Kon Tiki

Kon Tiki opened it's doors and began welcoming patrons to Paradise in 1963. The original owner, Dean Short, moved his family from Ohio in the 1940's and used the experience he gained working in his family's bar back east to open several restaurants in Tucson.

The family friendly atmosphere and success of his first restaurants, The Panda Steakhouse and Ye Olde Lantern, inspired Dean to branch out and fulfill his desire to bring a taste of something new and different to Tucson.

On one of his frequent trips to California, Mr. SHort noticed an increasing fascination with exotic cultures that evoked the enticing fantasy of a care-free lifestyle, tropical islands and beautiful women. This was the seed that blossomed into a tropical oasis in the desert, otherwise known as Kon Tiki.

The Kon Tiki todays looks almost exactly the same as it did when it first opened. The area behind the bar hosted several exotic inhabitants, from birds to young scantily-clad women painting "beatnik" style art to a Monitor lizard named Thor and now a smoking patio. The aquarium at the main entrance once held Piranah fish.

When movies were being shot in and around Tucson the Kon Tiki played host to the stars, including Clint Eastwood, Robert Mitchum, Lee Marvin, and Robert Wagner.

The current owner of Kon Tiki, Paul Christopher, started working here as a dishwasher and busboy when he was just 15vyears old. He worked his way up to server, then bartender and eventual owner.

Over the years, most people that have lived in Tucson have, at somepoint, marked a special moment or turning point in their life at Kon Tiki. We would like to thank you for celebrating those occasions with us and allowing us to be a part of those wonderful memories.