Trader Vic's ~ Bellevue Washington - Other Events

D dogbytes Tiki Socialite seattle, wa Joined: Mar 24, 2002 Posts: 2243	D dogbytes Posted posted on Wed, Jun 15, 2005 7:46 AM Seattle Times ohholycow! i had no idea this was in the works! Taste of the Town A Bellevue Trader Vic's By Nancy Leson Seattle Times restaurant critic I thought my neighbors Tom and Barb Robinson were the only Trader Vic's-ionados willing to travel the globe for a Tiki Tiki Puka. They've been crying into their pupu platters — eaten elsewhere, unfortunately — since "Trader Vic" Bergeron's Polynesian palace closed in Seattle's Westin hotel back in 1991. So, as it turns out, have Werner and Rosanne Sondheim of Bellevue. Like the Robinsons, they've traveled to "The Trader's" in Europe and made pilgrimages to Trader Vic's in Emeryville, Calif. — where the company got its start in 1938. And they, too, have fond memories of Trader Vic's original Seattle site (née "The Outrigger" in the Benjamin Franklin Hotel, later razed to make way for the Westin's second tower, where Trader Vic's relocated). It was there that the Sondheims were engaged in 1955. Which helps explain the emotional attachment and why Werner called to say he'd heard Trader Vic's was coming back to town — truth or rumor? Well, hold on to your mai tais, my friends, because Trader Vic's, now a $50 million empire of company-owned and franchised restaurants, is slated to open late this year in the Lincoln Square complex in Bellevue. "Many prominent citizens of Seattle and Bellevue who knew Trader Vic's from way, way back are investing in the project," notes Hans Richter, president and CEO of Trader Vic's, who has been with the company since 1969 and still has the blueprint of The Outrigger's kitchen layout ("It cost about 10 percent of what a kitchen costs today!")."Ours is a little different from the normal franchise," Richter explained. "We stay involved, building the restaurant and assisting the owners in developing the management team and training restaurant personnel." Among the faces behind this new version of the old favorite are local restaurateur Larry Hamlin (who helped find the $3.5 million to get the job done) and restaurant consultant Arnold Shain. Paul Reder, owner of Bellevue's Tap House Grill (550 106th Ave. N.E., 425-467-1730), is on tap as managing partner, says Richter. Bellevue's new Trader Vic's will have the distinctive look of Trader Vic's everywhere, Richter says — right down to the "famous" Chinese oven. And making certain that longtime patrons like the Robinsons and the Sondheims will feel doubly at home, he points out that the Bellevue restaurant will hold a prominent place in Lincoln Square: directly opposite the entrance to a new 337-room Westin hotel. [ Edited by: dogbytes on 2005-06-15 07:48 ]

ohholycow! i had no idea this was in the works!

Taste of the Town
A Bellevue Trader Vic's
By Nancy Leson
Seattle Times restaurant critic

I thought my neighbors Tom and Barb Robinson were the only Trader Vic's-ionados willing to travel the globe for a Tiki Tiki Puka. They've been crying into their pupu platters — eaten elsewhere, unfortunately — since "Trader Vic" Bergeron's Polynesian palace closed in Seattle's Westin hotel back in 1991. So, as it turns out, have Werner and Rosanne Sondheim of Bellevue.

Like the Robinsons, they've traveled to "The Trader's" in Europe and made pilgrimages to Trader Vic's in Emeryville, Calif. — where the company got its start in 1938. And they, too, have fond memories of Trader Vic's original Seattle site (née "The Outrigger" in the Benjamin Franklin Hotel, later razed to make way for the Westin's second tower, where Trader Vic's relocated). It was there that the Sondheims were engaged in 1955. Which helps explain the emotional attachment and why Werner called to say he'd heard Trader Vic's was coming back to town — truth or rumor?

Well, hold on to your mai tais, my friends, because Trader Vic's, now a $50 million empire of company-owned and franchised restaurants, is slated to open late this year in the Lincoln Square complex in Bellevue.

"Many prominent citizens of Seattle and Bellevue who knew Trader Vic's from way, way back are investing in the project," notes Hans Richter, president and CEO of Trader Vic's, who has been with the company since 1969 and still has the blueprint of The Outrigger's kitchen layout ("It cost about 10 percent of what a kitchen costs today!")."Ours is a little different from the normal franchise," Richter explained. "We stay involved, building the restaurant and assisting the owners in developing the management team and training restaurant personnel."

Among the faces behind this new version of the old favorite are local restaurateur Larry Hamlin (who helped find the $3.5 million to get the job done) and restaurant consultant Arnold Shain. Paul Reder, owner of Bellevue's Tap House Grill (550 106th Ave. N.E., 425-467-1730), is on tap as managing partner, says Richter.

Bellevue's new Trader Vic's will have the distinctive look of Trader Vic's everywhere, Richter says — right down to the "famous" Chinese oven.

And making certain that longtime patrons like the Robinsons and the Sondheims will feel doubly at home, he points out that the Bellevue restaurant will hold a prominent place in Lincoln Square: directly opposite the entrance to a new 337-room Westin hotel.

[ Edited by: dogbytes on 2005-06-15 07:48 ]

Post #165873 by dogbytes on Wed, Jun 15, 2005 7:46 AM