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Some information will be out of date.  Some of this writing goes back to 1995.
See Tiki Road Trip (2007 edition) for the most up-to-date information.

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Mai Kai, Milwaukee, WI
West Allis, WI

Full review and history of the Mai Kai
is available in Tiki Road Trip

June, 2001: Another one bites the dust... In 1999,  Lorrie Akins wrote: "The outside is still Tiki.  On the inside the downstairs has been remodeled but the upstairs which is can be rented for banquets is still somewhat Tiki (although the owner of the bar told us that she took out a waterfall that used to be in the corner of the room and a few Tiki statues).  The owner was very nice.  She was happy to take us on a tour and she even gave us some tiki mugs she still had left in the basement." We explored the Mai Kai for ourselves in June of 2001, and were sad to find out that it is history.  It has been replaced by our dread nemesis, a Sports Bar (now called All City).  The neighborhood that the bar is located in is largely a blue collar one, and the few people who were in the bar when we visited all seemed to be shot-and-a-beer regulars who couldn't care less about Tiki.  I got the impression they were glad to see all that 'weird stuff' go.  Too far out of the center of town to attract whatever hipster scene Milwaukee might have, the poor Mai Kai was lucky to last as long as it did. There was an enthusiastic game of dice going on at the end of the bar, between the new owner, the old owner (now apparently a regular customer), and three of the other aforementioned beer consuming fixtures.  It was hard to break them out of their concentration long enough to get any details about the past life of the Mai Kai out of them.  Instead, we spoke with Scott, the friendly bartender, who told us that the bar was de-Tikified in October of 2000, when the old owner (who had it since 1973) sold it to the new owner (apparently Lorrie Akins visited while this de-Tikification was just beginning). There are a few vague traces of Tiki left - the front entrance is still a 15-foot tall A-frame style with two big torches sticking out like antennae on some alien bug.  Even more intriguing (or more pathetic) is that if you look carefully, you can still see where a huge Tiki Mask or shield and the letters "M A I K A I" were removed from the front of the building.  They had hung on the side of the place for so long that the sun bleached the paint all around the letters, so ghostly images of the Chinese-style letters, each about 3 feet tall, still remain.  And that's all that remains! At Random Milwaukee WI Full review and history of At Random is available in Tiki Road Trip June,  2001: In 1998, Eli Hansen wrote: "More cocktail lounge than Tiki Bar, never the less a must see.  Dimly lit, fabulous music, and an extensive drink menu including the king of all cocktails... The Tiki Love Bowl!!..." We swung by At Random on the day we visited the Mai Kai, and although it is not a Tiki Bar by any stretch of the imagination, it is well worth a visit if you like authentic swanky retro lounges.  The decor is late '60's-early '70's (not my favorite) but the subfusc interior, the great curved bar, and the excellent music selections (on their brand new 200-disc CD changer) add up to a great vibe. Our bartender was Randy, son of the original (and current) owners, Mr. and Mrs. Zeller, who opened the place in 1964. Last call! Find about about Randy's Tiki Love Bowl, plus At Random's own take on the Mai Tai, and other 'Random' factoids in Tiki Road Trip! Randy also sent us to another intriguing bar, The Great Northwest Haiawatha.  This bar was allegedly a bar car from a vintage train, now converted into a more stationary watering hole.  Sounded cool, so we went looking for it.  All we found in reality was a rickety shack in an industrial part of town, full of surly looking VFW's.  The owner was a friendly chap however, and I might add that there is actually a very cool 1940's choo-choo permanently parked down the block from the bar. This is on Stuart street, near Allyce street. Mike writes: Just a quick update on the Northwestern Haiawatha in Milwaukee. The " very cool 1940s choo-choo permanently parked down the street from the bar" is the bar itself, fellas, and boy is it worth checking out. Spent an evening there last summer while visiting friends and would go back if given the chance. The drinks and decor aren't that spectacular but the eccentric two-man staff is entertaining as nuts! The older guy looks like Dr. Phibes-era Vincent Price complete with white lab coat and is super-subservient but also at the same time a stern enforcer of the bar's mysterious unwritten rules; while handing us drinks, he accidentally dropped a napkin that I bent over to pick up causing him to wave his arms and announce "No, sir! Don't do that! I'll take care of it!" or something to that effect. Then after serving us and a dozen or so other customers, he and the Haiawatha younger barkeep, who appears to be his understudy, collapsed into big overstuffed easy chairs with loud sighs apparently "exhausted" due to their Herculean efforts. Funny stuff! Very strange... when we got there maybe it was closed - there was no sign of life on, in, or near the train... only the corner VFW bar seemed open.  Maybe we'll have to try again next time we're in Milwaukee...

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