Unraveling the World’s Oldest Tiki Bar

[@JoeyYee]

Just a very important note: If you have the time, stop by Trad'r Sam for some to-go drinks! They're still open (despite what the doofus in the video says), outdoor seating and all. Support them, and hopefully keep them running for another 80+ years!

[@JsWarrior]

Thank you talented young man❤

[@ylimeasil]

I would get to-go zombies during the pandemic and would walk on the beach, good pandemic memories! But, yes, Trad’r Sams is a dive bar and that’s ok.

[@batterybikes]

This is brilliant man. This is such a gem for a fellow Richmonder. The story is great, the lighting is fun and the graphics and tiki god were super fun surprises. This is just about youtube at its best. Beer on me whenever this is over.

[@suecox2308]

I lived around the corner from Trad'r Sam's for 15 years and used it as the model for Coconut Harry's, the local bar for the characters in my award-winning mystery novel, The Man on the Washing Machine (no, seriously, it won a national award) and the sequel, the Man in the Microwave Oven. Sam's is a legend! Love your videos--always. ;-)

[@ronlight7013]

New heights of silliness, Joey! You’re a fine director (and not a bad writer), once the pandemic is over and you return to your senses I envision great things for you!!!

[@aliceknowskarate]

"Thank you for being everything us San Franciscans wish we could be." [close up of trash bin] 😂😂 You went ALL OUT for this one, dude! Well done 👏👏👏

[@JoeyYee]

Haha, I didn’t realize it might come across that we all wish we could be trash! (But hey, maybe if we all embrace our own trashiness, we might be better off 🤷‍♂️)

[@vvickedyouth]

This is so exciting to watch, thanks for this! My great-great grandfather Sam Balen (they misspell his last name on the website, and essentially any news coverage about it) opened this bar & my grandpa helped out his grandpa in his early teens with odds and ends jobs for the bar. I wish I had a lot of stories, but my grandpa doesn't even really talk about it much.

[@vvickedyouth]

I also have never personally been there, but my goal is to one day as I live in Washington state. I'm not too far away. Again, this made me so excited to watch! Thank you for making my day.

[@JoeyYee]

Taylor, I really appreciate your comment, and I’m so happy to hear that this story managed to reach you! Hope you can someday visit the bar and get to see the work your family put into it.

[@HenryPPMN]

Current Richmond resident and I absolutely love your videos! Please keep it up!

[@outerrichsupergirl]

I go there regularly. Trad'r is now open Tuesday-Sunday. Hours vary, but approximately 3p-9p each day.

[@djmixnmagic]

Perfect! Joey, we need an updated video with you visiting the place and having a Mai Tai or three. 🍹

[@paulyskudder8071]

My spot! Live a block away...this place is EVERYTHING. Great people...

[@boinnng]

Despite a few errors, this was a really well-made video. I was impressed with the time, energy, and research that went into this. Bravo!

[@ryanschubert6012]

Another awesome video, thank you! I hope Tommy's is on the list too. Another humble but famous installation, just a couple blocks from Trad'r Sam

[@PoorPumperSociety]

This video was amazing. Thank you for sharing this Tiki Bar Lore

[@moot6794]

Amazing, Joey. One suggestion? Maybe a pop screen? I noticed it prominently during the voiceover beginning around 2:10 (I’m wearing headphones.) “Opening,” “populace,” etc. But regardless, this is brilliant work. 👏

[@nerv007]

the bit about tiki purists is hilariously accurate.

[@rialohaguy]

If you ever make it over here to Oahu, there's a mai tai with your name on it, waiting for you, at the La Mariana Sailing Club. I'm buying. The venerable La Mariana is about as "authentic" as a tiki bar can be in every way you can imagine, and to top that off, it's located on the waterfront of Sand Island--a somewhat rough industrial area of refineries and warehouses, right beneath the one of the flight paths of Honolulu's international airport (Daniel K. Inouye International) Really, if it's a particularly busy flight night, and some of the characters from the surrounding neighborhoods decide to stop in, one cannot have a better experience with a tiki bar. It's classic.

[@JsWarrior]

Yes I know this place well. I am the owners daughter of Tradr sam. I lived in Ohau Hawaii for 10 years and I went there all the time. The old lady that owned it lived to be in her 100's . She was always there sitting in her chair and was the sweetest thing ever! I love La Marianas!

[@JsWarrior]

Yes and only locals know about it. But I've sent many people that I've in Tradr Sam's to La Marianas. Do you live in Oahu

[@rialohaguy]

​@@JsWarrior Aloha Angie! Annette, I believe, was the name of the woman you're referring to at the La Mariana, who was the owner. She was at the La Mariana practically everyday up until her passing in 2008. No matter who you were or where you were from, she always found time to spend a little time with you when you came to visit--like you were lifetime friends. While I don't get over to that side of Oahu all that often (I live on the Windward Side by Kailua Beach), I'm confident that the La Mariana is exactly the same as it was the last time I was there. It's one of Oahu's timeless traditions, like Trad'r Sam's, that thankfully never changes. Long live the La Mariana! Long live Trad'r Sam!

[@cathypiper9373]

Been there and loved it ! Highly recommended.

[@montehill1364]

You stepped up your editing game on this video. Well done! They’re all well done, but this one is exceptional.

[@richeeese]

Favorite episode so far, Joey! Can’t wait to share a scorpion bowl with ya again sometime. ☺️

[@JoeyYee]

Thanks Richie, same here! (And I hope enjoyed the Forbidden Island cameo in the video 😆)

[@freedomworks3976]

The summer wind came blowing in from across the sea ...... Its a cool 😎 tiki bar 🍸

[@john_lovero]

This should have 1M views

[@jons.6216]

I must pass by the place hundreds of times a year due to there being many places of interest nearby it and around! I actually got to go see the Trader Vic's in Emeryville due to an appointment I had out on the marina there!

[@Sconniebaggerjim2]

Many KUDOs to you Joey Yee for this Max Quality revisit of Tiki Culture. Very informative and entertaining. I'm subscribing!!

[@Susan-up2wv]

Just discovered you Joey. Beautifully crafted piece. You've got a new fan.

[@janetproper8324]

That was thoroughly enjoyable and educational. Thank you.

[@yuxuanliu4235]

great video

[@raisinbartholamew5864]

I was there about a month ago with a few friends and the bartender was awesome!! everyone was super friendly and the drinks were on point!!

[@lestranged]

I used to go here in college (in the 1980s) so I am always delighted when old places are still operating. We'd always get the bowls and a bunch of straws. everyone drink at once and see how fast we can make the level go down.

[@TheCaseybfl]

Awesome content

[@Succumbed2Rum]

Great videography! I really enjoyed this. Can you post a link to where you got those tiki mugs?

[@mmcclure1496]

It's my local. Needs a good clean. Great vid joey.

[@bartonpercival3216]

Trader Vic's was also in an alley off Bush street in San Francisco. Closed in the late 80's

[@ultimatemaitai]

Excellent video!!

[@JoeyYee]

Thanks Kevin!

[@Vanessa_Says]

Oh no! :( I’m glad I experienced Trader Sam’s at least once during my time in the Richmond. Thanks for making this video.

[@cccat179]

excellent man, you are funny....thank you

[@Shalaco]

Great intro, love it.

[@KurtisSaiyo]

Just a shout-out to Forbidden Island in Alameda - it's still my favorite "neighborhood" bar of this theme in the bay.

[@JoeyYee]

Hey you! I wanna know, in your opinion, what makes a place authentic? (bar, restaurant, or otherwise)

[@ryanschubert6012]

Such a good question! In SF, I tend to think that authenticity comes in the form of expressing the flavors and culture from whence they came, but also expressing the thing that brought the owner here.

[@maxhowe413]

this is great

[@Zeyev]

Another great video. I went to our friends at Google Maps and found that it's in a true Richmond District neighborhood with a Russian Orthodox church, a Buddhist center, an Indian restaurant, and a Korean barbecue restaurant all within a block of the bar. I last went to a dive bar decades ago, here in the city of Washington. No personality because who wanted that?

[@MrMmartin1961]

It's a Tiki Dive Bar. The best!!!

[@samskidoodle4768]

Is that Linda Gray in the Hawaii commercial? 🗿🌺🍍🦩🍹

[@allanhunnicutt8887]

Ha! Brilliant. i ewmwmber Trader Vicc's in NY, posh, and tropical....back in the Sixties and Seventies.

[@JamesRPetix]

What does it look like inside now?!

[@aarond9563]

Joey, this video is so woo woo

[@allanhunnicutt8887]

No Tiki bars here in hong kong., although Joe Bananas is a vague knock off. in Wanxhai on HK Island.

[@Gryphonisle]

Trad’r Sams is not a tiki bar. That makes it historically significant in its own right as being a Bamboo Bar predates Tiki. But to call it a tiki bar is like lumping the Caribbean in with the South Pacific because they both have coconut palms. Two different places, even though one provided the drinks (Rum especially) for the other. Bamboo Bars are exotic in their use of bamboo alongside the Deco styling of the period. Where they differ from Tiki bars is first the obvious lack of tiki and second, the drinks. You go to a bamboo bar and drink whatever you normally drink, in a tiki bar (at least in theory) you drink generally rum based fruity drinks, aka tiki drinks. Sadly, this bar is also in much need of respect from its owners as when things have broken they’ve been replaced with crap that has no relation to the bamboo/deco aesthetic. And lots of bar junk is stowed amidst the decor that survives, cluttering it up. It doesn’t help the bartenders have been known to self tip.

[@atleeriksen8514]

Trad`r Sam...Trader Vic. What are you trying to say. You jump back and forth between those as a mad kangoroo.😄...AND..there is no hurry. Take it easy. talk slower, finish the words...BUT Its a fun journey!!..and I`ll share a scorpion with you if Im in the SF area.

[@thomasodonnell9221]

Never neen a Tiki fan. In my mind, that was something that was fun for some in the 1930s-50s generations, centered around excessjve drinking. Still, it was certainly a part of the California scene, a genuine topic, which you did well, BUT Joey, you should have been wearing a Hawaiian shirt. 😄

[@chinatownboy7482]

When I went there, someone touched me in a bad way.

[@ronlight7013]

You ask (rhetorically) the definition of an “authentic” tiki bar. Since the tiki bar concept is inauthentic to begin with, an evocation of an exotic make-believe place, that question is rendered entirely mute. As you well know.

[@aranbuzzas8000]

No. Tiki cocktails have been bastardized more than any other. "Authentic" means fresh ingredients and historical recipes.

[@adamusruber]

The human feces on the sidewalk gives SF character.