The Biz Beat: Tiki Pete is a tropical getaway in San Jose

Pete Be looks exactly like you’d hope Tiki Pete would look: distinctively Hawaiian, a shaved head, covered in ornate tattoos and wearing a shirt with bright, abstract designs. The downtown San Jose bar owner’s cheerful and self-confident demeanor might come from starting his first business, selling artwork, at an early age.

“I was a 14-year-old trying to sell off $5,000 jade sculptures,” Be told San José Spotlight. “But what can I say? I’m an opportunist. And here we are now — it has been three years at this location, and things have been great for us.”

Tiki Pete’s is one part well-stocked bar with a wide selection of crafted cocktails made from house-brand alcohol and one part music venue featuring themed parties, live acts and DJs. The location also shows UFC matches on 10 large-screen TVs, partly a nod to both Be and his father, Pete Be, Sr., being trained MMA practitioners.

The venue previously housed Da Kine Island Grill, a restaurant owned by Be, Sr. who owns the Pete Be Center, a music venue on First Street. Be, Jr. credits his father with mentoring him in the business.

“He has been around in the industry for a long time,” he said, “and I picked up a thing or two from him. He taught me a lot about business and about life.”

Be creates all the cocktails himself and posts weekly “Mixing with Pete” videos on social media. The videos provide step-by-step instructions for on- and off-menu drinks and feature Tiki Pete’s house brand of alcohol.

“The videos are getting a lot of attention online, and I try to give each one a lively look,” he said. “I enjoy crafting drinks that people love, and I love seeing the reactions of people who taste them for the first time.”

The signature cocktail at Tiki Pete is the Tiki Mai Tai, made with house rums — gold rum, 151 rum and dark rum — grapefruit juice, ginger syrup, passion fruit puree and cinnamon syrup. It’s the strongest drink on the menu, Be said. Still, it’s surprisingly smooth, with the ginger giving it sharpness, the passion fruit adding floral notes and the cinnamon providing an appealing counterpoint of warmth.

The teal-blue Hānai Shark Tank is equally popular. Hānai is a Hawaiian word that means to adopt someone into your family informally, and this syrupy drink is about as welcoming as it gets. It’s made with house vodka, passion fruit puree, mango and blue curaçao and has a gummy shark floating on top. This one hits all the fruit flavor notes, and the vodka has a distinctly clean taste and is gluten-free.

The newest drink on the menu is the Pete Third Degree, named after Be’s 7-month-old son, Pete Be III. Be said he created the drink to be almost childish. Made from house peach vodka, peach puree, a splash of lemon and sparkling water, the drink is delightful and has a refreshing, almost explosive fruit flavor.

“I put a lot of long hours into developing these recipes,” Be told San José Spotlight. “I will make one, and then we will all taste it to see what is missing. Then, 15 or 20 drinks later, we’ll say, ‘That’s the one.’ You know when it flows smoothly, and the flavors are right on the palette.”

Be hosts pop-up food vendors when he opens on occasional Wednesdays and rotated several caterers through his kitchen for Friday and Saturday service before giving a residency to Josh Liang’s Bun Me Up, which specializes in street-authentic bao buns.

Liang studied computer science before taking up cooking to pay the bills. Even after graduating, he wanted to keep working as a line cook or server.

“There was something about the chaos that made me fall in love with it,” Liang told San José Spotlight. “I started out with a ghost kitchen, and now I work pretty much every day. It is just fun, and it’s growing.”

The menu theme is Asian fusion with dishes inspired by Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese cuisine.

“I try to take in everything,” he said. “I’ve learned to combine things and add in a lot of love.”

Liang’s favorite is the Chinese-inspired braised pork belly: tender meat rich with sweet and salty flavor, topped with pickled vegetables and hoisin sauce served on a folded bun — the perfect light and sharable snack.

“I cook it in my mom’s style, which is a little different than traditional,” he said. “We use a dark soy sauce, mushrooms, green onions and a lot of garlic and pepper. The meat is marinated overnight and then braised for three to six hours.”

Be said Tiki Pete is doing so well that he is considering opening up another San Jose location in late 2025.

“I was born and raised here, and I want to keep all my business local,” Be said. “After COVID, it’s a different world out there. I want to make downtown San Jose a more welcoming environment again. I don’t see myself ever leaving.”

Contact Robert Eliason at [email protected].