Glorious ideas often take shape at small tables – especially when there’s rum.
When you visit Chiselslinger and Sweetbeak’s Rancho Kahiki Tiki Bar, you’ll be overwhelmed by the layers of art, carvings, and nautical items. Every Tiki lamp was salvaged from the Kahiki, yesteryear’s grand Tiki palace that once stood in Columbus, Ohio. Half of the large Tiki carvings once lived at the Kahiki. The other half are ones carved by Jim, earning him the name Chiselslinger. You’ll likely chat with Mithu, a 43-year-old Amazon parrot who resides at the Rancho. Elise (aka Sweetbeak) is an experienced aviary tech. Caring for exotic birds is her profession. When Elise met Jim, he had one Tiki mug. After twenty years of collecting, visiting the Kahiki, carving Tikis, and crafting plaster-cast necklaces that would sell out at meet-ups, the Rancho Kahiki is now a Tiki home bar to be envied.
With the bounty of art and Tiki artifacts to take in, you might just miss one of the most important items in the room – a simple wooden, round table. Why would a table stand out against historical lamps, beautiful carvings, and layers of Tiki?
That table is the first conclave of the Fraternal Order of Moai.
Read the rest of the story in Polynesiacs: Tiki at Home, page 374.
Rancho Kahiki Tiki Bar, Columbus, Ohio
