For someone with the nom de plume “Beachbum,” Jeff Berry sure has been busy lately. Not content with the award-winning Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 in New Orleans, the author-turned-barkeep expanded his Tiki cocktail empire with the annual Sippin’ Santa pop-up that topped more than 50 locations worldwide during the 2024 winter season.
Now, one of the pioneers of the 21st century revival of classic tropical cocktails has teamed up with Omni Hotels & Resorts for a new summer concept that will feature delicious drinks in themed bars dubbed Tiki Social, stretching from New York City to San Diego. Starting Memorial Day weekend and running through Labor Day, this “Tiki-inspired cocktail experience” will include six drinks (and two mocktails) created by Berry in partnership with Omni’s bar team and available exclusively at 11 hotel properties.
“Tiki has always been about transporting people, if only for a moment, to someplace sunny, breezy, and far from the everyday,” Berry said in a joint announcement with the Dallas-based chain. “Working with Omni Hotels & Resorts on Tiki Social let us bring that sense of fun to all kinds of spaces, whether you’re lounging at a resort or ducking into a city bar after work. These drinks were designed to make every sip feel like a mini vacation.”
This getaway will include such signature cocktails as The Coconutty Islander (served in a fresh coconut), Totem’s Kiss, and The Bitter Birdie. To complete the experience, the hotels will transform indoor and outdoor bar spaces into “vibrant tropical escapes” with extended evening hours every Friday and Saturday. Tiki Social will be open to both Omni guests and the public.
The 11 locations announced in the May 15 press release include three in Texas, three in California, two in Florida, plus one each in Georgia, New York and Minnesota. Here’s the list with links to official sites:
Inaugural Tiki Social locations
• Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa (Fernandina Beach, FL)
• Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park (Atlanta, GA)
• Omni Berkshire Place (New York NY)
• Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (Carlsbad, CA)
• Omni Las Colinas Hotel (Irving, TX)
• Omni Fort Worth Hotel (Fort Worth, TX)
• Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate (Orlando, FL)
• Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa (Frisco, TX)
• Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa (Rancho Mirage, CA)
• Omni San Diego Hotel (San Diego, CA)
• Omni Viking Lakes Hotel (Minneapolis, MN)
Tiki Social is designed to highlight the “depth and creativity” of the Omni’s cocktail program in the always competitive summer tourism market. In addition to the full pop-up experience at the hotels and resorts listed above, all properties will feature a limited selection of Tiki Social cocktails in their lobby bars, according to the press release. Click here for a full list of all the Omni Hotels & Resorts.
The chain’s chief marketing officer, Michael Innocentin, said Omni is “always looking for fresh ways to create memorable experiences for our guests, and Tiki Social is the perfect way to do just that. It offers a unique, immersive way to celebrate the season and connect guests with the spirit of summer.”
The challenge in this sort of endeavor is creating cocktails that appeal to the widest variety of tastes without dilluting the concept. The six drinks on the menu include three with rum, one featuring rum or vodka, one spotlighting tequila and mezcal, plus one highlighting scotch.
Featured brands are Bacardi, Myers’s, Grey Goose, Casamigos, and Monkey Shoulder. Other brands called out in the menu descriptions include Illegal Mezcal, Angostura bitters, Real Syrups, Chinola liqueurs, and Ancho Reyes chile liqueur. Click here or below for the full menu.
Official websites: Beachbum Berry | Tiki Social
Omni Hotels & Resorts was founded in 1958 as Dunfey Hotels. The company operates more than 50 properties in the United States and Canada, totaling more than 20,000 rooms and employing more than 23,000 people. The official hotel of the PGA Tour and PGA of America strives to provide “genuine, authentic guest experiences with a focus on personalized service, unique wellness options, and creative culinary offerings,” according to the official website and press releases. Omni also touts its commitment to reducing hunger and combating human trafficking through several initiatives.
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, one of Imbibe magazine’s “25 Most Influential Cocktail Personalities of the Past Century,” gained notoriety and influnce as the author of six books published been 1998 and 2013 that celebrate the cocktails of the golden age of Tiki in the 20th century. Many of the long-lost recipes were unearthed by Berry, a former screenwriter, during years of research scouring the few remaining original Tiki haunts in Hollywood and elswhere.
His contributions via books including Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log and Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari not only helped kick-start the revival of vintage Tiki bar culture, it created a new awareness among bartenders riding the wave of the 21st century craft cocktail boom.
As a result, Berry was named one of Drinks International’s “100 Most Influential Figures” and called “one of the instigators of the cocktail revolution” by Esquire. His books and Total Tiki app and website remain essential reading and reference tools for anyone interested in creating or learning about the world’s most exotic escapist cocktails.
Recent media coverage: How Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s hunt for a secret recipe led to a career detour (Imbibe, April 2025)
Berry continues to update his online platforms and speak about his work in presentations around the world, but he took a giant leap into the hospitality industry in 2014 when he and his wife (and co-author) Annye Kaye opened Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The bar and restaurant, located in the historic Bienville House Hotel, has won numerous awards and honors, including a recent inclusion on the 2025 top 100 list of The World’s 50 Best Bars.
Latitude 29 also received multiple regional honors (Best U.S. Bar Team, Best U.S. Cocktail Bar) in the lead-up to the 19th annual Spirited Awards, which will be presented in July during Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. The success of Berry’s books and Latitude 29 have also led to numerous product partnerships that include custom barware (from Cocktail Kingdom) plus cocktail syrups and rums (from Orgeat Works and Hamilton Rum).
The next step for Berry, and one that may have paved the way for the Omni partnership, was the launch of the Sippin’ Santa pop-up in 2015. The Christmas-themed concept started modestly as a Tiki companion to the successful Miracle holiday pop-up in New York City. By 2019, what’s officially known as Beachbum Berry Presents Sippin’ Santa spread to 28 venues across North America, including Latitude 29.
Previous coverage
• Another holiday Miracle: Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Santa locations double
• Exclusive Beachbum Berry interview, plus festive cocktail recipes
Slowed only briefly by the pandemic, Sippin’ Santa topped 50 locations in 2024, stretching across the mainland U.S. and Hawaii, plus five in Canada and one in Panama. Look for 2025 locations to be announced in August.
Traditionally, the summer months are a much better fit for tropical cocktails and the relaxing vibe they evoke. It’s not unusual to see Tiki pop-ups taking over both craft cocktail havens and mainstream spaces when the weather heats up and cool, refreshing drinks become the norm.
It’s not surprising, therefore, that a national hotel brand like Omni would partner with the preeminent expert on the escapist cocktail experience to bring a multi-venue concept to life. In a new way, Berry is continuing to keep the spirit of Tiki’s forefathers alive.
By the mid-20th century, early Polynesian restaurant chains including Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s were taking their groundbreaking concepts to the masses, partnering with national hotel chains to enter previously untapped markets. These are the same pioneers that Berry explored in depth in his books, saving their recipes and stories from becoming lost to history.
Some 75 years later, Berry and the Omni hotels are keeping that spirit alive with Tiki Social.
PREVIOUS BEACHBUM BERRY COVERAGE
Zombie hunters: Beachbum Berry, Ed Hamilton join forces on rum blend
In 2021, two of the spirits and Tiki cocktail world’s most respected figures put their names on the label of an exciting new release: Beachbum Berry’s Zombie Blend from Hamilton Rum.
Sippin’ Santa comes to town: Exclusive Beachbum Berry interview
We caught up with Tiki historian, author and bar owner Jeff “Beachbum” Berry in 2019 to ask him about his festive Sippin’ Santa surf shacks and what makes holiday pop-up bars so popular.
• Another holiday Miracle: Sippin’ Santa locations double
Jeff Berry proves he’s never too busy to be a ‘Beachbum’
The author and cocktail historian solidified his standing as the Indiana Jones of Tiki mixology in 2014 with his first branded product, unearthing a long-lost gadget from the catacombs of mid-century bar culture.
• Navy Grog ice cone: Lost art is revived by cocktail enthusiasts and a handy gadget
Potions of the Caribbean: Cruise back to the birthplace of Tiki drinks
Beachbum Berry’s sixth book on tropical drinks and the fascinating stories behind them, released in late 2013, could be considered the sequel to Sippin’ Safari, both in style and substance.
We be Jammin: Rum Renaissance Zombie fest at the Mai-Kai
The kickoff party for the 2011 Rum Renaissance Festival was a Tikiphile’s dream, featuring a Jeff “Beachbum” Berry cocktail seminar followed by a deadly mixology competition.
More Beachbum Berry archives
• Beachbum Berry cocktail recipes | Take 5 Q&A (2013)
• New Beachbum Berry glassware, ‘Sippin’ Safari’ 10-year anniversary edition (2016)
• New Beachbum Berry barware from Cocktail Kingdom (2015)
• Beachbum Berry digs deep to unearth vintage Zombies (2012)
• Rum Rat Pack starts a revolution at Hukilau 2011