The Alibi Tiki Lounge Interior
Portland, OR Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
It's hard to miss the glowing neon of The Alibi Tiki Lounge. Standing along Portland's Interstate Avenue, the sign has been inviting curious travelers inside for decades, where a little bit of the South Pacific waits behind the front door.
The answer is a little slice of Polynesia in the middle of Portland. From the barrel-shaped entrance to the bamboo, tiki carvings, and colorful lighting, The Alibi feels like a throwback to an era when restaurants were built to be destinations. It's easy to imagine families pulling in during the 1950s just to experience something completely different from the ordinary roadside diner.
Opened as a tiki restaurant in the late 1940s, The Alibi has managed to outlive nearly every place like it. While countless neon restaurants and cocktail lounges have disappeared over the years, this one keeps its playful personality intact. That's part of what makes it such a fun stop. It doesn't try to be modern—it embraces exactly what it has always been.
The Alibi Tiki Lounge
Portland, OR Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
The best time to see it is after sunset. The neon comes alive, the building takes on a warm glow, and for a few moments it's easy to forget you're standing in Portland instead of somewhere much farther south. Whether you stop in for dinner or simply admire it from the sidewalk, it's one of those classic roadside places that's worth going out of your way to see.
UPDATE: The Alibi continues serving food and tropical drinks beneath its classic neon sign, remaining one of the country's oldest continuously operating tiki bars. 07-26
Safari Restaurant (Gone)
Sunnyside, WA Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Sunnyside, Washington is home to the Safari Restaurant and one unforgettable marquee. Towering above the street, the sign is impossible to miss, and it's the kind of roadside attraction that makes you wonder what the place inside must be like. 11-10
The Safari was one of the Northwest's few remaining restaurants with a tropical flair. While its theme leaned more toward an African safari than a traditional tiki bar, the colorful décor and mid-century atmosphere gave it the same sense of escape that made places like this so popular during the 1950s and '60s.
It was easy to imagine families pulling in after dark when the neon was glowing, looking for something a little different than the usual roadside café. Restaurants built with this much personality have become increasingly rare, which made the Safari an especially fun find.
Sadly, a fire destroyed the original restaurant in 2011. Although the Safari name returned in a newly constructed building a few years later, it eventually closed, bringing the story of this longtime roadside favorite to an end.
UPDATE: The original marquee survived the 2011 fire and was removed from the site. The rebuilt restaurant has also closed. 07-26
