Enjoy this quick and dirty â and, shall we say, shameful? â recording from our conversation with the owner of The Shameful Tiki Room.
We caught up with Rod Moore, the owner of The Shameful Tiki Room and The Modern Bartender to learn a bit about his businesses.
Like many entrepreneurs…
Rod started his businesses to scratch his own itch. Shameful… so shameful… He loved tiki culture, but no one around operated a tiki bar. So he made 0ne himself. His philosophy? Provide fun, and escape. Everyone, everywhere, can use some fun and escape in their lives.
People thought he was crazy
Sound familiar? If you’ve ever done something outside the norm, you’ve probably received plenty of strange looks. Rod decided that his tiki bar concept could succeed anywhere. He simply searches for a few variables to increase his odds of business success: a cool neighborhood, favorable rent price, proximity to transit, and diverse communities nearby.
A good Shameful Tiki bartender…
A good team member at The Shameful Tiki loves cocktails. Rod looks for team members who love mixing drinks and pleasing customers. He also looks for people who don’t mind wearing loud shirts or listening to Martin Denny and Dick Dale. Bartenders who love tiki might not be a good fit, because they’d have to turn their passion into work.
The next Shameful Tiki location…
Might pop up in New York, or maybe Austin, or maybe somewhere else. That’s IF Rod decides to go through the grueling process of starting a new business all over again. Sleeping on floors in basements of yet-to-be-opened bars, long days and longer nights. Ah, the joys of starting a business. But, because of Rod’s intrinsic tiki nature, he’s able to assure himself and others,
It’s all gonna be ok.
Tiki on, Rod! The Shameful Tiki currently boasts two locations: one in Vancouver, and one in Toronto. Let’s pray he ventures out to other cities that desperately need the tiki vibe.
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