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 had 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 carefree lifestyle, tropical islands and beautiful women. This was the seed that blossomed into a tropical oasis in the middle of the desert, otherwise known as Kon Tiki.