With only two cases of beer and $50.00 dollars to her name, she opened the bar in a small thatched roof fale on the beach in her village.
In addition to cold beer and a post card perfect beach, Tisa provided a passport to the warmth and generosity of traditional Samoa: "I learned hospitality from my dad and Auntie Mabel. I grew up hosting people in my village. It's the fa'a Samoa - the Samoan way of life. Tisa's love of her island was contagious, and the Barefoot Bar was an immediate success.
However, in Samoan culture, a single woman starting her own business can raise some eyebrows. Samoans love to tell tales, and Tisa's Bar generated some wild stories. Tisa turned gossip into publicity. Polynesian Airlines Magazine published an article on Tisa entitled "Rumors Are Great for Business". And they were. Travelers and travel writers started coming from far and wide to see for themselves, and left with their own stories to tell.
In 1991, a huge tropical cyclone passed directly over American Samoa. Cyclone Val devastated the island and sadly, the fale at Tisa's Barefoot Bar was one of the casualties. The storm washed the entire bar out to sea. Instead of cursing Mother Nature, Tisa decided to work with her. She picked up the pieces and built the new Tisa's Barefoot Bar completely from the drift wood washed up on shore by Val. |
