Historic Fort Lauderdale restaurant and Polynesian show shuts down — for now

South Florida’s tourist season may be about to begin — as much as it can begin during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But for now, the mighty Mai-Kai Restaurant, a mainstay on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale, will not be open.

The Polynesian-themed restaurant, famous for its powerful rum drinks and tiki show, won’t be seating and entertaining guests because it’s temporarily closing. No 2 for 1 happy hour at the funky Molokai bar. No kitchen-sink-sized Mystery Drink dramatically served up to tables of rowdy bachelors or bachelorettes. No birthday Pupu platters. No shirtless dancers crawling over fire or twirling giant, flaming, Samoan knives.

The restaurant said in an email that the reason for the closing was a weekend flood and announced this will kick off the first phase of an enhancement of the property’s structure and design.

As of now, there’s no reopening date, but the Hulaween drive-in movie event will go on as planned on Oct. 30.

“We are proud to be one of the most unique dining and entertainment venues in all of South Florida,” the restaurant said in an email. “Since we opened our doors in 1956, it has been our pleasure to transport our guests to the warmth and magical aura of Polynesia.”

The restaurant, created by brothers Bob and Jack Thornton, tried to ride out the pandemic by offering to-go drinks, including its most popular beverage, the Barrel o’ Rum. The restaurant was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 3:17 PM.