Tisa's Barefoot Bar "II" was cleverly designed by Tisa reusing mostly lumber thoughtfully deposited by the 20 foot seas at the end of Alega beach, directly across from the house of Tisa's father. Slowly, the new Tisa's Barefoot bar became a jumble of collections from the sea, and anything that Tisa collected for recycle and reuse. "Never underestimate the power of nature", smiles Tisa. And with that wisdom in mind, she continued to collect drift wood for ongoing construction.
Tisa was the only employee for the first three years. Then, in 1992, Wiz, the now famous tattoo artist, ran away from home and found shelter at Tisa's. Tisa immediately put him to work earning his keep. He learned bar tending and the many chores needed to keep the Barefoot Bar business going. Wiz helped Tisa with early construction projects, helped keep the beaches clean, and a variety of other jobs. Our first Tattoo Festival in 1993 empowered Wiz to put all his dreams on tapa and body tattoos, and the rest is history (Wiz left the Barefoot Bar in 1999 to open his own studio in Matu'u Village). |
Then, in 1996, a retired kiwi drain layer saw an opportunity to put his expertise to use to improve the Barefoot Bar's drainage system. He moved to the project site, and the rest is history.
Candyman soon wore all the hats in Tisa's barefoot bar - operations, bartending, planting a 3 acre lot plantation of bananas, assisting Tisa in cleaning trash and cutting a half a mile of grass on the public highway going thru Alega village.
He sank enormous piles (salvaged from the rebuilding of the cannery's pier) 15 feet into the sand to support the bar's new deck expansion.
Enormous pieces of driftwood and other timbers, some of which are nearly 100 years old, were wrestled into place using chains, ropes, pulleys and a lot of human muscle. |
 |
Wiz: Tattoo artist, and tattoo canvas.
(credit: unknown) |
|
