Oahu’s Favorite Pau Hana Place
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Mai Tai Bar is the people’s choice for an uncomplicated good time. Raising a glass is general manager Francine Cekada, surrounded by security men (from left) Pako Toomalatai, Maka Tuakoi,Tony Finau and Walt Saole. Here’s to the Mai Tai Bar, which for a decade has earned a reputation as Oahu’s favorite go-to place for an uncomplicated good time. Cheers, and happy 10th anniversary!
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Here’s to the Mai Tai Bar, which for a decade has earned a reputation as Oahu’s favorite go-to place for an uncomplicated good time. Cheers, and happy 10th anniversary!
The Mai Tai Bar has remained the undisputed title-holder for the Best Pau Hana Spot and Happy Hour as voted by readers of MidWeek and the Star-Bulletin in the Hawaii’s Best poll, as well as Honolulu Magazine, for the past eight years. It also has added awards for Best Live Music, Best Bar and Best Bar Food to its impressive list of accolades.
“I’m super proud of the many awards we’ve received that have been voted by the people of Hawaii,” says Francine Cekada, general manager of Mai Tai Bar. “When you know it’s the people voting, those are so great.”
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And while its name screams tourists, it’s the locals who have been the anchor of the Ala Moana Center establishment since its opening in 1999.
What’s the secret?
For starters, at the Mai Tai Bar there’s no need to spend hours getting dolled up, no stress from having to circle the block in hopes of finding parking, no money lost when you forget to validate your parking, or even worse lose your parking ticket. And there’s no surprises when you get there and find out that it’s actually a themed party night and everyone is dressed in white except you.
And how do you beat a place that has happy hour daily from 4 to 7 p.m. and 8-11 p.m., and live music daily from 4 to 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.?
This is how you beat it: Add a seasoned and friendly staff, no cover charge, free parking, comfortable chairs, excellent food, a central location and a great atmosphere.
“There’s one bar that I’ll ever work at and this is it,” says Cekada. “After two months working here, after moving over from Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (owner of the Mai Tai Bar) to help manage, I was like, I’m not leaving.”
And it seems the staff agrees. Nine of the 12 bartenders have been with Mai Tai since its opening. The average cocktail waitress has at least five years experience there, and most of the security personnel have been with Mai Tai since 2000. “Pako (Leti Toomalatai) has been my head guardian angel (head of security) since 2000,” says Cekada. “Our security are a huge part of our success. The people here feel safe. We run a lot more security than anyone else in town, and for that reason we want people to always feel comfortable.
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“Our security is the most photographed of the staff. It’s so cute when tourists will come up and ask to pose with them for a photo, and they’re always interested to know what nationality they are.”
Assistant general manager Juan Santana has been with Mai Tai since 2002, and bar manager Dave Braden joined the team in 2001. The newest manager, Merielle Tomas, came aboard last year. This amounts to a grand total of 84 employees of what Cekada calls her “Mai Tai family.”
But that family extends beyond the staff.
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“A lot of people who come in all the time feel like they are a part of our family,” says Cekada. “They love that they can come in and have a connection with our staff. And I love that, when people have family visiting, they’ll come and introduce them to the staff. That’s how I know that we’re doing the right thing.”
For those who haven’t had the Mai Tai experience, here’s a quick tour: The open-air bar is located on the fourth floor of Ala Moana Center neighboring Bubba Gump. Choose among comfortable aloha-printed sofas, barstools or tables. To spot a waitress, look for a friendly girl wearing an aloha-print dress. The recommended drinks are the Traditional Mai Tai, Lava Flow and newly added Lychee Mai Tai. Favorites on the food menu are the chicken chinois and the steak pupu.
And here’s a fun idea that not many know about: Mai Tai offers a Midnight Special: a big chocolate-chip cookie and ice-cold milk for $4. But you can only order it from 11:30 p.m. to midnight.
“So many locals are regulars because they know that it’s a great place to see people you know, it’s a great place to meet people, it’s great for happy hour, and our food is really good too,” says Cekada. “Alot of people are always blown away about
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