Chin Tiki, Detroit, MI (restaurant)

Name:Chin Tiki
Type:restaurant
Street:2121 Cass Ave.
City:Detroit
State:MI
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:
Opened in 1967 by Marvin Chin. Closed in 1980.

[ Edited by: Feelin' Zombified 2005-09-05 18:50 ]

I can't believe there wasn't a thread created already... anyway, I went thru Chin Tiki on Sunday armed with a really, really bad camera that was borrowed at the last minute. Here are the pics that were actually visible:

The first floor bar:

The stairway leading to the 2nd floor, at the top is a HUGE rockwall fountain (no pic good pic, sorry):

The outrigger at the top of those stairs:

The 2nd floor, pic taken from behind the very cool serpentine bar. The stairs are to the left... as is an octagon Witco table. to the right is the stage area:

Tikis on the back end of the stage:

A room on the first floor in the back left of the building:

Lastly, in that same room... Come to Daddy!

-Z

Wow! Kinda like touring a haunted house but it must have been awesome.

Yeah! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! Those are great. I'm especially groovin' on that brown carpet, and the green booths. That place must have been a blast when it was new.

What did Marvin Chin have to say during the tour?

While surfing the Web recently, I found this page about Chin Tiki. it has lots of exterior photos:

http://www.snweb.org/places/tiki

It appears that Detroit is THE place to explore modern ruins! (This is not necessarily a good thing.)

back in the day, sold much tiki decor and tiki mugs to the studios for the shoot of the segment of that Eminem 8 mile movie they shot there. never was paid or in any way reimbursed for it.
ah well...

Thanks for the linkage!
I hope to get some interior photos in the future. I have been trying to contact the owner, Marvin Chin to gain legal access, but so far he hasn't been at this restaurant in Livonia.

-SNWEB.ORG

Tell the owner that I will try to buy enough drinks to keep him open , if he opens

Unfortunately, Marvin Chin is not interested in re-opening the Chin Tiki. Last fall he was telling me he was only interested in leasing the building out. The problem is, Mr. Chin sold the parking lot to Detroit's biggest slumlord and gravel parking lot king, Mike Illitch. Without parking, the Chin Tiki will probably never open. I get sad and mad every time I think about it!

Why he doesn't get a new building in a decent neighborhood and transfer the decor? Apart from the exterior most of it could be moved to a new location...one where it would be safe to park your car.

Maybe take over Bahama Breeze on Big Beaver in Troy and make it a real polyplace.

Sad but not at all surprising news about the Chin Tiki building -- in February, the deed for the building passed to Ilitch Holdings, which has been quietly buying up enough of the surrounding land that they now own four contiguous blocks. The Detroit News has an article about it -- there's speculation that Ilitch Holdings is considering building a new hockey arena there; Mike Ilitch owns the Red Wings.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070509/BIZ/705090380

What is the Chin Tiki status?- Is it truly gone?- I know its been closed ect. But is the building gone yet? - If so where did the insides go? I know there is another (different) location in Livona but I doubt it could hold all the goods. Just wondering??- I was there last in April 2007.
thanks for any response

..gotta stay current on your threads....do a search and you will find a thread about livonia chins and the descor it contains from the old place downtown....

Thanks again Tipsy - I guess I got lost in all the Cat talk in that tread - Anyway so the building is still standing and "some" of its contents have been moved to the some what re done Chins in Livona. Would love to be around for the scraps of the wrecking ball in Detroit. Keep us up dated man! Stay Golden!

..i've been in the old chin's and there really isn't anything worth salvageing except moldy carpet and moldy bamboo. there was very little decor and what decor there was has been removed by the owners.-some has been placed in the new chin tiki livonia and the rest is in a marlin chins garage...the best time to have been in there was before the film crew from the movie 8 mile raped the place....they stole cases of chin tiki mugs among other things from what the owner told us. they also moved some stuff around and damaged some things.....assholes!!

..someone mentioned in a post earlier here that the stuff was bought by the film company, but i have never heread that from either marvin or marlin chin....the version i heard is that the stuff was in another room they were not allowed in and they took the stuff anyway...

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2007-10-04 07:27 ]

Why did it close so early?

On 2008-01-17 23:14, crespowu wrote:
Why did it close so early?

..because detroit became a rapidly economically depressed city that still has not recoverd to this day...everyone has practically left detroit...the downtown area where chin's was located has been a ghostown for the most part....no people = no one to spend money = no more chin tiki.

in fact, not too long ago, detroit was the murder capital of the nation (this title changes cities every couple years though)

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2008-01-18 09:01 ]

Went by the old palce over the weekend. They have fencing all around it. I plan to keep a eye on it. I would like to have a piece of the A frame peak for my office or one of the torches of the sign. It realy is sad that they couldnt have given it a go. We destroy all our history in Detroit. I feel some of the old Auto Plants that have just crumbled should be made Historical sites. m

It's really quite sad how bad Detroit has gotten. You see the old pictures and hear the old stories and it really was quite something. My parents like to tell stories of their dates in downtown Detroit (including some of the tiki hot spots although they never really got into it much more then downing way too many drinks and then driving home). I was born just outside of the city and when i was last in Michigan, I'd drive miles out of my way so i wouldn't even have to go through Detroit.

detroit just made top of the forbes magazine list of worst cities to live in.....i rest my case.

..no tiki for detroit till you clean up your act over there!!

..oh yeah, flint michigan came in second....yeesh what a mess.....

On 2008-01-29 19:23, MNZombie wrote:
when i was last in Michigan, I'd drive miles out of my way so i wouldn't even have to go through Detroit.

Wimps !

Hey, I did my time. It's like prison, when you get out the goal isn't going back. Besides, the only thing left near Detroit for me is some relatives at the Clinton Grove cemetary.

Well, I'm very sad to report this, but the Chin Tiki is being completely torn down right now as I write this. Demo crews came in yesterday I'm told and it will be gone completely by tomorrow. No chance to save anything. Very sad day for me. Detroit is my hometown and it kills me to see the whole city going down the way it is.

On 2009-03-06 10:47, Chub wrote:
Well, I'm very sad to report this, but the Chin Tiki is being completely torn down right now as I write this. Demo crews came in yesterday I'm told and it will be gone completely by tomorrow. No chance to save anything. Very sad day for me. Detroit is my hometown and it kills me to see the whole city going down the way it is.

save yer tears for the tonga room....anything worth a damn in chin tiki was salvaged by the owners and either put into storage or placed in the chin tiki's second location in livonia....fear not....tiki has been saved, even though the temple itself went under the wrecking ball.....personally, i was in the old chins years ago before they tore it down..it was dirty and dissapointing....you didn't miss much...

You're actually wrong on this Tipsy. Reports from peeps on the seen in Detroit today are that there are still lots of furniture and even pictures on the walls as it's being demoed. The building was stable. Yes it could have used a good scrubbing, but it WAS stable. This is a big loss.

On 2009-03-06 12:36, Chub wrote:
You're actually wrong on this Tipsy. Reports from peeps on the seen in Detroit today are that there are still lots of furniture and even pictures on the walls as it's being demoed. The building was stable. Yes it could have used a good scrubbing, but it WAS stable. This is a big loss.

from what my sources tell me..any pictures and furniture left behind was just run-of-the-mill crap....stuff like old booths, chairs, crappy landscape paintings and what not....i am assured there was no witco left behind...no signifigant masks or wall decor left behind.....i find it hard to believe that the chin's would go to such lengths as to remove a portion of the old bar and reinstall it in the other location and then leave good useful decor behind....i'm not buying it...i want proof.

and stable or not, detroit is a ghost town...how could anyone expect to make any money by reopening chins?? ..if it were feasible i'm sure it would have happened but detroit was already in disarray and the economy was the final nail in the coffin...the chin's were lucky to get out when they did otherwise they would really be screwed.....

..sitting immediatly to my right is my hat....and i am prepared to eat it...if you prove me wrong.

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-03-06 13:07 ]

Tiz Tiz, Dave, where is your spirit of urban archeology, the sense of mystery of buried civilizations? We are here not to speak ill of the dead, but sing the glory of Tiki havens of the past, so that their stories will be told for generations to come!

TIKI MODERN, CHAPTER 7: THE TIKI AND ITS TEMPLES
“In the midst of desolation and ruin we looked back to the past, cleared away the gloomy forest, and fancied every building perfect, with its terraces and pyramids, its sculptured and painted ornaments, grand, lofty, and imposing”

And now a moment of silence for the CHIN TIKI, please:

Back in the day:

And photographed in 2007:

Entering the tomb of the Chin Tiki (2007):

Some of its treasures:

(Now before anybody gets a heart attack, all this decor HAS been removed since)

sigh......BIG sigh!!!!

okay, you're right, i should have more reverance for the bygone palaces, but i still feel that if an old tiki temple still has their doors open, those are the ones we need to focus our energy on and support (chin tiki detroit has been closed for years...no amount of whining was ever going to save it )....i know you'll agree......and as for future generations...i think your books just about cover it.....that and google. so if any one really needs to know about chin tiki in the future, they can buy your book or look it up online.....

that said, thanks for saving me from eating my hat!!

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2009-03-06 15:37 ]

Yes it was dusty: It was the Tomb of Tiki!....here are some more snapshots:

the wallpaper in the restroom hallway!:

The downstairs bar area:

Witco and other Tikis of unknown origin mingle:

Rest in Peace, oh Chin Tiki !

nice pics big bro......now we know the truth.....

..it was that ghastly wall paper that drove everyone crazy to the point at which they had no choice but to abandon the chin tiki forever......

Bigbro and Tipsy,

Thanks for the Chin Tiki photos and discussion. Another tiki temple meets the wrecking ball, sad day indeed.

Here are a few more relics from the glory days.

Hoist a mai tai in honor of the Chin Tiki tonight.

DC

bamboolodge and i are going out to hala kahiki to do just that, tonight!!.......hoist a few mai tai's for the chin'

Just because the Witco and best furniture was taken out a few years ago, it still is a crime the Chin Tiki is going down the way it is. I offered to buy the building from Mr. Chin just before he signed the deal for the 8mile movie deal, he wasn't interested in selling for what ever reason. So yes, I'm having a hard time seeing the Chin Tiki turned into a surface parking lot. Call me crazy! It troubles me greatly to see any original Tiki establishment destroyed, but this one extra heartbreaking to me. It definitely would be still standing and operating had Mr. Chin sold it to me and my business partner.

RIP Chin Tiki

A little Chin Tiki History.

Here is a shot of Helen Fujiwara (center). She was the hostess at the Chin Tiki. She later married famed tiki restaurant interior deisgner George Nakashima.

After George left Stephen Crane Associates (designing all of the wonderfull Kon Tiki Restaurants with Florian Gabriel), he was in Detroit working on plans for the Mauna Loa (the grand Detroit tiki temple). He spent many evenings at the Chin Tiki, maybe to draw inspiration for the Mauna Loa, or maybe because of Helen. As a result of his time at the Chin Tiki, they started dating and were later married.

Aloha, Helen and George! (RIP)

I am sad indeed and a bit pissed off in my own way. Michigan has lost so much in so many ways over the years and more so as of late. One hit after another and we haven't even reached the bottom yet. It is a great tribute to places such as Chin Tiki that we have people here to save the images and memories of the past and keep them alive. Thanks to everyone here for posting and keep up the good work.

A little more backstory.

Before Helen moved to Detroit and started working at the Chin Tiki, she was an entertainer in Chinatown in San Francisco in the 1940s. She was one of the Wongettes that performed at the Sky Room in the heart of Chinatown.

On 2009-03-06 21:22, Chub wrote:
Just because the Witco and best furniture was taken out a few years ago, it still is a crime the Chin Tiki is going down the way it is. I offered to buy the building from Mr. Chin just before he signed the deal for the 8mile movie deal, he wasn't interested in selling for what ever reason. So yes, I'm having a hard time seeing the Chin Tiki turned into a surface parking lot. Call me crazy! It troubles me greatly to see any original Tiki establishment destroyed, but this one extra heartbreaking to me. It definitely would be still standing and operating had Mr. Chin sold it to me and my business partner.

RIP Chin Tiki

....he probably wasn't interested in the money offer....if you had a million bucks (which, i believe is what walgreen's offered), you would have been able to save the kahiki....if you offered the same to chin's he probably would have taken it.....i don't know what he sold it for off hand...

there are plenty of tiki temples left that need saving...hala kahiki, for instance, is only waiting for the right offer and the place is as good as sold....it's days are numbered.....the mai kai seems to waver from time to time over to sell or not......and there has to be some other smaller old tiki haunts ready for new owners all over the place.....in fact, where were you when the aku tiki was being sold??...you could have had that place for a song......i know it was in a desolate location but no more desolate than downtown detroit.....you would have had a tough go of it either way, but i think your chances would have been better with aku tiki......detroit just isn't going to rebound for a very long time.....if at all.

it's painful to lose a piece of history like chins, and it sounds like your heart is in the right place.....now the trick is getting your checkbook to be in the same place too.

Tipsy, why don't you just let me mourn a little without the attitude from you, ok? This was a place I lived very near by, loved, and seriously tried to buy for years. You don't know my situation or the Chin's situation financially or otherwise. You yourself even admit you don't know what kind of money they sold it for. It all doesn't matter now that it's gone. Anyways, thanks for being such a downer buddy.

Proud to be from Detroit,
Chub

Well we all knew the day would come. I think someone in the area should go grab a few pieces of "rubble" or brick just to save "a piece" Chin's.

On 2009-03-07 22:16, Chub wrote:
Tipsy, why don't you just let me mourn a little without the attitude from you, ok? This was a place I lived very near by, loved, and seriously tried to buy for years. You don't know my situation or the Chin's situation financially or otherwise. You yourself even admit you don't know what kind of money they sold it for. It all doesn't matter now that it's gone. Anyways, thanks for being such a downer buddy.

Proud to be from Detroit,
Chub

sorry...i just call em' as i see em'......reality isn't always pleasant which tends to make me a real bummer to most folks.....i'll keep my yap shut on this topic from now on.....happy mourning to you ......and when those clouds lift (and they will) i hope you will continue your efforts to save and promote vintage tiki in that corner of the tiki world.....

These pics just in from http://fadeddetroit.blogspot.com

Tiki De-evolution.

Very Sad.

I hope they saved the good parts that you can see from the outside. The second picture looks horrible.

Does anyone have a Chin Tiki menu or any other novelty items they want to sell?

On 2009-03-10 07:10, detroitking wrote:
Does anyone have a Chin Tiki menu or any other novelty items they want to sell?

talk to nancy from http://www.catsmeowdetroit.com

she has a couple items on ebay right now...i think one is a chin tiki menu....anyway, she's a chin tiki historian of sorts and may be able to help you out...

A Detroit friend was looking in the rubble and found some Chin Tiki postcards!

On 2009-03-10 15:00, thejab wrote:
A Detroit friend was looking in the rubble and found some Chin Tiki postcards!

Now that's what I call Urban Archaeology.

On 2009-03-10 15:00, thejab wrote:
A Detroit friend was looking in the rubble and found some Chin Tiki postcards!

..i'll bet they were nice and soggy too!!