Endangered

Keep Tackiness Alive: Join the Tonga Team

Photo: Courtesy of Chris Verplanck for Kelly and Verplanck

The Tonga Room is much more than just a unique collection of decorations. In fact, it represents the height of the Tiki movement in San Francisco. It’s also one of the last bastions of tackiness in an ever-gentrifying city: “I hate to see institutions deny their heritage. This is a frontier town, still; this ain’t Paris or whatever we’re trying to aspire to,” writes Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll today, responding to his colleague John King’s ambivalence about the place earlier in the week. Meanwhile, the bar itself is hiring, which suggests there’s no imminent danger of it closing, as some of our fear-monger friends have suggested. Anybody looking for a job as a host/ess?

The wonders of the Tonga [SF Chronicle]

Previously:
The Full Case for Saving the Tonga Room [Grub Street SF]

Keep Tackiness Alive: Join the Tonga Team