The Tiki bar is open: Fredericton man turns tropical huts into full time business
You may miss going down south this year, but thanks to a Fredericton handyman, you can bring tropical vibes into your own backyard.
Steve Wiggins builds Tiki bars, and it's transformed into his full time business, Ultimate Tiki.
"I guess from going down south and just liking that whole vibe and we wanted to find a way to bring it back to Canada and we built one here kind of for ourselves and put it on the back deck and went from there,” says Wiggins.
Pre-pandemic, Wiggins practiced cabinetry and carpentry as a hobby. But when word of his homemade Tikis spread, he took on the business full time, making dream backyards a reality.
"There we that would have normally went down south and in stead they invested that money into their back yards and they brought the south to here,” he said.
The Tiki bars and huts are made from creativity and hard work, and materials resistant to Canadian weather.
"A lot of them love it and a lot of people ask if it's a kit something that we buy and then we tell them that we build it from scratch whatever style, size, colour they like to see so it's very custom and that's the market we're after,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins is out to prove Tiki living isn't just for year-round hot weather climates.
"Everybody a lot of times it's people that have already invested some money into their backyard and they have a nice pool or something and they want a custom vibe, and something with a thatch roofing so this is a perfect solution so for those type of people,” he said.
“People who go down south and they like that whole vibe as well, and they want to come back to Fredericton and have it when they're here.”
You can find Wiggins' creations on the Ultimate Tiki Facebook page.
Bringing a little bit of the Bahamas to New Brunswick.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.