A look inside the seaside Polynesian paradise as it enters a new chapter
Filled with bamboo, thatch and all manner of tropical fun, the Bamboo Club in Long Beach has been a magnet for revelers looking for island escapism since 2019. The elaborate but cozy spot has been sold, but new owners say they aren’t changing a thing.
Twenty-five years ago, German-born cultural anthropologist Sven Kirsten jump-started the revival of all things Polynesian pop with The Book of Tiki. When the book was first released, only a handful of original clubs from the 1950s and 60s (most notably Tiki Ti and Tonga Hut) were still among the living. Today, dozens of tiki bars are churning out Mai Tais and Navy Grogs all over Southern California.
The Bamboo Club in Long BeachCredit: Photo courtesy Bamboo Club
“Bamboo Club had great cocktails and regular events like a tiki market and live music,” says Kirsten. “For the longest time they had these tiki-lite bar that were just serving tiki drinks that hung up palm leaf wallpaper and Cost Plus basket lamps and called it a tiki bar but the Bamboo Club (and the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach) hired good people to design and outfit them.”
The proper mix of tropical décor, tiki carvings and easy lighting is just as important as the right kinds of falernum and orgeat in creating an environment suitable for imbibing. “Bamboo Ben” Bassham of Huntington Beach and has art in his blood. His grandfather Eli Hedley started carving when he arrived in Southern California during the Great Depression. At one point, Hedley’s work could be found everywhere from Disneyland to Las Vegas.
The Bamboo Club in Long BeachCredit: Photo courtesy Bamboo Club
“Bamboo Ben is very prolific,” Kirsten says. “He comes from tiki royalty. Eli Hedley was the original beachcomber who helped bring the flotsam and jetsam aesthetic to Southern California.”
Owner Jim Retson describes himself as a punk rock guy who likes dive bars. His club opened in the early 1960s as a beer bar called the Golden Spike. By the time Retson saw it, it was called Liquid Lounge, and the police had their eye on it. “It had become overrun with a crime element,” Retson says. “It was in the process of being shut down.” Retson and his partners, inspired by the closure of the nearby Don the Beachcomber, decided to hire Bamboo Ben to bring it back… tiki style. A friend recommended Bamboo Ben and enthusiasts started showing up to watch the master in action.
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“People kept showing up saying ‘We hear Ben is here,’” says Retson. “That’s when I realized he was kind of famous. People were like ‘Holy shit! He’s a legend!’” Retson, who has a background in construction and was a union ironworker, pitched in with construction.
The Bamboo Club in Long BeachCredit: Photo courtesy Bamboo Club
After serving up hundreds of live music shows, countless egg rolls and thousands of gallons of craft cocktails, Retson is ready to move on. “My youngest son is a junior in high school and once he leaves I’ll have an empty nest,” Reston says. “I felt like, let’s sell while it’s popular and I can get some valuable time with my family.”
When he found out that his friend Kevin Larsen, who had worked for wholesale liquor distributor Republic National Distributing Company, was interested in a bar, the pair struck a deal. “The new owner doesn’t want to change it a bit,” Retson says. “So it’s not going anywhere.
The Bamboo Club in Long BeachCredit: Photo courtesy Bamboo Club