A modern tiki bar with a speakeasy vibe is tentatively slated to open its doors in Oro Valley this summer.
Co-owner Douglas “Fini” Finical hopes to launch Cabali, an homage to tiki culture, at 8195 N. Oracle Road, just north of West Magee Road, by mid-July.
The bar will share a kitchen and patio with Finical’s other Oro Valley establishment, The Landing. It will specialize in small, shareable plates and what Finical calls “pretty high-end mixology;” a blend of traditional tiki fare, your zombies and scorpion-style drinks, and concoctions inspired by the Southwest, infused with tequila, with hints of creosote, mesquite, and other local flavors.
“People in tiki culture take their drinks very seriously,” Finical said. "We decided after doing a lot of research that Arizona tiki or Tucson tiki can be what we say it is.”
On display at Cabali, in heavily reinforced, acrylic-fronted cases that will line the walls, will be Finical’s collection of more than 1,000 tiki mugs. In the mix: local mugs made for Tucson’s longest-running tiki bar, Kon Tiki Restaurant & Lounge, and super rare pieces, including a Frankoma Tiki War God mug originally made for the Club Trade Winds Restaurant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the 1960s. A Tiki War God mug recently sold on eBay for $1,300.
"It is one of the grails of tiki mug collecting,” Finical said.
Cabali will also have velvet paintings on display by local artist Diane Bombshelter and a large-scale tiki sculpture by Tom Prevatt.
Finical has long been a fan of tiki and beach culture.
He opened the beach-themed Fini’s Landing at 5689 N. Swan Road with his friend and business partner Scott Mencke in 2012.
Before that, he was involved with The Hut at 305 N. Fourth Ave., an island-themed bar and music venue with a large Moai tiki head, originally from the Magic Carpet Golf miniature golf course, out front.
Finical and Mencke launched The Landing in Oro Valley, in 2021.
Cabali takes Finical’s love for tiki to the next level.
In addition to the bar itself, he is also creating a full-length documentary, “Cabali and the Tiki Mug Obsession” about his passion for tiki collecting and the overall collector scene. Directed by Josh Dragotta, it will culminate with Cabali’s opening. Finical plans to shop the film to festivals in the fall.
“It is my dream project,” Finical said of Cabali. “It is merging my hobby with my experience in restaurants and hospitality. I am fully immersed.”
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Gerald Gay is digital content producer who comes from the world of print journalism where he spent two decades covering life in Tucson for the Arizona Daily Star before joining the KGUN 9 team. Share your story ideas with Gerald by emailing gerald.gay@kgun9.com.
