bar by the Phonix Airport back in the early 1990's still . I wiah I paid more attention to it but it was real neat and I knew it was back from the early 1960's . Mid century America was its Zenith I believe . Class , power and Americana
Another excellent presentation! Thanks! In the mid-30s my father and his fellow commercial artists would visit Hinky Dink's (Trader Vic's) in Emeryville (Oakland, CA) for lunch and sometimes an after-work nosh/brew/Rum-based drinks. Unfortunately, when the normal winds from the northwest swung around to the southwest during the winters, the smells from the rendering works adjacent to the mudflats would make eating nearly impossible. My dad said that with his artificial leg, flowery language, and bum eye, he presented quite the persona who provided, along with his wife, really good food, soups, the Mai Tai, and dressings, which his wife encouraged him to bottle and sell. I sent an email to you because the genesis of my knowledge of Trader Vic's would take too much space, here. All The Best (Al het beste) from a Taxifornia transplant in Venice, FL!
Thanks for the link to the RED LINE video. Another topic that goes with the Red Line is the "Stockade/Cribs" story. An area what is now the Greater Nevada Field in downtown. My grandparents would talk about this frequently. Pretty interesting. Thanks again for the content.
Steve! this is my new favorite video of yours. I had no idea you were a tiki enthusiast! Some day i'd love to talk about your home tiki space... i've been considering such a thing myself. You covered all the spaces i knew about in Reno, and so very many that i had never even heard of. I too mourned the loss of the architecture at the (now) Renova flats. I never knew the history of the building, but always loved the look of its obvious tiki architecture. I also missed the news about Trader Dick's auction. I somehow heard about it the day AFTER it happened, sigh... Anyway, fantastic video and work, as always. Aloha!
Steve great job as usual, I really liked seeing those Tiki Bars and the roof Thatch in your man cave I just may copy that to my office. we are already using bamboo wallpaper in the kitchen along with a few souvenirs from Hawaii jus some dabbling in comparison though. Know that at some level Tiki lives on in the next generation. A couple of years ago when our daughter got married and the music play list was being compiled, it was import to her that Martin Denny Stranger in Paradise be played to call the guests to dinner. Quiet village was a frequent on our family dinner play list and because of that she claims that every time she hears that piece she starts to salivate and wants food. Robin frequently used this track to call us to dinner, it is first on quiet village.
Nicely done! You clearly enjoyed putting this one together, it showed 😉 I grew up just a little too early to visit many of the tiki joints, but I do remember a few you mention, and didn’t know of so many you point out! I am glad I got to go to Trader Dick’s when it was in the new Nugget at least. I do remember Tiki Village Trailer Park, I wonder if you did a records search for the sale of the property, if the buyer there was a name, or entity you could locate and perhaps obtain some more info about that property? Did you try the Nevada Historical Society, for material, or tips to dig up more info on it?🤔 Between UNR library, Nevada Historical Society, and downtown library reference desk, something should be found to add to that item. 🤷🏼♂️
Coming from the dubiously tiki related town of Hawaiian Gardens, California I've had a lifelong love affair with tiki kitsch. Ties in with my mermaid fixation somehow. Moved to Reno in 89 so I've seen some of these places. A youtube channel about architecture, pop culture history and northern Nevada? How could I not subscribe?
My wife and I have been watching your videos for a month or so, but we're getting caught up. We were really excited to see your Tiki episode, and I looked in my mug/glass collection, and found a few Harvey's Sneaky Tiki and Trader Dick's on the wall. We are building a Tiki bar on our back porch and have found lots of great "real" items to decorate the space. We live just down the road from you in Boise, and have been to Reno dozens of times since the 70s.We've seen a lot of the changes you show in your videos. I was talking to a friend of mine, and I mentioned how there is is so much cheat grass in this part of the country, and wouldn't it be cool if somebody figured out how to use it to make beer. I mean they use corn and barley, I wondered if cheat grass seeds could be used. He told me he heard that a couple students from the University of Nevada Reno were trying to do that exact thing as a school project, and potential business. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I like how you end your videos with a cool drink (usually beer), and figured you might know. Thanks again for the great channel. We’ll keep watching. Bobby Hai's Tiki Porch
I don't know if there's starch content enough in cheat grass to convert to fermentable sugars. Maybe - I don't know. Thanks and good luck with your tiki space!!
I think I would have to take my shoes off to count how many Scorpion Bowls I've had at Trader Dicks. Years ago, I was working for a company that would send all of the Western reps to stay at the Nugget for a week long meeting. One Thursday night, we had we had about 18 reps sitting all at one table with probably 14 Scorpion Bowls sitting in the middle of the table with multiple straws going out to both sides of the table. After that, the night got kinda fuzzy, and I don't recall much. The next year, I moved to a different position that didn't require as much travel, so I would have more time at home with my growing family. Thanks for the flashback to years past.
I would never have guessed that there were Tiki establishments other than Trader Dicks! A shame that this style has fallen by the wayside, but I suppose that makes it even more special. Thank you for the sharing!
Thanks for this video reminding us of a wonderful bygone era. People were happier and used their imaginations freely. We had our own tiki place in Sacramento called The Coral Reef that closed in 94. Immensely popular but Rono looks as if it had a huge corner on the tiki market. I wonder if any other stateside city could even come close?
I was told the sign from the old Zanzibar was donated to the state museum and now is stored in a warehouse. I imagine it’ll be auctioned at some point. It would be a nice piece to have.
@@SteveTRYK a bit off track but a real incongruous piece of architecture was the Orbit gas station in Incline ( junction of 28 and West Lakeshore) it was still standing the last time I was there, but that was 8-10 years ago
Learning about Tiki while watching this video a nagging question kept entering my head. As you taught me palm trees dont necessarily make something Tiki, but i have to ask, The Zanzibar down on South Virginia St. had a palm tree as part of the buildings facade. Im guessing that it wasnt a Tiki establishment, but as a true native of the high desert my ignorance is hard to hide upon seeing a palm tree. So my question is, The Zanzibar was it ever a Tiki hotspot or was that palm tree just a decoration to promote a tropical esthetic? Thank you Steve for another cool video about my hometown.
Trader Dick's was so much fun, the themes that followed were short lived and nothing special. We loved the aquarium and were truly disappointed to see it removed.
Driving North on 580 if you look East as you pass what is the back sided of the Magic Carpet Golf location, you can see the Tiki head poking above the surrounding mini-storage structures. Also, wasn't the Tiki Village Trailer Park immediately South of where Tamarack Casino now is? Until a few months ago you could still see pavement of a loop drive among the weeds. Something else is now turning ground there for new construction.
Hey Darrin, this is Lynus remember me ? I worked in Traders with you for four years as you were sous chef and asst exec at that time. We partied a lot back then. Cool to see your post here.
Nice video montage. However, Bertha and Tina and Angel were not well cared for and that is a stain on the memory of the Nugget under the Ascuaga family and Nevada. Bertha died many years ago as did Tina. Angel is still alive and at the Ft Worth Zoo in Texas and in much better hands.
Shout out to Rum Sugar Lime. Reno’s favorite, current Tiki Bar.
It's really good - and there are rumblings of an authentic tiki bar coming to our area!
Great video here, I worked at Trader Dicks 1985-1989. Was there when Traders remodeled from old tiki style to newer digs with aquarium. Video brings back lots of memories. Thank you
Thanks! I haven't seen any photos of Trader Dicks after the move from across the street and before the modernization.
Died out as the World War 2 Veterans from the Pacific Theater began passing away. My dad LOVED the South Pacific Tiki Rooms/Restaurants ! He served 4 years in the South Pacific and these places brought him fond memories of LIBERTY calls. Great Walk through time !
Mahalo for watching!
Another great story Steve! Being born in 1950, I came of age during the Tiki movement, but alas never really got to experience it. Bums me out that I was in Reno several times while many of these Tiki Lounges were in operation, but never visited any of them. Thanks for the opportunity to see what fun I missed out on! BTW I'm digging your Tiki themed man cave studio.
Thanks! I have a full line of LED lights under my mugs - I forgot to turn that on for filming! LOL!
Love this video! We loved tiki and Trader Dicks was great fun. Thank you very much for this walk down memory lane.❤️
Missing Trader Dick's! Thanks!
I just discovered the Channel. I am almost a Native, I lived in Reno in the Sixties and Seventies and left for much of the Eighties and Nineties but returned in 2000. I am sad to see history like this totally wiped away. But I love Tiki and I’m thrilled to have come upon this great video.
Awesome to see that you have an interest in the History of Reno. I remember it well as a child and am sad that downtown Reno has lost its character and charm that it once had when I was growing up. Thanks for this tour and your other stories that I’m excited to watch.
I glad this meant something to you! Cheers!
Thanks Steve. For keeping the aesthetic alive.
In my small way, my pleasure!!
I lived in the Sierra Vista Towers for a year in the late 2000s. I didn't know all of the history, though. Thanks!
Glad to lend some perspective!
What a great man cave! Thanks for the info for what could be a great crawl with friends.
Thanks! Will be adding to it over time.
Thanks for keeping old Reno and Sparks alive in our hearts, it was glorious.
Thanx for watching!!
Just yesterday I was reminiscing with a friend how much I used to enjoy going to Trader Dick's back in the day. I really miss that place...
As do we all!
Thank you again for sharing your stories!
It is my honor!
I remember back in the 60's Harvey's Lake Tahoe had a great tiki lounge at the top of the wheel. My parents went there all the time. Total fun especially at night.
I never saw it but wished I had!
That was where you could get a “Sneaky Tiki” drink.
I never would have imagined Reno would have anything Tiki related. In my trucking travels, I've been to a Tiki bar near Key West a few years ago. Now you've got me wondering if Fallon has anything like that. I'm not going to hold my breath.
On a side note, I've always heard that casinos had underground tunnels leading to different locations. I talked to a casino manager last year at the El Capitan casino in Hawthorne NV, and he told me they had a tunnel to the bank nearby.
I think it would be awesome for you to explore!
Cool idea - cheers!
Really enjoyed this! Thx
Thanx for watching!
My dad moved us to Reno in 1972 during the warehouse influx...wish i never left
Cool to see Jack Bedient’s name on the headline at the Reef Inn. My grandfather was a band member of Jack Bedient and the Chessmen back in the day and I’m sure he played and imbibed at many of these establishments in his prime. Love all the Reno history content you’ve been making and looking forward more
Thanks! I've got an LP of them playing at Harolds Club!
love your videos, i used to work at IGT , Artistc Fence and the short lived Pharr Mor, lol. Your content is top notch thank you!
Appreciate your comments!
Thanks for this great story of Tiki. I’m a big fan of Googie architecture and these two often overlap.
Please see my Mid Century Modern video if you like Googie architecture! Thanks!
Bertha & Angel ... I remember them and their many performances on stage and before the headliner 🐘 🐘
We don't have elephants in casinos anymore! A bygone era...
I loved your tiki video and just subscribed! I also remember the old Zanazbar on South Virginia 😀
That was a cool sign!!
Nicely done. Great info 🤙🏻
Mahalo!
There was a Tiki bar by the Phonix Airport back in the early 1990's still . I wiah I paid more attention to it but it was real neat and I knew it was back from the early 1960's . Mid century America was its Zenith I believe . Class , power and Americana
Another excellent presentation! Thanks! In the mid-30s my father and his fellow commercial artists would visit Hinky Dink's (Trader Vic's) in Emeryville (Oakland, CA) for lunch and sometimes an after-work nosh/brew/Rum-based drinks. Unfortunately, when the normal winds from the northwest swung around to the southwest during the winters, the smells from the rendering works adjacent to the mudflats would make eating nearly impossible. My dad said that with his artificial leg, flowery language, and bum eye, he presented quite the persona who provided, along with his wife, really good food, soups, the Mai Tai, and dressings, which his wife encouraged him to bottle and sell. I sent an email to you because the genesis of my knowledge of Trader Vic's would take too much space, here. All The Best (Al het beste) from a Taxifornia transplant in Venice, FL!
Thanks for the info Paul!
@@SteveTRYK 😀
Thanks for the link to the RED LINE video. Another topic that goes with the Red Line is the "Stockade/Cribs" story. An area what is now the Greater Nevada Field in downtown. My grandparents would talk about this frequently. Pretty interesting. Thanks again for the content.
I touched on the Stockade in another video - I can't remember which one! Thanks for watching!
Steve! this is my new favorite video of yours. I had no idea you were a tiki enthusiast! Some day i'd love to talk about your home tiki space... i've been considering such a thing myself. You covered all the spaces i knew about in Reno, and so very many that i had never even heard of. I too mourned the loss of the architecture at the (now) Renova flats. I never knew the history of the building, but always loved the look of its obvious tiki architecture. I also missed the news about Trader Dick's auction. I somehow heard about it the day AFTER it happened, sigh... Anyway, fantastic video and work, as always. Aloha!
Thanks doc! There's a post somewhere deep on Tiki Central that has many photos of the lots from that auction.
@@SteveTRYK i will check it out -- thanks sir!
Terrific video as always! Miss Trader Dicks, fond memories for sure!!
Thanks! What we need is a tiki bar in Reno! ;-)
@@SteveTRYK For sure!! The Golden Tiki in Las Vegas is pretty cool. Maybe we can coax them to Reno!!😁
Steve great job as usual, I really liked seeing those Tiki Bars and the roof Thatch in your man cave I just may copy that to my office. we are already using bamboo wallpaper in the kitchen along with a few souvenirs from Hawaii jus some dabbling in comparison though. Know that at some level Tiki lives on in the next generation. A couple of years ago when our daughter got married and the music play list was being compiled, it was import to her that Martin Denny Stranger in Paradise be played to call the guests to dinner. Quiet village was a frequent on our family dinner play list and because of that she claims that every time she hears that piece she starts to salivate and wants food. Robin frequently used this track to call us to dinner, it is first on quiet village.
Thanks Earl the Pearl! I believe Quiet Village was a number one album in like 1959 - Crazy! Thanks for your support!
Nicely done! You clearly enjoyed putting this one together, it showed 😉
I grew up just a little too early to visit many of the tiki joints, but I do remember a few you mention, and didn’t know of so many you point out!
I am glad I got to go to Trader Dick’s when it was in the new Nugget at least.
I do remember Tiki Village Trailer Park, I wonder if you did a records search for the sale of the property, if the buyer there was a name, or entity you could locate and perhaps obtain some more info about that property?
Did you try the Nevada Historical Society, for material, or tips to dig up more info on it?🤔
Between UNR library, Nevada Historical Society, and downtown library reference desk, something should be found to add to that item.
🤷🏼♂️
I didn't do as deep a dive as you mention here - but it could be done! Thanks!
Coming from the dubiously tiki related town of Hawaiian Gardens, California I've had a lifelong love affair with tiki kitsch. Ties in with my mermaid fixation somehow. Moved to Reno in 89 so I've seen some of these places. A youtube channel about architecture, pop culture history and northern Nevada? How could I not subscribe?
Nice - thanks and welcome in!
My wife and I have been watching your videos for a month or so, but we're getting caught up. We were really excited to see your Tiki episode, and I looked in my mug/glass collection, and found a few Harvey's Sneaky Tiki and Trader Dick's on the wall. We are building a Tiki bar on our back porch and have found lots of great "real" items to decorate the space. We live just down the road from you in Boise, and have been to Reno dozens of times since the 70s.We've seen a lot of the changes you show in your videos.
I was talking to a friend of mine, and I mentioned how there is is so much cheat grass in this part of the country, and wouldn't it be cool if somebody figured out how to use it to make beer. I mean they use corn and barley, I wondered if cheat grass seeds could be used. He told me he heard that a couple students from the University of Nevada Reno were trying to do that exact thing as a school project, and potential business. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I like how you end your videos with a cool drink (usually beer), and figured you might know. Thanks again for the great channel. We’ll keep watching.
Bobby Hai's Tiki Porch
I don't know if there's starch content enough in cheat grass to convert to fermentable sugars. Maybe - I don't know. Thanks and good luck with your tiki space!!
Thanks for a great video !!! ❤
Mahalo!
I think I would have to take my shoes off to count how many Scorpion Bowls I've had at Trader Dicks. Years ago, I was working for a company that would send all of the Western reps to stay at the Nugget for a week long meeting. One Thursday night, we had we had about 18 reps sitting all at one table with probably 14 Scorpion Bowls sitting in the middle of the table with multiple straws going out to both sides of the table. After that, the night got kinda fuzzy, and I don't recall much. The next year, I moved to a different position that didn't require as much travel, so I would have more time at home with my growing family. Thanks for the flashback to years past.
That sounded like memorable times... if you could remember! Thanks for sharing and cheers!
The "tiki" at 20:22 looks more like Moai on Easter Island.
I would never have guessed that there were Tiki establishments other than Trader Dicks! A shame that this style has fallen by the wayside, but I suppose that makes it even more special. Thank you for the sharing!
Mahalo for watching!
Thanks for this video reminding us of a wonderful bygone era. People were happier and used their imaginations freely. We had our own tiki place in Sacramento called The Coral Reef that closed in 94. Immensely popular but Rono looks as if it had a huge corner on the tiki market. I wonder if any other stateside city could even come close?
I'm seeing more places open now in various locations than when I searched last years ago.
Not Copyright infringement. 16:06. Trademark infringement.
You are correct - misspoke that one.
Not a Reno thing, but there is a great Tiki bar in Vegas on Charleston. Frankie’s Tiki Room. Been there a long time and still ticking. Fabulous!
Steve was wearing one of their T-shirts....
@@steveschramko2386I didn’t see a tshirt at all
I have a Frankie's shirt on at 2:20 of my "Where's the California Trail?" video. Frankie's rocks - been there several times! Cheers!
John Asquagas oh yes thurs pay days in the warehouse district...cash our checks & head to bar for Scorpions!! Good thing we were young...
Good times!!
That "tropical decor" kept a lot of small businesses in American Samoa working extra shifts making outriggers, tiki heads etc.
I was told the sign from the old Zanzibar was donated to the state museum and now is stored in a warehouse. I imagine it’ll be auctioned at some point. It would be a nice piece to have.
Maybe Will Durham has it. Don't know for sure.
@@SteveTRYK a bit off track but a real incongruous piece of architecture was the Orbit gas station in Incline ( junction of 28 and West Lakeshore) it was still standing the last time I was there, but that was 8-10 years ago
If you are ever near Sacramento area check out Jungle Bird. it is an excellent full tiki bar. love my many trips every year to Reno. Great info
I have not yet experienced Jungle Bird - on my list - thanks!
Learning about Tiki while watching this video a nagging question kept entering my head. As you taught me palm trees dont necessarily make something Tiki, but i have to ask, The Zanzibar down on South Virginia St. had a palm tree as part of the buildings facade. Im guessing that it wasnt a Tiki establishment, but as a true native of the high desert my ignorance is hard to hide upon seeing a palm tree. So my question is, The Zanzibar was it ever a Tiki hotspot or was that palm tree just a decoration to promote a tropical esthetic? Thank you Steve for another cool video about my hometown.
I remember the sign but I have no information that it was a bona fide tiki bar. I don't believe it was. Cheers!
Trader Dick's was so much fun, the themes that followed were short lived and nothing special. We loved the aquarium and were truly disappointed to see it removed.
Gilley's went away in short order. Today its the Island Grill - kinda close but....
Driving North on 580 if you look East as you pass what is the back sided of the Magic Carpet Golf location, you can see the Tiki head poking above the surrounding mini-storage structures. Also, wasn't the Tiki Village Trailer Park immediately South of where Tamarack Casino now is? Until a few months ago you could still see pavement of a loop drive among the weeds. Something else is now turning ground there for new construction.
Yes and yes!!!
It's too bad Tiki dropped in popularity, the drinks are truly fabulous.
The good ones are mind-blowing!
is Lilis restaurant considered part of this?!
Good question! I don't think so but someone else enlighten us!
Aloha from Renoville
Coming Soon Reno”s Newest and Best Tiki Bar
Pele Utu
1265 Stardust St
Sweet - I'll be a patron if its a commercial venture!
Reno has been in need of a real tiki bar for some time. Has anyone tried the new tiki bar in Reno, Pele Utu?
Been there! Definitely go!
@ awesome!! I am making a plan to go. Thanks!
Many fun nights at Trader Dicks dancing and drinks!
Heck yeah!
Trader Dicks is still to this day, how I gauge Oriental Cuisine
Your standard - I like it!
Hey Darrin, this is Lynus remember me ? I worked in Traders with you for four years as you were sous chef and asst exec at that time. We partied a lot back then. Cool to see your post here.
Nice video montage. However, Bertha and Tina and Angel were not well cared for and that is a stain on the memory of the Nugget under the Ascuaga family and Nevada. Bertha died many years ago as did Tina. Angel is still alive and at the Ft Worth Zoo in Texas and in much better hands.
Didn't know Angel is still with us!