Kahiki Supper Club
Kahiki Supper Club was a large Polynesian-themed tiki restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, known for its elaborate architecture, theatrical cocktails, and cultural legacy.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Kahiki Supper Club was a Polynesian-themed restaurant that operated on East Broad Street in Columbus, Ohio, from 1961 until 2000. Conceived during the peak of mid-century American tiki culture, it became one of the largest and most elaborate tiki restaurants in the United States and, for much of its existence, was the only major establishment of its kind in Ohio. The restaurant occupied a roughly 20,000-square-foot building on the eastern edge of Columbus near Whitehall. Its dramatic A-frame structure, large roof modeled in part on a ship or war canoe, Moai statues, moat-like entrance, tropical landscaping, thatched rooms, aquariums, fountains, gongs, drums, and monumental stone fireplace made the building an attraction as much as a dining venue. The business was created by Bill Sapp and Lee Henry, who had previously operated the Grass Shack, a nearby Polynesian-themed bar frequented by World War II veterans. After the Grass Shack was destroyed by fire, the partners began planning a more ambitious restaurant. Beginning in 1957, they researched Polynesian and South Pacific themes, visited other tiki establishments, and traveled in the South Pacific with designer Coburn Morgan to collect ideas and decorative objects. Construction began in July 1960, and Kahiki opened in February 1961. The project reportedly cost approximately one million dollars, a substantial investment for the period. Kahiki combined dinner service, entertainment, and ritualized presentation. Its best-known attraction was the Mystery Drink, a communal bowl cocktail for four containing rum and brandy and topped by a smoking volcano. A server known as the Mystery Girl was summoned by a gong and theatrically carried the drink to the table, while guests received fresh orchid leis. The menu and bar also featured drinks with names such as the Zombie, Blue Hurricane, Malayan Mist, Head Hunter, Jungle Fever, and Smoking Eruption. The restaurant attracted both local customers and visiting celebrities, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Bob Hope, Gypsy Rose Lee, Milton Berle, Andy Williams, Robert Goulet, and Van Johnson. The restaurant changed ownership in 1978, when Sapp and Henry sold it to Mitch Boich, who later partnered with Michael Tsao. Tsao bought out Boich in 1988 and remained associated with the business until his death in 2005. The company was incorporated in 1993, and it expanded into prepared foods in 1995. A food-processing operation behind the restaurant produced frozen meals under the Kahiki name, allowing the brand to reach customers beyond Columbus. The restaurant itself continued to face the pressures affecting large themed dining venues, including high maintenance costs and declining patronage. Kahiki was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, recognized as an exceptionally important example of themed-restaurant design. It closed on August 26, 2000. The property was sold to Walgreens, and the restaurant building was demolished later that year despite its historic listing. Salvage crews recovered portions of the interior and furnishings, including the massive fireplace, which had to be removed through an opening in the roof. Former restaurant employees were permitted to continue working at the associated food plant, which moved to Gahanna near John Glenn International Airport in 2000. The restaurant's name survived through Kahiki Foods, a frozen-meal business that originated as an adjunct to the supper club and was sold to a larger Pittsburgh-based company in 2007. Kahiki also became an important subject of tiki preservation and fan culture. The Fraternal Order of Moai, founded in 2005, helped document the restaurant and preserve surviving artifacts. Former employees, collectors, historians, and tiki enthusiasts have maintained private displays, online archives, books, and commemorative projects. Although the original restaurant is defunct and its building no longer exists, Kahiki remains a prominent example of American themed-restaurant history and Columbus's lost architectural landmarks.
History
Kahiki Supper Club emerged from the postwar American fascination with Polynesian-themed leisure and dining. Its founders, Bill Sapp and Lee Henry, had operated the Grass Shack, a nearby Polynesian bar whose clientele included World War II veterans. After a fire destroyed that business, the partners pursued a larger and more ambitious concept. They began researching the project in 1957, visiting tiki restaurants and traveling in the South Pacific with designer Coburn Morgan. Their aim was to create not merely a restaurant with tropical decoration, but a complete environment that would transport guests into an imagined Polynesian setting. Construction took place from July 1960 into early 1961. Kahiki opened in February 1961 on East Broad Street in Columbus, near the border with Whitehall. The approximately 20,000-square-foot building was designed initially by Bernard C. Altenbach, with interior and decorative work involving Coburn Morgan and later Design Associates of Columbus, principally Ralph Sounik and Ned Eller. The building's immense A-frame form suggested a ship or war canoe. Its patterned roof used red, white, and black tiles and incorporated abstract fish imagery and a pelican. Two large Moai figures with flaming heads stood beside the entrance, which included a small bridge over a moat-like feature. Inside, the restaurant used mock rainforests, thatched huts, aquariums, fountains, gongs, drums, and a huge stone Moai fireplace to create a theatrical dining environment. Food and drink service reinforced the theme. The Mystery Drink, a communal cocktail for four, contained rum and brandy and was presented with a smoking-volcano effect by the gong-summoned Mystery Girl. Fresh orchid leis were provided to guests, with orchids flown from Hawaii several times each week. The restaurant's celebrity guests and elaborate setting helped establish it as both a dining venue and a Columbus attraction. Kahiki remained a major tiki destination as the fashion for Polynesian-themed restaurants changed. In 1975, Morgan prepared plans for an expansion that would have included a treehouse dining area and museum. Plans were also considered for a smaller, repeatable restaurant format that might have supported franchising. That same year, the restaurant became the site of the Kahiki Incident, an altercation arising from a billing dispute. The episode involved arrests, allegations of police misconduct, and the firing and rehiring of two officers. It was subsequently remembered as a significant episode of racial conflict in Columbus. Sapp and Henry sold the restaurant in 1978 to Mitch Boich. Boich entered a partnership with Michael Tsao later that year, and Tsao eventually bought out his partner in 1988. The business was incorporated in 1993. In 1995, it began manufacturing prepared foods and built a small processing facility behind the restaurant. This side business later developed into Kahiki Foods, extending the name into frozen meals distributed beyond Ohio. The restaurant was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Its listing recognized the building as an unusually important example of themed-restaurant design and described it as one of the most elaborate tiki restaurants ever built. Recognition did not resolve the business's economic difficulties. Kahiki closed on August 26, 2000, citing high maintenance costs and substantial loss of business. The property was sold to Walgreens, and the building was demolished that year. Salvage workers recovered architectural elements and furnishings, including the massive fireplace, which required part of the roof to be opened for removal. The restaurant's food-production operation continued, and former restaurant workers were allowed to transfer to the plant. The plant moved to Gahanna near John Glenn International Airport in 2000. Michael Tsao considered relocating the restaurant to the Scioto River waterfront near downtown Columbus and also examined possible sites at Polaris, Easton, and the Arena District, but no replacement restaurant was completed. Tsao died unexpectedly in 2005. Kahiki's cultural afterlife became nearly as important as its operating history. The Fraternal Order of Moai was founded in 2005 partly to document the restaurant and preserve surviving artifacts. Its members and other enthusiasts collected Kahiki furnishings, service ware, photographs, and decorative pieces, while private tiki rooms and online archives kept the memory of the restaurant visible. Former employees also operated Tropical Bistro from 2006 to 2008. In downtown Columbus, the Grass Skirt Tiki Room operated from 2012 to 2019 and displayed George the Monkey, a fountain originally installed at Kahiki before being sold at auction to the Fraternal Order of Moai. Kahiki Foods continued as a separate commercial legacy. The business was sold to a larger Pittsburgh-based company in 2007, while manufacturing remained in Gahanna. The Kahiki name has also appeared in later Central Ohio tiki and restaurant projects, including a planned use of the restaurant's Mai Tai recipe at a Fukuryu Ramen location associated with Michael Tsao's son Jeff Tsao. Despite the loss of the original building, Kahiki remains a defining example of American tiki architecture, theatrical restaurant design, and Columbus's vanished landmarks.
- 2007
Kahiki Foods is acquired
[1]The frozen-food business was bought by a larger Pittsburgh-based company.
- 2005
Fraternal Order of Moai is founded
[1]The social organization was formed partly to preserve Kahiki artifacts and document its history.
- 2000
Restaurant closes and building is demolished
[1]The restaurant closed in August, the property was sold to Walgreens, and the building was demolished later that year.
- 1997
Building receives historic designation
[1]Kahiki was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1995
Prepared-food manufacturing begins
[1]The company began producing frozen meals at a processing facility behind the restaurant.
- 1993
Business is incorporated
[1]The Kahiki business was formally incorporated.
- 1988
Michael Tsao becomes sole partner
[1]Tsao bought out Mitch Boich and became the restaurant's controlling owner.
- 1978
Ownership passes from the founders
[1]Sapp and Henry sold the restaurant to Mitch Boich, who later partnered with Michael Tsao.
- 1975
Expansion and franchise concepts are explored
[1]Plans were drawn for a treehouse dining area, museum, and a smaller format that could potentially be replicated for franchising.
- 1961
Kahiki Supper Club opens
[1]The restaurant opened in February in Columbus, Ohio, at the height of American tiki culture.
Products and positioning
An immersive, theatrical Polynesian supper club combining large-scale themed architecture, tropical décor, entertainment, and distinctive tiki cocktails. Through Kahiki Foods, the name also became associated with frozen prepared meals distributed in the United States.
Restaurant · 1961
Kahiki restaurant dining
The core offering was a Polynesian-themed supper-club experience combining dinner, tropical décor, entertainment, and ceremonial service. The restaurant occupied approximately 20,000 square feet and presented guests with a highly immersive environment of thatched spaces, aquariums, fountains, drums, gongs, Moai imagery, and a monumental fireplace. Its design and atmosphere were central to the brand rather than secondary decoration.
Cocktail · 1961
Mystery Drink
Kahiki's signature communal cocktail was served in a bowl designed for four people. It combined rum and brandy and featured a smoking volcano at the center. A gong summoned the Mystery Girl, who theatrically danced the drink to the table, and guests received fresh orchid leis. The presentation made the beverage one of the restaurant's most recognizable attractions.
Cocktail · 1961
Kahiki tiki cocktails
The bar menu included a broad collection of named tiki drinks, including the Zombie, Blue Hurricane, Malayan Mist, Instant Urge, Maiden's Prayer, Misty Isle, Jungle Fever, Head Hunter, and Smoking Eruption. These drinks supported the restaurant's theatrical Polynesian identity and complemented its elaborate food-and-entertainment setting.
Frozen prepared food · 1995
Kahiki Foods frozen meals
Kahiki Foods began as a food-production extension of the restaurant and manufactured frozen prepared meals for distribution across the United States. Production started in 1995 at a plant behind the restaurant and moved to Gahanna in 2000. The food business continued after the supper club closed and was sold to a larger company in 2007.
Controversies
1975
The Kahiki Incident
A dispute concerning a group's bill escalated into a physical altercation at the restaurant and led to the arrest of three diners. Two police officers were fired for misconduct and later rehired. The incident was subsequently treated as a prominent example of racial strife in Columbus.
Brand decisions
2007
Sell Kahiki FoodsM&ABackground
The frozen-meal business had become a separate commercial extension of the former restaurant brand.
Action taken
Kahiki Foods was sold to a larger company based in Pittsburgh.
Aftermath
The Gahanna factory remained in use, preserving a commercial continuation of the Kahiki name after the restaurant's closure.
2000
Close the restaurant and sell the propertyOtherBackground
High maintenance costs and a significant decline in business made continued operation of the large restaurant impractical.
Action taken
Kahiki closed on August 26, and the property was sold to Walgreens.
Aftermath
The building was demolished later in 2000, although architectural elements and furnishings were salvaged. Employees were allowed to continue at the associated food plant.
1995
Expand into frozen prepared foodsStrategyBackground
The restaurant business was supplemented by a prepared-food operation intended to extend the Kahiki name beyond the physical Columbus venue.
Action taken
The company began manufacturing frozen meals at a plant built behind the restaurant.
Aftermath
The food operation continued after the restaurant closed and later moved to Gahanna.
Recent events
- 2007
Kahiki Foods is sold to a larger company[1]
M&A
The frozen-meal business associated with Kahiki was acquired by a larger Pittsburgh-based company, while the Gahanna production facility continued operating.
- 2000
Kahiki Supper Club closes and is demolished[1]
Other
The restaurant closed on August 26 because of high maintenance costs and declining business. The property was sold to Walgreens, which demolished the building later that year.
- 1997
Kahiki is added to the National Register of Historic Places[1]
Other
The building received national historic recognition as an exceptionally important example of themed-restaurant architecture.
- 1978
Kahiki changes ownership[1]
M&A
Founders Bill Sapp and Lee Henry sold the restaurant to Mitch Boich, who subsequently partnered with Michael Tsao.
- 1961
Kahiki Supper Club opens in Columbus[1]
Product launch
The Polynesian-themed supper club opened in February in a large, purpose-built building on East Broad Street.
Sources3 sources
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