Building a new concept from the ground up takes inspiration and collaboration but also a sense of experience. Audriana Crane, who co-owns Shrunken Head Tiki in Colorado Springs along with local entrepreneur Joe Campana, realized just how much the Springs needed an oasis like this.
Crane explains, “It was actually Joe Campana’s vision.” She says she had been working for him for 10 years, “and he likes to invest in his people.”
Crane was GM at SuperNova for a bit, and Campana had this idea. They had been to Vegas to get inspiration from places there like Golden Tiki and Frankie’s Tiki Room. “I just kind of fell in love with the whole tiki theme and the culture of it, which has a really huge following, which I never realized.”
Crane loved that tiki was just a kind of this fun atmosphere, with outgoing bartenders. The patrons always seemed so happy. She realized that this was something Colorado Springs needed.
Shrunken Head opened at the beginning of March, but it already has a following. Crane explains that they wanted to make it feel as if the bar had been there for 20 years. “We didn’t want it to be this put-together kind of concept.” Crane says that the vibe is very chill, “and kind of rustic, not that ‘put-together perfect, pretty cocktails’” kind of feel.
Understanding the Space at Shrunken Head Tiki
Understanding the space was key. The space was originally the site of Diesel, a costume store. When they walked in, it was just an empty room. There was nothing in it. “We had to kind of build the concept through what we had.”
Crane explains that there was a brick wall in the middle of the space which was halfway knocked down. Instead of knocking it all the way down, she says Campana said, “Why don’t we make this a bar in the middle, and put swings around it?”
Crane says Shrunken Head formed “kind of as we went.” They just thought of ideas in terms of how to work with the structure as is
The creative process helped form what Shrunken Head is. Crane gives credit to Campana again. She says he has this weird way of looking at something and seeing it fully formed before anybody else does. There is currently a water feature/fountain inside that anchors Shrunken Head in addition to the swings at the brick bar. At first, Campana had thought of putting a dance floor further inside because the design did not allow space for booths. But once they decided on placing the fountain, they added greenery giving the corner almost an intimate jungle feel. It added an organic tiki vibe.
Crane says she and Campana also enjoyed the Christmas lights at the Golden Tiki in Vegas and wanted to bring that feature to The Shrunken Head. So they wrapped lights around the structural posts that were already there
Both she and Campana would go to antique stores and find little pieces for Shrunken Head as they were building. She would find something in her travels and think “This would be really cool in this corner.” Crane explains that they have been trying to open this concept for four years, “so we had a long time to collect and kind of put stuff together.”
Crane says her focus now is on the cocktail side and managing staff. “I think for me I have always been able to pick out really amazing staff who have different personalities.”
Interaction & Ambiance with a Tiki Feel
“I started out at SuperNova 10 years ago, and when I walked in there, I had just moved to Colorado, and didn’t even know what a Jameson was,” Crane recalls.
Campana started her off by serving cocktails. “And I just kind of worked my way up through SuperNova and proved myself to be able to run that million-dollar company and keep the same staff for almost eight years.” Crane says she did not have a large turnaround of employees at SuperNova. “And I think it’s [about] how you treat your employees and the kind of environment that you provide them. That’s what I want to bring over at Tiki.”
It is that interaction between ambiance, people and the drinks themselves that make a tiki room work. Crane says she’s noticed that people just want to sit at a table “and take it all in”. However, they have been noticing wait times of almost an hour on the weekend. “So I’m trying to even find that balance of ‘How can we give people this great experience where they enjoy and don’t feel rushed but also let everyone enjoy it?’”
Crane explains though that their cocktails are very boozy. “So usually you don’t want people to have multiple in one sitting.” She says that they have been letting people know, “Hey, these are really packing a punch here so you don’t need 15 of them. Have one or two and enjoy the ambiance and sit down, hang out.”
Crane says that it is great that they have so many sister restaurants in town. “So we’ve kind of been able to be like, ‘Hey, thanks for enjoying your time here. We’d love to have you go over to Shame and Regret right behind us in the same alley. It’s the same owner. Go check it out.’”
Specific and Artistic Mixology
The drinks are key but, as with many tiki places, the mixology is specific and artistic. Crane says many people assume that most tiki drinks are rum-based, which doesn’t need to be the case. One of Crane’s favorite cocktails is Whiskey No. 3, which is whiskey-based with some almond syrup. She says “it is very delicious but it’s also not your typical tiki drink.”
For their Jungle Bird cocktail, Crane says they tried to make it a little bit classic but also partially a riff on a classic. “So even with our Zombie or our Singapore Sling, they are going to be the classic cocktail names [but] we just do it a little bit different to make it our own.”
The Pink Gonzalez is an example of that. They wanted to be able to give people that weren’t very familiar with tiki introduced to the concept without scaring them. With Pink Gonzalez, they were able to say “Hey, here is a tiki-esque margarita.” This way a new customer can feel comfortable and not out of their comfort zone as compared to a drink like the Zombie, which can be very overwhelming. The Zombie is also limited to two people or two drinks per person “just because it’s so boozy.”
Crane says one of the keys is to ease people into the tiki vibe with the decors and cocktails. Once they continue on, she explains that they are going to get a little bit more elaborate with the cocktails. Their soon-to-be bar manager, May Dela Peña, formerly of Shame & Regret, is going to be creating some of the cocktails.” Crane says Dela Peña has been involved in many tiki bars in California including one called Bamboo Hut in San Francisco.
Right now, Crane is happy everything is flowing well. They will continue to tweak and adjust to make Shrunken Head better “People are just figuring it out just like we are because even when we opened, we hoped for the best.”
Crane believes there is nothing like their new tiki room in the Springs. She explains that Campana tries to give the area something different every time he opens a new concept. Even with Shrunken Head Tiki, days before it opened, Crane thought, “I hope we are busy. This is going to be so unique!” She says every day, they are seeing more and more people coming in. “And we’re like ‘[Wow!] We didn’t realize that so many people love Tiki!’ So it’s kind of we’re all learning together that this is such a needed concept. And it’s been great!”
