Iconic Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show For Sale: Report

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Despite hopes of reopening after tropical storm flooding closed the Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show in October, the iconic business is now up for sale, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

The owners originally planned to repair the restaurant following the storm, but the renovation was too costly, reports said. A business broker, Transworld Business Advisers, is representing Mai-Kai’s owners.

A statement provided to the Sun-Sentinel said “the 2.69-acre property can remain as is or can be redeveloped into apartments or a mixed-use development, which could include a renovated restaurant. The Mai-Kai’s ownership is open to working with the buyer on reopening the restaurant — currently closed for necessary renovations — or opening an offshoot in a new location, complete with the registered trademarks for its famed cocktails.”

The Mai-Kai, which opened in 1956, was the home of the longest-running Polynesian show in the United States, including Hawaii, according to its website. In 2014, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Since closing in October, it’s continued to sell to-go cocktails for New Year’s Eve, t-shirts, tiki mugs and other memorabilia online, according to its Facebook page.