The Mai-Kai is a Polynesian-themed restaurant and tiki bar in Oakland Park, Florida. It opened to the public on December 28, 1956, and is one of the few "Grand Polynesian Palaces of Tiki" still in operation today. In 2015 it was named the "best tiki bar in the world" by Critiki, an organization of fans of Polynesian pop culture. It is the last restaurant in existence carrying on the traditions of service and serving the original drink recipes of Don the Beachcomber, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
The Mai-Kai was created by brothers Bob and Jack Thornton. They visited Don the Beachcomber in Chicago as children and even at that young age said they wanted to open a similar place. While attending college at Stanford University they often visited Trader Vic's restaurant in San Francisco. In 1955 after completing service in the armed forces, the brothers settled in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Still less than 30 years old, they decided to open a Polynesian restaurant in an undeveloped area of Oakland Park, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. Although the area seemed remote at first – "the middle of nowhere on U.S. 1" – a tourist industry was growing in Florida in the 1950s, and both cities were undergoing rapid residential expansion, so that the restaurant immediately developed a clientele of both locals and tourists.