When I was around 8 years old, I used to beg my parents to take our family out for dinner at the Kona Kai Polynesian restaurant on City Line Avenue (Route 1). It was the flagship restaurant for the Marriott chain, which operated a large “Motor Inn” right behind the restaurant. The Kona Kai opened in 1961.

They had real tiki torches burning by the entrance door. There was a koi pond with an indoor waterfall. There were palm trees, galore and I was probably too enraptured to notice if they were fake, or not. You could get almost anything with pineapple on it. My favorite dinners were ham and chicken, smothered in syrup-y pineapple chunks. They gave me those cool, colorful cocktail umbrellas in my glass of iced soda. There was coconut ice cream for dessert, too. After dinner, there was a miniature golf course on site.

In the 1960’s in Philadelphia, it represented a real escape. Kona Kai was an immersive and transformative experience. Apart from some of the western steak houses, it was the first themed dining that I can remember vividly. James Teitelbaum, author of Tiki Road Trip: A Guide to Tiki Culture in North America, confirms my experience; Tiki was about escapism. “The best Tiki paradises have a completely escapist environment. Windows are bad because they’re a reminder of the outside world. Television more so. Water features and aquariums are great, tropical plants are great, lots of nautical junk (fishing nets, glass floats, bits of old ships) is always great, and of course a Tiki bar…” Of course, the exotic drinks at the Tiki bar were a major attraction, but I hadn’t acquired a taste for cocktails, yet.

The restaurant, the hotel pool and skating rink were featured on the “Thin White Line” episode of the TV show Route 66, first airing on December 8, 1961. youtu.be/bWhMVP9Gud8

Sadly, the Kona Kai met the wrecking ball in 1985 to permit the construction of a large office building. Marriott built a Courtyard Hotel across City Line Avenue to replace the Motor Inn.