Dallas Trader Vic's Final Demise - General Tiki

W WikiTikiTavi Member Portland, OR Joined: Mar 27, 2003 Posts: 4	W WikiTikiTavi Posted posted on Wed, Dec 29, 2004 3:11 PM From D Magazine - January '05 Issue The Tiki Has Been Found! The old Trader Vic’s landmark surfaces—sort of—with the sale of Hotel Santa Fe. by Tim Rogers TREASURE HUNTERS: The 14-foot statue is in an “undisclosed location.” Posing with their trophy (from left to right) are Kip Sowden, Jon Dooley of Behringer Harvard Funds, and Jeff Berry. In 2000, after standing guard in front of the old Trader Vic’s on Mockingbird Lane for more than 30 years, the giant tiki vanished. Another piece of our history had been erased, and sadness settled over the city like a wet palm frond. But now the tiki has returned, having survived an arduous, lawsuit-littered journey. And it could be yours. Joe Hunt was the man who took the tiki. As a kid, his father used to take him to Trader Vic’s. So the local financial consultant offered to buy it from the Hotel Santa Fe for $2,400. But then things got weird. The hotel—which was owned by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s organization and which was part of his plan to establish peace on earth through transcendental meditation—backed out of the deal. Hunt sued. The Maharishi’s people never showed up in court. And a judge awarded the tiki to Hunt, who carted it off to a friend’s warehouse in Ennis. But then the hotel sued Hunt, and Hunt was forced to return the tiki to the hotel’s heavies in May 2003. But the statue never made it to its rightful post, and its whereabouts remained a mystery to all but a few of the Maharishi’s operatives. Leap forward to November 2004, when the dilapidated hotel changed ownership. Realty America Group and Behringer Harvard Funds, two Dallas firms, bought the place from the Maharishi Global Development Fund. Soon, an $80 million redevelopment of the property will begin. But the plans do not include the tiki. Jeff Berry, one of the principal owners of Realty America, says the contents of Trader Vic’s will likely be auctioned off, with proceeds going to charity. That includes the tiki, which Berry says will remain in an “undisclosed location” until the auction. He himself didn’t know the details of the location until after the sale of the hotel had gone through. “I didn’t know where the undisclosed location was,” he says. “And then I stumbled across this huge piece of wood and said, ‘I guess this is it.’” Berry says the tiki was surrounded by empty beer cans, and he quickly brought Kip Sowden, the firm’s other principal, to see it. The two Highland Park High School grads had fond memories of the totem and rejoiced to be back in its company. Says Sowden, “We looked for a big scorpion glass that we could put umbrellas in and have a drink to celebrate.” [ Edited by: WikiTikiTavi on 2004-12-30 10:19 ] [ Edited by: WikiTikiTavi on 2004-12-30 10:20 ]

From D Magazine - January '05 Issue

The Tiki Has Been Found!
The old Trader Vic’s landmark surfaces—sort of—with the sale of Hotel Santa Fe.
by Tim Rogers

TREASURE HUNTERS: The 14-foot statue is in an “undisclosed location.” Posing with their trophy (from left to right) are Kip Sowden, Jon Dooley of Behringer Harvard Funds, and Jeff Berry.
In 2000, after standing guard in front of the old Trader Vic’s on Mockingbird Lane for more than 30 years, the giant tiki vanished. Another piece of our history had been erased, and sadness settled over the city like a wet palm frond.

But now the tiki has returned, having survived an arduous, lawsuit-littered journey. And it could be yours.

Joe Hunt was the man who took the tiki. As a kid, his father used to take him to Trader Vic’s. So the local financial consultant offered to buy it from the Hotel Santa Fe for $2,400. But then things got weird. The hotel—which was owned by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s organization and which was part of his plan to establish peace on earth through transcendental meditation—backed out of the deal. Hunt sued. The Maharishi’s people never showed up in court. And a judge awarded the tiki to Hunt, who carted it off to a friend’s warehouse in Ennis.

But then the hotel sued Hunt, and Hunt was forced to return the tiki to the hotel’s heavies in May 2003. But the statue never made it to its rightful post, and its whereabouts remained a mystery to all but a few of the Maharishi’s operatives.

Leap forward to November 2004, when the dilapidated hotel changed ownership. Realty America Group and Behringer Harvard Funds, two Dallas firms, bought the place from the Maharishi Global Development Fund. Soon, an $80 million redevelopment of the property will begin. But the plans do not include the tiki.

Jeff Berry, one of the principal owners of Realty America, says the contents of Trader Vic’s will likely be auctioned off, with proceeds going to charity. That includes the tiki, which Berry says will remain in an “undisclosed location” until the auction. He himself didn’t know the details of the location until after the sale of the hotel had gone through.

“I didn’t know where the undisclosed location was,” he says. “And then I stumbled across this huge piece of wood and said, ‘I guess this is it.’” Berry says the tiki was surrounded by empty beer cans, and he quickly brought Kip Sowden, the firm’s other principal, to see it.

The two Highland Park High School grads had fond memories of the totem and rejoiced to be back in its company. Says Sowden, “We looked for a big scorpion glass that we could put umbrellas in and have a drink to celebrate.”

[ Edited by: WikiTikiTavi on 2004-12-30 10:19 ]

[ Edited by: WikiTikiTavi on 2004-12-30 10:20 ]

Post #133189 by WikiTikiTavi on Wed, Dec 29, 2004 3:11 PM