Post #14140 by martiki on Mon, Nov 18, 2002 3:40 PM

On 2002-11-13 14:33, PolynesianPop wrote:
Bigbro, do you know if the construction of the TV in Palo Alto is a result of the resurgence? If I'm correct, this was the first new TV in a loooooong time. If so, then I think it could be assumed that TV's to be constructed in the future will follow the same designs...

It almost looks like someone over there forgot what their mystique was all about.

OK- here's the story with Palo Alto. In 1997, I worked for an export company that also owned a chain of Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area. These were managed by Gary Hirano who had been with the Trader Vic's empire for about 25 years and was lured away to run these Japanese restaurants. When he left, he was the manager at Emeryville. He and I used to talk at length about the restaurant business and Vic's in general(Yes, the old man was cantankerous) because it was much more interesting than my job. As a result, I left the firm, but stayed in touch with Gary.

Meanwhile, at Dinah's Garden Hotel in Palo Alto....

Dinah's was opened by a very wealthy man who purchased the old hotel on El Camino and renovated it to luxury standards, improved the grounds with koi ponds and what not, and filled all the rooms and spaces with his own collection of Asian/Southeast Asian/South Pacific antiques. After a certain amount of time, he wanted to expand to offer an upscale restaurant on the grounds. So in front, he built this tremendous, vaguely arts & crafts looking facility, with a huge kitchen, conference & catering facilities, elevators to lower level dressing rooms and bathrooms (to accomodate weddings and such), etc. It's huge. Basically, it was a case of "If you build it, they will come." Unfortunately, they didn't come.

For a time, they were negotiating with Puck to bring in a Spago's, but it fell through and ended up opening down the street. Several other high end restauranteurs were courted for years and nothing was ever inked. Then, he got in touch with the Vic's family and made the pitch. Vic's was wary for a time, but was looking to try a new concept in the US, where, as we know, things were stagnant. The owner of Dinah's wanted to display many of his pieces and thought the Vic's concept was complimentary to his art. (Most of the art is his, actually) Vic's felt the same way and saw it as a way to remain upscale and avoid the appearance of camp. But Vic's is still essentially conservative and didn't want to change the menu or the drinks to satisfy many of the old timers, particularly the elderly customers who had enjoyed Vic's SF for years but hated driving to Emeryville, as they now lived in upscale peninsula enclaves like Hillsborough. So, Vic's called Gary to head up the enterprise and lure him away from the Japanese chain.

Gary and I met again in 1998-1999 to discuss the possibility of my investing in the operation. We went together to Palo Alto and looked at blueprints, discussed plans, looked at the mural that had been commissioned, etc. Let me assure you that enthusiasts like us and tiki traditions were the furthest things from the company and Gary's minds. When I would talk about "the scene", or that I collected old menus, he looked at me like I was crazy. I tried to talk him into torches out front. It was a no go. I could see clearly then that this was going to be a much different animal. He was also making a big push to make this place a cash cow for conferences and weddings. When I suggested, politely, that the menu was, shall we say, dated, he couldn't believe I was serious. (I'm glad to see they did make a few updates). Looking at the financials, though, it still looked like a good investment and I wanted to move forward.

To make a long story a little shorter, we parted ways when he made it clear to me that my paltry (relatively) investment was not of interest to him. He said he would rather just worry about a handful of large investors than several smaller ones, and he had no trouble lining up the big ones (including several 49ers). I really wish that I had gotten on board. But such is life. I know it's not paying out the projected dividends, but it's doing OK, which is about all you can hope for at Bay Area restaurants these days.

And that's the rest of the story.

It will be interesting to see what they do with future designs. They might very well go the way of Palo Alto, trying to keep things very modern and contemporary. Or they could ride the resurgence and go traditional.

If I had to guess, I would bet on the former. The board of directors are in no way interested in being perceived as cheesy or campy, and they wish to maintain their reputation for high quality service for affluent customers. Plus, it sounds as if they're keeping our Sven at arms length, perhaps wishing to distance themselves from the past and, er, "the lunatic fringe."

Comments & questions are welcome.

-martin