Tiburon Tommie's Mai Tai, Tiburon 1960s
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In 1958, bartender Tommie Cox and chef Johnny Won opened a Tiki-themed bar and restaurant overlooking Pier 41 in the scenic community of Tiburon, situated on a peninsula that reaches south into San Francisco Bay.
Cox, who had worked behind the bar at the Mark Hopkins hotel in San Francisco, created the drinks list that included his own version of a Mai Tai. It featured equal parts lemon, orange and pineapple juices, gold and dark rums and apricot brandy.
Won, who previously worked at Oakland’s Zombie Village, put together a Cantonese and Polynesian-themed menu.
The building on Main Street, constructed like a wooden beach shack and crammed with tiki décor and an indoor waterfall, became a beloved fixture in Tiburon for locals and visitors alike. So popular was the house Mai Tai that the bar and restaurant was renamed Tiburon Tommie’s Mai Tai in 1963.
An upper-level Maori Sky Room, with great views of San Francisco, opened in later years.
Cox retired in 1976 and the Won family bought his share of the business. The family continued to run the bar and restaurant until 1995 when the business closed.
John McAllister was one of Tiburon Tommie’s bartenders. After he passed away, his daughter Debbie Selby found her father’s notes on the cocktails made at this legendary bar.
She generously gave these lost drinks recipes, which include Tiburon Tommie specials such as the Mai and Tai and the Pier 41 Awful, to the Ark Newspaper so others can recreate the drinks at home. We’re passing along the link. Cheers!
Each order includes a print of the interior menu.
All printed in USA.
