Before Los Angeles had to explain itself to wellness menus and parking apps, Kelbo’s was out there doing the Lord’s loudest work: Hawaiian-style spareribs, bamboo booths, blowfish lights, cartoon island swagger, and a cocktail list with absolutely no interest in behaving. This design revives the oddball Kelbo’s restaurant artwork, complete with “habit-forming spareribs,” Kelbo’s Island, and the kind of tropical salesmanship that smells faintly of smoke, pineapple, and bad decisions made with excellent lighting.
It is part tiki bar, part barbecue joint, part roadside cartoon hallucination. The shirt does not whisper “subtle.” It walks in carrying ribs and 71 tropical cocktails.
Product details: vintage-inspired tiki-adjacent graphic tee featuring Kelbo’s Restaurants, the postwar Los Angeles Hawaiian barbecue spot known for sweet spareribs, tropical drinks, and gloriously overstuffed décor. Designed for fans of lost L.A. restaurants, vintage tiki graphics, Hawaiian BBQ history, retro menu art, tropical cocktails, and old places that understood the value of a giant cartoon island mascot.
- Unisex graphic t-shirt
- Subject: Kelbo’s Restaurants
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Era: Postwar / mid-century Los Angeles
- Theme: Hawaiian barbecue, tropical cocktails, tiki-adjacent restaurant history
- Style: vintage menu art / matchbook-inspired restaurant graphic
- Print look: retro full-color cartoon illustration with distressed vintage charm
- Shirt color shown: white
- Category: vintage tiki tee, lost Los Angeles restaurant shirt, Hawaiian BBQ tee, tropical bar graphic tee, retro restaurant ephemera shirt
- Great for fans of: tiki history, old L.A. restaurants, vintage menus, tropical drinks, barbecue joints, mid-century graphics, and wonderfully unserious places with very serious ribs
The Story Behind the Shirt
Kelbo’s was one of those only-in-Los-Angeles rooms where Hawaiian barbecue, tropical cocktails, cartoon signage, and postwar appetite all collided under bamboo and blowfish light. Founded by Tom Kelley and Jack Bouck, the name itself came from their two surnames: Kel + Bo. The restaurant became known for sweet Hawaiian-style spareribs, pineapple-accented plates, and a drink list that leaned hard into tropical theater. The surviving artwork says everything: a grinning island figure, a palm, a torch, “habit-forming spareribs,” and a promise of 71 tropical cocktails. This tee turns that vanished L.A. restaurant energy into wearable evidence.
Full Field Notes history coming soon at tiki.fyi.
• 100% ring-spun cotton
• Fabric weight: 6.1 oz/yd² (206.8 g/m²)
• Garment-dyed
• Relaxed fit
• 7/8″ double-needle topstitched collar
• Twill-taped neck and shoulders for extra durability
• Double-needle armhole, sleeve, and bottom hems
• Blank product sourced from Honduras
Size guide
| |
WIDTH (inches) |
LENGTH (inches) |
SLEEVE CENTER BACK (inches) |
| S |
18 ¼ |
26 ⅝ |
16 ¼ |
| M |
20 ¼ |
28 |
17 ¾ |
| L |
22 |
29 ⅜ |
19 |
| XL |
24 |
30 ¾ |
20 ½ |
| 2XL |
26 |
31 ⅝ |
21 ¾ |
| 3XL |
27 ¾ |
32 ½ |
23 ¼ |
| 4XL |
29 ¾ |
33 ½ |
24 ⅝ |
| |
WIDTH (cm) |
LENGTH (cm) |
SLEEVE CENTER BACK (cm) |
| S |
46.4 |
67.6 |
41.3 |
| M |
51.4 |
71.1 |
45 |
| L |
55.9 |
74.6 |
48.3 |
| XL |
61 |
78.1 |
52 |
| 2XL |
66 |
80.3 |
55.3 |
| 3XL |
70.5 |
82.6 |
59 |
| 4XL |
75.6 |
85 |
62.6 |
