The popular Tiki Bar & Grill on Indian River Drive is getting ready for its close-up, with a lot of preparation done already and more to come.
Current owners and longtime pals Dawn Biehl, Chris Pinson and John Campbell had their eye on the property for years before they purchased it in 2011 from Suzy and Mel Strahosky.
The dining and drinking establishment was called Suzy’s Tiki Bar then, and over the years has been known as Paradise Tiki, and had even housed a shop that sold ice cream and kites. A family lived in one of the buildings on the property at one time and, as kids, Biehl and Pinson used to swim in the pool there.
Over the years, “We’d always see people moving in and out,” Biehl recalls.
Biehl went on to get a degree in business and joined Gregory J. Gore PA in 1993, where she is business manager. Pinson became a local contractor and Campbell is a chemist, both with Safety and Environment Services Inc. “The three of us agreed we needed to do something in this town,” says Biehl.
After acquiring the property in 2011, they immediately went to work completing the unfinished kitchen. They also renovated the bathrooms and turned the beer and wine bar into a full liquor bar.
“We have the smallest linear space of any bar in town, but we probably pour more drinks,” Biehl guesses. “We can keep up!” Nineteen current employees include two who “came with the place;” Biehl, Pinson and Campbell, who all have full time jobs, also put in manager shifts.
When construction is complete on Washington Street, part of the city’s major Presidential Streets improvement project, says Biehl, the Tike’s site plan will go through the approval process and then construction can begin on the next phase. The plan is to open the east side of the current structure, build an additional bar just inside and install a roll-up door that will open the bar to the outdoor area while protecting it in bad weather.
The law office where Biehl works in only a few paces away across Indian River Drive, on the north side of Washington. Currently the Presidential Streets project has blocked traffic and uprooted the street and sidewalk. But Biehl is looking ahead. “Washington is going to be the prettiest street, with angle parking and street lights,” she says
Meanwhile, says Biehl, “We’re doing well. We get locals, biker traffic, boat traffic, we have slip dockage. It reminds me a little of Duval.” (World-famous Duval Street in Key West, lined with little laid-back, tropical bars.)
After giving consideration to a name change – “The Beach House” was considered – the three partners realized the Tiki was already well known and did describe what they envisioned. So they tweaked it just a bit and now The Tiki Bar and Grill has a cool new logo – a fiery and fierce tiki drum, some palm fronds and bamboo and the company catch phrase – “Two Nuts and a Clam.”
There is a full bar, lots of live entertainment and a shiny new menu offering lots of appetizers – wings, nachos, conch fritters, shrimp, tenders, fried mozzarella and more; a big choice of sandwiches and sides and a kids’ menu. With a colorful website and Facebook presence, The Tiki Bar & Grill is already a happenin’ place to kick back – and the future looks even better. Contact: 772-388-1080.
