Trader Vic's ~ Bellevue Washington

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 ]

On 2005-06-15 07:46, dogbytes wrote:
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.

Wrong!

Thank broofness the Trader Vic's expansion continues. Don't know if this has been discussed, but here is a link: http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2005/05/30/story6.html ... to the Dallas Business Journal that says Trader Vic's Dallas reopens in June 2006 in the Hotel Palomar and a deal is officially signed to open in Las Vegas...

Well Shit on a shingle! Another reason to travel north other then just to visit the IKEA! And a hell of a lot closer then Emeryville to me!!!

Me thinks we should charter a bus from Portland!

http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2005/05/30/story6.html

YYEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great news!!! A Trader Vic's so close!!!!
Hopefully they'll keep moving north for a Vancouver reincarnation too!

Hey TC Seattlites, any new news on the opening? I've heard November and January as potentials but I'm wondering if you've heard anything definite yet.
(I really want to put a giant 'X' on my calendar!!)

You should expect late spring 2006 according to my sources. It's going to be great!

Wonder when I'll get my kick-back for all this... :lol:

update from the seattle times

"When last we discussed Lincoln Square, the big news was that downtown Bellevue's happening high-rise development was to include a Trader Vic's, slated to open in December. The Trader's ETA has now been pushed by a coupla-few months (think: late Feb, early March)"

It'll be pushed back a few more times then we'll hear how TV's is pulling out then a new press release: Margaritaville To Open In Slated Trader Vic's Location.

TV Bellevue website up-and-running!
http://www.tradervicsbellevue.com/
I've timed my next visit to Seattle for a few weeks after the grand opening (but don't tell my brother that!)
:drink: :drink: :drink:

ohmygodohmygodohmygod!

sorry, I'm a little excited!!!

FYI: TV Bellevue is taking reservations!! but they have some limitations.

1. the private dining rooms are not available till after April
2. the biggest table they have is for 8 in the main dining room, i tried for 2 tables of 8 at the same time, but there wasnt availability.

the staff is helpful (so far) they're trying to find space for us on March 25 ~ i get the feeling they dont want to overload the place at the beginning!

i'm so excited!!

Yayyy!!
DrunkenMunky and I will be there for the 25th, I can't wait!

We'll be there too!

[ Edited by: Pepe le Tiki 2006-02-20 13:47 ]

Thunder and lightning! How long does NYC have to wait to get OUR TV's back? Am I never again to enjoy one of the Vic's scorpions that brightened my college days? A pox on the Trumps and their foul ideas of "classy" and "tasteful".

Today's Seattle Timeshad an article and lots of recipies!

Taste of the Town
Aloha, Trader Vic's! The venerable purveyor of tiki culture returns

Your favorite drink is a Scorpion — with four straws. You can recite the recipe for Crab Rangoon — with your eyes closed. Your home décor is heavy with menehune, the scent of gardenias makes you crazy and the memory of a man named Harry Wong brings tears to your eyes.

Face it, friend. You are a Trader Vic's-ionado.

And when the doors open March 6 at the new Trader Vic's in Bellevue — 15 years after Seattle bid a teary farewell to that South Seas paradise in the Westin hotel — you'll no longer have to leave town for a Trader Vic's fix.

"I'm ecstatic! It's a dream come true," says Theresa Dowell, a Bellevue attorney whose law office is blocks away from the Trader's new Lincoln Square location. Her Leschi home is a tiki-lover's treasure chest of Trader Vic's memorabilia: mai tai glasses and menehune (carvings of Hawaii's legendary little people), tortoise shells and skull mugs, much of it purchased at auction when Trader Vic's Seattle closed in 1991.

Dowell says her husband, Greg Jones, is thrilled about Bellevue, too. "It'll be so much cheaper for us to drive across the bridge," she says, instead of traveling to Trader Vic's outposts in Beverly Hills, London, Taipei and Bangkok, as they frequently do.

The couple recently introduced their 5-year-old daughter, Jeannine, to her first Trader Vic's experience in Emeryville, Calif. What was the youngster's reaction to the legendary restaurant founded by the late Vic Bergeron and franchised on several continents in the years since? "She loved it!"

Pupus, anyone?

Trader Vic's, Lincoln Square, 700 Bellevue Way, Suite 50, Bellevue, is set to open March 6. Hours: 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays (425-455-4483 or http://www.tradervicsbellevue.com).
Whether a new generation of diners will learn to love Trader Vic's in Bellevue remains to be seen. But there's no shortage of locals greatly anticipating its opening.

Charity auctioneers Sharon and Dick Friel will be there next week, attending a private "preview" dinner that raised $25,000 during the Hutch 2005 Holiday Gala. "We purchased two sets of tickets at $250 per couple," says Sharon Friel, who considers that a small price to pay for reliving the time of her life.

Friel has Trader Vic's to thank for her signature adornment: a fresh gardenia she wears to each of the 60 auctions the couple works every year. On Valentine's Day, her husband of 42 years gifted her with a dozen red roses. Tucked into the bouquet were two gardenias, "and it all started at Trader Vic's," she says.

"When I turned 21," Friel explains, "my Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sisters and I would go to the bar there and drink Scorpions." That rum-based drink packed a punch — and a posy. "We'd put the gardenias in our hair and wear them back to the sorority house," says the UW class of '61 grad. "Back then, it was the fashion for sorority girls to wear flowers in their hair, but wearing gardenias was a status symbol. It meant, 'I had been to Trader Vic's!' "

A bygone era

Trader Vic's was synonymous with glamour, says Friel, but she and many other longtime fans also saw the restaurant as a virtual getaway. "You could leave a Seattle rainstorm, walk through the door and be in the tropics. All that wonderful décor! Today, some people might find it corny, but back then, all that bamboo, the hanging canoes, the pupu trays — it was so distinctive."

Chris Canlis, whose father, Peter, founded the 55-year-old restaurant that bears the family name, notes it wasn't just the drinks or the South Seas décor that drew a generation to Trader Vic's. "I think it was a way of being cared for that really grew out of the era of restaurateurs like Vic Bergeron, Peter Canlis and Victor Rosellini." And in Seattle, says Canlis, Harry Wong was the embodiment of Trader Vic's. The restaurant's front-man and manager, Wong "was a gracious, warm, welcoming presence in the downtown dining scene. He set the tone."

"Harry Wong would do anything for his customers," says Tom Robinson, whose wife, Barb, got him hooked on Trader Vic's in 1959. Together they've since traveled the world sipping Tiki Puka Pukas and eating Prawns San Francisco. "Harry was known for his hospitality and his sense of humor. He always recognized us and saved our favorite table."

Once, when the Robinson's were dining with Barb's dad — "a real meat and potatoes guy" — Harry sent out a basket of warm dinner rolls, not something you'd normally find at Trader Vic's. "Later, I asked him where he came up with the rolls," says Robinson. "He'd sent someone up to the Golden Lion in the Olympic Hotel to get them."

Today, their Edmonds home is a tribute to Trader Vic's — and to Harry. Press their doorbell and you'll be pressing the bellybutton of a menehune. Relax in their backyard and you'll see a tile room-divider that once hung in front of the waiter's station at the Westin. Stand in their kitchen and you'll find a plaque that reads "Harry's Room" — a gift from Wong's daughter, Christina Gee, who met the Robinsons when they attended her father's funeral service in 2002.

Remembering Harry

Gee describes her dad as "an amazing man" who worked his way up, moving from a Chinatown grocery and restaurant to take a job as cocktail waiter at the Outrigger (as Trader Vic's Seattle was originally known) in 1952. "He told me he was just a lucky guy who got good breaks." Gee recalls helping out at the restaurant in the '60s during a hotel strike.

"It was so much fun and enlightening to see him in a different light. How social, how comfortable he was greeting customers and talking to them — because that wasn't my dad," she says. "At home he was quiet and somewhat serious. He worked long hours, and we didn't see him very often." After he retired, Gee remembers how "every evening he would get antsy around the dinner hour. That's when he was 'on show,' and he missed that socialization."

Doug Guiberson remembers Wong as a best friend and mentor during his 10-year career with Trader Vic's and after, when Guiberson left to manage Canlis. Today, he's GM at Kirkland's Third Floor Fish Café, where he often encounters patrons from the old days.

"People still come in here and talk to me about how drunk they used to get, and how they'd fall into their Scorpion bowls. One guy claims I once pulled his head out of the bowl — and saved him from drowning," says Guiberson. He thinks some former patrons are "going to be comparing Harry's restaurant to this one, and that's going to be a tough match.

"Trader Vic's was decades ahead of any restaurant," he notes. "Back then, you never walked into a place that smelled of curry odors and exotic spices. The spareribs out of the barbecue oven, the lamb chops, the steaks, it was just a fantastic product."

Today, with pan-Asian menus in restaurants throughout Greater Seattle and fresh-fruit cocktails all the rage, can Trader Vic's still dazzle?

Thomas Price thinks so. He and his wife, Jessica, used to travel to Portland and San Francisco for a Trader Vic's fix before deciding to "rekindle the whole '50s Polynesian kitsch-thing" at Luau Polynesian Lounge in Wallingford in 1997. "Everybody thought we were crazy," Price recalls but says the proliferation of other island-inspired restaurants — Belltown's Ohana, downtown's The Islander and now the return of Trader Vic's — proves they weren't.

"Young people are into tiki culture 110 percent. They love the fun and the fact that you don't have to go into a restaurant and act cool, or know too much about food or wine. You just have to say, 'I'll take some pupus and that drink — the one with the coconut and the umbrella!' "

Nancy Leson: 206-464-8838 or [email protected].

"I'm ecstatic! It's a dream come true," says Theresa Dowell about the opening of the Bellevue Trader Vic's. She's shown here with her husband, Greg Jones, and their tiki memorabilia.

wow, they live in my neighborhood! looks like they have quite a collection. i think Mrs TikiRiviera (and her big purse) and i should go visit!

We were just in Bellevue this morning, and stopped by Lincoln Square. We peeked through the front window of Trader Vic's, and though it looks like there's still a ways to go before the opening, there's lots of tapa in place, and the big outrigger is hanging above the bar. We can't wait !

I was around Lincoln Square in Hellevue last night and also stopped by Vic's to see what I could see. The bar is a described by Puamana but it looks like all the trim work still needs done, the place cleaned up, and decor added. There was a guy there setting stone for the main entrance and he said they'd be open on time. Apparently the restaurant part is finished and staff training starts this week.

A word of advice for planning a visit: Last night every restaurant and bar in the Lincoln Square area was pretty much packed and apparently under staffed. Vic's may be similarly slammed on a Saturday night.

Puamana and I just got home from having a swell time at the opening night of TV's with the Tiki Rivieras! The place was packed, but not too packed. The Rivieras got there first, and saved us two bar stools (Mahalo). We eventually moved to a little bar table. Puamana and I had Mai Tais which were quite tasty. I saw at least 3 Trader Vic's brand liquids going into them, as well as fresh lime juice and a mint, pineapple and cherry garnish. It was the best tasting Mai Tai I've ever been served at a bar in the Seattle area. It was nice running into local TCers, Seatiki, as well.

The service was excellent. The staff seemed enthusiastic. Folks with dinner reservations received fresh leis. Our bartender was working up a sweat. The portions of the pupus we had were generous, and were very good. Enjoy our photos, sorry for the blurry ones. We are grateful to have a TV's in the Seattle area, and we are so looking forward to gathering with fellow TCers later this month.

oooh looks like a great place..those drinks look a billion times better than the swill Todd was served at Don the Beachcomber on Maui tonight!

thanks for scoping it out for us, and posting pix.. see you there.. in 2 weeks!

Thank you for the wonderful photos and report!

It's looking great, I can't wait to experience it first hand.

Thanks for sharing the great photos, Selector!
I'm counting the days!!!
:drink: :drink: :drink:

Great pictures! My curiosity is fully satisfied and I now have no reason to ever go back to Hellevue...Thank you...Thank you!

Tiki Brothers and Sisters,

Sea-Tiki and I hit it up last night--props to Selector Lopaka and crew for also showing up! I posted a review on site--holla!

Aloha Lopaka! Great to see you last night! When shalt we return?

What! No waterfalls?

thanks for the photos, overall it looks ZAZZ!

I'm holding on to the tiki in the picture to keep from tipping over! The
mai-tai's and pina coladas are very strong and tasty! Can't wait for a return
visit to try more tropical libations....

Puamana and I just returned from our second visit. Tonight we had dinner reservations, but arrived an hour earlier and sampled some drinkies. If I had started typing this post about two hours ago, I would have been exiled to Bilge. We tried a Mai Tai, a Suffering Bastard, the Trader Vic's Grog and a Tortuga. With dinner we split a Seattle Tabu, which was originally served at the Seattle TV's back in the day. All the drinks were excellent. Our Aloha wear attracted a woman who is an employee of Trader Vic's named Eve, who's in town overseeing the opening of our TV's, getting the staff trained and such. She oversaw the opening of SF, and will be there for Scottsdale, Vegas, Dallas, etc. She proceeded to drop the names of Martiki, Mr. Smiley, Otto and Judd, and sends her best wishes to you all. We had a great conversation with her, and it felt good to hear the names of fellow TCers, and know that indeed we have positive impact. It's good to know that the staff has expectations upon them, that will be to our benefit in the form of properly made drinks, and food, but mostly drinks. Ironically, our waiter for dinner was named Adam. Our dinner was great (I had king salmon, Puamana had Mahi Mahi), service was good, and it was inspiring to feel the enthusiasm of all who worked there that we had contact with. We look forward to our next visit.

That's Eve Bergeron, as in Vic's granddaughter. She's great, and was a big help with the SF crawl last year. And a big help in me working at Vic's! I spent a lot of time talking with the Bellevue staff while they were training in SF, and boring them with tiki history until their eyes glazed over. But they did dig it (esp. John Mark, the GM up there), and it looks like they've put it to good use. The bar looks excellent!

Great to hear all this, knowing that thejab and I get to sample this next week!
Ran

Trader Vic's needs to update their web site. The page for Bellevue shows a picture of the San Franciso location!

http://www.tradervics.com/rest-bellevue.html

On 2006-03-23 12:32, thejab wrote:
Trader Vic's needs to update their web site. The page for Bellevue shows a picture of the San Franciso location!

http://www.tradervics.com/rest-bellevue.html

Seen one and you've seen them all!!! tee hee :)

Wow, what a weekend! We arrived a little later than we wanted to (at 5:30), but there was a lot of sightseeing & shopping to do beforehand Our reservations were for 6:00 and 6:30, two groups of 8 ~ that was the best we could do..but to our delight, they opened a private room, and set up 2 big tables. We were seated a bit early, so we didn't linger in the lounge. The manager made us feel incredibly welcome, and our waitress was a gem (the waiter was a bit of a sour pill, who just didnt quite "get it")...

As you can tell from the photos, Tiki Centralites know how to dress! someone should tell all the suits and little black dress people to brighten up those wardrobes!

Seattle TV
DrunkenMunky, MrDancing Lizard, Alan, Pepe, Mrs & Tiki Riviera, Selector Lopaka, Puamana, Dogbytes & Mr Bytes, Monkeyskull. (seated) Tiki Wahine, Dancin Lizard, Dawn, Iggie, (dawn's 2 friends whos names i didnt catch) not pictured Sweetpea and friend.

Mr Bytes & dogbytes

Monkeyskull lifts a bowl

Miss Menehune is quite built!

Miss Menehune and Mr Pepper share a private moment

TikiWahine with a Menehune, DrunkenMunkey with a Son of Doctor Funk, Dancing Lizard

Mrs SeaTiki, Monkeyskull, Sweetpea

TW's Potted Parrot..and DM's

HoniHoni

Mr & Mrs SeaTiki

Dancin Lizard & Mr. Lizard

Monkeyskull & Son of Dr. Funk

Alan lifts a toast to the Menehune

Sweetpea & Pal

my Rib Eye Steak with Onion Rings..

Mr Bytes' fish

Monkeyskull and Mr Bytes start a bowl fight

Tikiwahine admires her Curry

TikiRiviera checks to see if the bowl is a boy or girl

The JambiMobile!

in case you missed The Jab and Kick in the Reverb's pictures to Trader Vics, HERE they are..

Ahhh, what a great time! My first Vic's experience turned out to be simply perfect, in fact, the whole weekend was perfect thanks in great part to our fantastic hosts Dogbytes and Todd.

It was so wonderful to see everyone, chat for a bit, and enjoy some serene Seattle sights.

We made it back on the last ferry last night, arriving back around 11:30pm.

Though it was good to be home, I can't wait for my next visit. Thanks also to Puamana & Selector Lopaka for having us over to check out their all too awesome home.

We've just settled in and I wanted to post a very big THANKS to all our Ohana in Seattle!! We couldn't have had a better weekend! Trader Vic's treated us very well and the food was delicious (they even politely listened to my plea for a Vancouver return)! It was especially great meeting new folks and seeing some of you once again over some great TV cocktails!
To Selector Lopaka and Puamana, thankyou for your fine hospitality and touring us around town, your home is fabulous (I can't wait to see the Backyard Bali Hai in full bloom)! Dogbytes and Mr. Bytes, thanks for opening up the Rongo Rongo room to us and keeping the food and drinks flowing!
Really looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

PS - I'll post a few photos in a day or two.

PSS- You're the best 'internet' friends anyone could have. :wink:

[ Edited by: Pepe le Tiki 2006-03-28 00:17 ]

OK, here's a photo, the only one I'm posting as Dogbytes did a great job of documenting the evening's events!

A rare glimpse of the food paparazzi in action!

ok ok ok, so now that we know where y'all ARE, who is having the next "Home Tiki Bar" shindig? According to local legend, Lopaka's crib is the real deal! What say NW Crew?

Much love, Mr. Sea-tiki

Ouch!

6/16/06 Seattle Times Bellevue Trader Vic's Review

ah fooey on them,
We had Mrs. Seatiki's bday there, and we all had a great time.

Pea git's cozy

sorry these are sso big, I made em smaller in photobucket, but
I dunno what's going on! phooey.

The Jello Lagoon cake and accoutrements

Looks like a swell shin dig, and in the perfect atmosphere!
We'll prove them wrong, we'll prove them all wrong

Trader Vic's Newsletter wow, i didnt sign up for this sooner.. and its been a little while since we've been over for happy hour ~ looks like they revamped the pricing for some new appitizers ($2-4)and added a Bellevue Beach Bum beverage. Happy Hour is daily from 4-6 and after 10 pm. much better than the few bux off the pupu platter!

So, how is this location? Haven't been to any others but am intrigued. Don't care about food, just interested in drinks particularly ZOMBIE!!!

Went to this location yesterday. Here's my review (also posted on Yelp!)

I showed up with my wife at around 5:15 pm for the 4-6 Happy Hour. The place was jam packed. There was a bit of confusion, and the hostesses were being completely unhelpful. They basically said "if you find a seat, grab it, you're lucky." Thankfully, a more seasoned employee offered to look after us and advised that tables would open up in a few minutes.

We were seated around 5:40 pm, which really isn't that bad considering it was a Friday night. We quickly started ordering Happy Hour items, such as pommes frites, crab rangoon, calamari, pork ribs and spring rolls. The men in the group ordered a Zombie and a Mai Tai. The women ordered a beer (one was driving) and a non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri (the other is pregnant).

The food was very tasty and entirely reasonable for a Happy Hour. It's not going to win any prizes, but for Happy Hour it was entirely decent. We ordered a variety of dishes and they all met the taste test for Happy Hour food items. The Happy Hour drinks, a Zombie and a Mai Tai, were well worth the discounted prices.

And then Happy Hour ended. My first drink was a Somoan Fog Cutter at $10. It was tasty but a little too much crushed ice for my taste. My favorite was the Suffering Bastard at $9, which got the job done with less crushed ice and a surprise cucumber in my drink. I finished off with a Tiki Bowl, which is basically a rum punch type drink in a large bowl that you sip from. All the drinks were delicious but could be a little stronger in my book. The drink presentation was flawless, with garnishes and specialty serving vessels.

I would give 5 stars, but there were several problems. First, they need a better system on how to seat people during Happy Hour. They probably lost at least ten customers, because people didn't have any confidence that a table would open up in a reasonable amount of time.

The next problem came when I inquired about a drink they serve called Pimm's Cup. All the waitress could tell me was that it is "an English liquer." She asked a manager and he told her that it is "an English liquor." I waited for a further explanation, but that's all the waitress said. Okay, not going to order that drink.

Finally, and this is the most significant problem, they serve a drink called Raffles Bar Gin Sling, which features ginger beer as one of its ingredients. The waitress said they don't have ginger beer and therefore cannot serve the drink. I appreciate her candor, a lot of waitresses would probably put the drink order through and just tell the bartender to use a substitute. Nonetheless, Trader Vic's reputation is entirely built on quality, mostly rum-based cocktails. The staff needs to be knowledgeable, and EVERY drink on the menu should be available.

Good times and great drinks, but a little hefty on the pocketbook. Hopefully the few problem areas can be corrected over time.