VIP's, alternatively written Vip's, is a defunct

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

that operated from 1968 until the late 1980s, based in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

. With more than 50 locations, it was once the largest restaurant chain based in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It was a

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a Diner, coffee shop un ...

-style restaurant, a type that was commonly known at that time as a "coffee shop" but is now more commonly known as a

casual dining restaurant Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while categ ...

. Most restaurants were located near

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s and were open 24 hours. At its peak, the chain had locations in five states: Oregon,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and

northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

History

The first VIP's Restaurant was opened in 1968, in

Tualatin, Oregon Tualatin () is a city located primarily in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon. A small portion of the city is also located in neighboring Clackamas County. It is a southwestern suburb in the Portland Metropolitan Area that is located ...

,Bella, Rick (June 7, 2004). "This little pig has pancakes and a history" (about the Tualatin Pig 'N Pancake restaurant, formerly the first VIP's restaurant). ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', Southwest Zoner edition, p. B1. next to an

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

freeway interchange. A second restaurant was opened the same year, in Salem, in a location not near a freeway. It was not as profitable as the Tualatin location, and consequently the company's owners decided that future restaurants should be placed along freeways. By 1969, the chain was expanding outside Oregon, with two VIP's under construction in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

,"Chain Opens New Outlet" (September 12, 1969). ''

'', p. 34. and by late 1971 it had grown to 15 restaurants.Pratt, Gerry (December 9, 1971). "Burnt Russian finds club pays" ("Making the dollar" column in Business section). ''The Oregonian'', p. 37. The company, founded by Keith Andler and Robert Smith, was named VIP's Restaurants, Inc. By 1982, the company was operating 53 VIP's coffee-shop-style restaurants and had also opened four

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

restaurants that had other names, including La Casa Real and Tortilla Machine. Together, the 57 restaurants had

gross sales In bookkeeping, accounting, and financial accounting, net sales are operating revenues earned by a company for selling its products or rendering its services. Also referred to as revenue, they are reported directly on the income statement as ''Sal ...

of more than $41 million in 1981. At its peak, VIP's was the largest restaurant chain based in Oregon. In 1982, the company sold 35 of its 53 VIP's Restaurants to Denny's Inc. for around $12 million."Denny's acquiring 35 VIP's sites" (February 26, 1982). ''The Oregonian'', p. C9. The offer from Denny's was "too good to pass up", VIPs' owners told ''

'' newspaper, including a promise that all employees at the affected restaurants would keep their jobs and be absorbed by Denny's. The 1982 sale covered 19 locations in Washington and 16 in Oregon and Northern California. In 1984, VIP's sold 16 restaurants to

JB's Restaurants JB's Family Restaurants was a chain of restaurants located in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. The company was based in Tempe, Arizona and had 104 JB's branded restaurants at its height in 1995. History Big Boy beginnings JB's Family ...

, of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. This sale, of eight locations in Oregon (including the original Tualatin location) and eight in Washington,"The Northwest" (brief news round-up). (August 16, 1984). ''The Oregonian'', p. E1. left the company with just nine restaurants. By 1989, the last VIP's Restaurants had been sold, and the company had branched out into the

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

business. Renamed VIP's Industries Inc., the company continued to own a few

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine, American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the Tejanos, ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others i ...

restaurants, using the name La Casa Real and mostly located in the Portland–Vancouver metropolitan area but with ones also in

Fife, Washington Fife is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States and a suburb of Tacoma. The population was 10,999 at the 2020 census. Fife is contained within the Puyallup Indian Reservation. History The lower Puyallup basin is the ancestral home ...

, and Salem. The entire six-restaurant La Casa Real chain was sold in December 1994 to

Chevy's Chevys Fresh Mex is an American chain of Mexican-style casual dining restaurants located in the United States. The chain was founded in 1986 by Warren Simmons in Alameda, California. The chain's headquarters are currently located in Cypress, Cal ...

, which was expanding rapidly in the Portland metropolitan area at that time.Steele, Jeanette (December 11, 1994). "Mexican chain latest in string of new eateries". ''

The Columbian ''The Columbian'' is a daily newspaper serving the Vancouver, Washington, and Clark County, Washington area. The paper was published for its first decade (1890–1900) as a four-page daily that was meant as a counterweight to the local Republic ...

'' (Vancouver, Washington), p. 1. Earlier, VIP's Industries had opened a chain of hotels,

Phoenix Inn Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), ...

(later:

Phoenix Inn Suites Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), ...

), which was targeted at business travelers and had six locations in the Portland metropolitan area, including one in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

.Brown, Craig (February 23, 1997). "Building projects will ease lodging pinch". ''

'' (Vancouver, Washington), Section H, p. 6. Based in

Wilsonville, Oregon Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. It was founded as Boones Landing because of th ...

, Phoenix Inn was a subsidiary of VIP's Industries. However, in 2006 VIP's sold the hotel chain, which had grown to 13 hotels in Oregon, Washington, and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, to a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

whose owners planned to continue operating it under the Phoenix Inn Suites name.Boone, Rolf (May 3, 2006). "Phoenix Inn has new owner — Hotel chain slated for $7.5 million in renovations". ''

The Olympian ''The Olympian'' is a newspaper based in Olympia, Washington, in the United States. History Olympia was home to the first newspaper to be published in modern-day Washington, ''The Columbian'', which published its first edition on September 11, ...

'' (Olympia, Washington), p. 12A.

References

{{Companies based in Salem, Oregon 1968 establishments in Oregon Companies based in Salem, Oregon Defunct restaurant chains in the United States Defunct restaurants in Oregon Pancake houses Privately held companies based in Oregon Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1968 Restaurants in California Restaurants in Idaho Restaurants in Nevada Restaurants in Washington (state)

History

See also

References