tiki bar
A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a rom ...
chain headquartered in
Emeryville Emeryville may refer to:
* Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, with a border on the shore of San ...
, California, United States. Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. (December 10, 1902 in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
– October 11, 1984 in
Hillsborough, California
Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located south of San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsula, bordered by Burlingame to the north, San Mateo to the east, Highlands-B ...
) founded a chain of
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
n-themed restaurants that bore his nickname, "Trader Vic". He was one of two people who claimed to have invented the
Mai Tai
The Mai Tai is a cocktail made of rum, Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice. It is one of the characteristic cocktails in Tiki culture.
History
Victor J. Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his restaurant, Trader ...
. The other was his amicable competitor for many years,
Donn Beach
Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Gantt; February 22, 1907 – June 7, 1989) was an American adventurer, businessman, and World War II veteran who was the "founding father" of tiki culture. He is known for opening the first prototypical tiki bar, Don ...
of the "Don the Beachcomber" restaurants.
History
Bergeron attended
Heald College
Heald College (1863 –2015) was a private for-profit businesscareer college with its main campus in San Francisco, California. It offered courses in the fields of healthcare, business, legal, and technology.
Beginning in 2012, it also offered ...
in San Francisco. On November 17, 1934, using $500 in borrowed money, Bergeron opened a small bar/restaurant across from his parents' grocery store at San Pablo Avenue and 65th Street in the Golden Gate District of
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
. He named it Hinky Dink's. As its popularity spread, the menu and decor developed an increasingly tropical flair, and Hinky Dink's soon became Trader Vic's.
In 1949, Western Hotels executive
Edward Carlson
Edward Carlson (June 4, 1911 – April 3, 1990), was an American hotel and airline executive, and Seattle, Washington civic leader. Originally a small bar named ''The Outrigger'', it was expanded into a full restaurant in 1954 and renamed ''Trader Vic's'' in 1960. Due to the restaurant's success, Bergeron worked with Western Hotels to open Trader Vic's locations in a number of their hotels. In 1950, Bergeron opened a Trader Vic's location in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
and in 1951 at 20 Cosmo Place in San Francisco.
Because Bergeron lacked the capital to expand, he partnered with
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton.
The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...
. Conrad Hilton opened his first Trader Vic's in
The Beverly Hilton
The Beverly Hilton is a hotel located on an property at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards in Beverly Hills, California. The Beverly Hilton has hosted many awards shows, charity benefits, and entertainment and motion pic ...
in 1955. Two years later, Hilton opened another Trader Vic's in
The Palmer House
The Palmer House – A Hilton Hotel is a historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Palmer House was the city's first hotel with elevators ...
in Chicago, and then licensed the Trader Vic's brand for use throughout his chain for $2,000,000, retaining Bergeron to oversee the decoration, staffing and operation of the restaurants for an annual salary of $65,000. Hilton soon estimated the popular Trader Vic's establishments were earning his hotel chain $5 million a year.
Sheraton Hotels
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Ce ...
quickly opened competing chains of tiki restaurants in their hotels, known as Ports O' Call and Kon-Tiki.
During the
Tiki culture
Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...
fad of the 1950s and 1960s, as many as 25 Trader Vic's restaurants were in operation worldwide. They all featured the popular mix of Polynesian artifacts, unique cocktails, and exotic cuisine. The chain of restaurants grew and is credited as one of the first successful themed chains, a marketing model that many other restaurants followed.
In 1972 the original location in Oakland was closed and replaced by a bayfront restaurant in nearby Emeryville, now considered the chain's flagship restaurant. In the 1980s and 1990s, the chain began to shrink as a younger generation had little connection to the chain's tiki theme. Poor locations or less trendy addresses took a toll on the chain's popularity. While many of the original locations have closed, Trader Vic's once again has grown to 18 locations around the globe due to a revival in popularity of tiki culture.
As of 2022, there are three Trader Vic's restaurants in the United States, two in Europe, ten in the Middle East, two in East Asia, and one in Seychelles.
The Trader Vic's Corporation has also franchised restaurants and bars under the names the Mai Tai Lounge (all locations defunct), Trader Vic's Island Bar & Grill (opened 2010 in Sarasota, Florida, shuttered in 2013 - where the company experimented with a Hooters-like concept but not a true Hooters knockoff), and Señor Pico. There is one remaining Señor Pico location at The Palm Dubai.
Drinks
Beyond the Mai Tai, Bergeron's other more famous drinks included the
Fog Cutter
The Fog Cutter is a vintage tiki cocktail frequently attributed to being invented by Victor Bergeron that calls for a mixture of several liquors (rum, brandy, gin), the juice of lemon and oranges, orgeat syrup, and cream sherry. It is high in ...
and the
Scorpion Bowl
A Scorpion Bowl is a communally shared alcoholic tiki drink served in a large ceramic bowl traditionally decorated with wahine or hula-girl island scenes and meant to be drunk through long straws. Bowl shapes and decorations can vary considerably. ...
. Both drinks were served in a specific and highly decorated mug or bowl. His take on a
Hot buttered rum
Hot buttered rum is a mixed drink containing rum, butter, hot water or cider, a sweetener, and various spices (usually cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves). It is especially popular in the fall and winter and is traditionally associated with the holi ...
was also an early example calling for a specific ceramic mug, in this case a skull. The Scorpion Bowl in particular and its many variations proliferated onto the cocktail menus of virtually all subsequent Tiki bars. The menus from his restaurants could list dozens of different tropical drinks. As was the case with
Don the Beachcomber
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
, rum was the hallmark ingredient in most of his cocktails, but Vic is also credited with creating the ''Eastern Sour'', which employed less common (for Tiki drinks) rye whiskey, and another drink using even more rarely used tequila (the ''Mexican El Diablo'').
Headquarters
The company is headquartered in
Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The resident population was 12,905 as o ...
.
At times the company had its headquarters in several locations in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
, including Corte Madera and San Rafael.
According to the Trader Vic's website, the Mai-Tai was invented by "Trader Vic" Bergeron in 1944 in Oakland, CA.
Current locations
Former locations
Books of recipes and stories
*''Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drink'' (1946)
*''Bartender's Guide by Trader Vic'' (1947)
*''Trader Vic's Kitchen Kibitzer'' (1952)
*''Trader Vic's Pacific Island Cookbook'' (1968)
*''Trader Vic's Bartenders Guide'' (1972)
*''The Menehunes'' (1972)
*''Trader Vic's Book of Mexican Cooking'' (1973)
*''Frankly Speaking: Trader Vic's Own Story'' (1973) ()
*''Trader Vic's Rum Cookery & Drinkery'' (1974)
*''Trader Vic's Helluva Man's Cookbook'' (1976)
Books published by third parties
*''Trader Vic's Tiki Party!: Cocktails & Food to Share with Friends''
*''Cocktails of the South Pacific and Beyond'' (with a detailed early history of Trader Vic's original location)
*''Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki'' by Martin Cate with Rebecca Cate discusses the franchise
In popular culture
The song "
Werewolves of London
"Werewolves of London" is a rock song performed by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. It was composed by Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel and was included on ''Excitable Boy'' (1978), Zevon's third solo album. The track featured ...
," a Top 40 hit co-written by
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician.
Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...
and appearing on his 1978 album ''
Excitable Boy
''Excitable Boy'' is the third studio album by American musician Warren Zevon. The album was released on January 18, 1978, by Asylum Records. It includes the single "Werewolves of London", which reached No. 21 and remained in the American Top 40 ...
'', contains the line "I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic's." The Trader Vic's in London opened in 1963.
The restaurant is also referenced by Bill Murray's character, Frank Cross, to John Forsythe's character, Lew Hayward, in the 1988 movie ''
Scrooged
''Scrooged'' is a 1988 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens, ''Scrooged'' is a modern retelling ...
''.
In the film '' Frost/Nixon'' the character of David Frost orders takeout from Trader Vic's while staying in
The Beverly Hilton
The Beverly Hilton is a hotel located on an property at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards in Beverly Hills, California. The Beverly Hilton has hosted many awards shows, charity benefits, and entertainment and motion pic ...
, which formerly had a Trader Vic's location inside the hotel. The character orders a cheeseburger.
In the film ''
Thunder Force
is a series of nonlinear gameplay, free-roaming Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters, scrolling shooter type video games developed by the Japanese software company Technosoft and published by Sega. The franchise is recognized for its distinctive gam ...
'' Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy dine at a Trader Vic's.
In the New York Times bestseller and 2012 100 Notable Books, ''Beautiful Ruins'', by Jess Walter, Trader Vic's in Seattle Washington is the setting of a scene between two characters in September 1967. In Chapter 16, "After the Fall" a couple meet at Trader Vic's and one walks "into a burst of warm air and bamboo, tiki and totem, dugout canoe hung from the ceiling."
See also
*
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California ...
, which was inspired in part by the success of Trader Vic's