Trader Vic's, Honolulu, HI, (restaurant)

Name:Trader Vic's
Type:restaurant
Street:926 Ward Avenue
City: Honolulu
State: HI
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:Defunct

Description:

The first Trader Vic's to open in Hawaii was located at 926 Ward Avenue in Honolulu. It opened in 1940 and moved to the International Marketplace after 1967.

The building had an amazingly lush Hawaiian feel to it.

Here is a postcard from my collection.

A close up of the tiki out front.

Some old photos from the internet.

You can see the giant ships anchor that was featured on this menu from my collection.

Some matchbooks

And a coaster from Mimi Payne's website.

Have never seen an image from the inside of this Trader Vic's.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2009-12-14 14:40 ]

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2020-01-03 17:50 ]

That's cool to know that anchor came from the location. It is a little bit of an oddity in TV iconography, as are several Hawaii items.

Swanky,

That is why I always liked this Trader Vic's - it is different than the others.

This postcard has been attributed to both the Trader Vic's at Ward Drive and the Trader Vic's at the International Marketplace. I think that Phillip Robert's notes from his uncle indicate the IMP location.

DC

I don't know how it came all about, but wasn't this Trader Vic's actually not a Trader Vic's?? I mean, I had heard that Trader Vic actually had nothing to do with this location. Now I don't know if that was the whole time or just in the beginning or what.
I thought I heard/read that in the beginning of this particular location, Trader Vic himself pulled out or didn't want to go through with the restaurant but I believe it was too late for him to take his name with him and therefore the "others" running it had the right to keep his name or something along those lines.
Why change the name if you don't have to and Trader Vic's was already established and a very successful restaurant.

This is maybe why you see different items from this location only. You also see specifically made Trader Vic Hawaii mugs for this location only and a different menu.
Hey....coming to think of it, sure there are the Trader Vic matchbooks like Dusty posted above, but have you ever seen the common black ones with the mask and paddle logo from this location like there were from every other location???!!!

Oh, and one other interesting point is that I have a Trader Vic menu from the Westin Bayshore Hotel that for some reason on every page has "We are not affiliated with Trader Vic's Hawaii". It is also not on Trader Vic's website as stating that it was a location or when it opened.

Not sure of all this but just throwing it out there. Maybe someone else can shed some light. I for one would like to know.
Mahalo, TabooDan

Taboo Dan,

Those are some astute comments. I have this drink menu mailer that indicates that the original Trader Vic's in Hawaii was owned by Granny Abbott and Fred Mosher.

I also have an old Wine List menu that is made of a thin balsa wood type of material. It looks like the font graphics and the building style changed for the Hawaii location from the old look of Hinky Dinks on the early Trader Vic's matchbooks.

Interestingly though, this matchbook has both the Oakland and Honolulu locations listed on it. A mystery.

I saw this Trading License from the Hawaii Trader Vic's on Tiki Gallery that was dated October 1946 so this was one of the earliest Trader Vic's even though it does not appear to be affiliated.

DC

As far as I know, it was opened as an early franchise, but Victor Bergeron was unhappy with the deal, and an agreement was reached that the owners got the rights for the name in the islands, and Vic kept his to his operations on the mainland.

I'd be curious when the Honululu Vic's moved to the International Marketplace, and when Spencecliff took it over. There seem to be very few pictures of the exteriors or interiors of both.

I have a book called "The Companies We Keep", which is a history of Hawaiian companies. It states that this Hawaii location opened in December 1940. Four months later, he sold his interest to the co-owner, Granville Abbott. Spencecliff then bought the franchise in 1967, but it doesn't give any info on when it moved to the International Market.

Regarding the fact that they had different mugs and such, I always assumed that was just because of the location of Hawaii. Much cheaper to have mugs made here then to have them shipped in???

Does anyone know what occupied the International Market Trader Vic's space before them, or was that building built for Vic's and they were the first tenant? I've photos of interior space of tiki bars that I know were in the Market, but now sure if they are Trader Vic's, Duke Kahanamoku's, or Don Ho's. I'll have to dig them out.

Thanks for that info MoEye. Come to think of it, I don't think that I have ever seen a photo of the inside or outside of the TV at the IMP.
Here is a rendering from a matchbook on Mimi's website.

DC

Dustycajun wrote:

"Taboo Dan,
Those are some astute comments. I have this drink menu mailer that indicates that the original Trader Vic's in Hawaii was owned by Granny Abbott and Fred Mosher."

Geez Dustycajun, I had to look up that word for the definition. I didn't know if I was wrong right or way out to left field :)

Mo-Eye Wrote:

"Regarding the fact that they had different mugs and such, I always assumed that was just because of the location of Hawaii. Much cheaper to have mugs made here then to have them shipped in???"

I don't think so Mo-eye. Well, I shouldn't say that as this would probably have been true, but I have not heard or seen of a single location of an ACTUAL Trader Vic's using mugs that didn't come from their regular Vic's suppliers. Most commonly being in Japan.
Now I am not talking about lately, just back in the day. Trader Vic's did use different suppliers like Tepco, Morgantown, and Redwing Potteries but these mugs were available at different locations at once. I have never seen one marked specifically from one location as you do the Trader Vic Hawaii ones. Anyone else?

I just think because it wasn't a Trader Vic's in the usual way (with him running it) that this is why these mugs were created along with the different looking drink menu. This location was just doing what alot of other Hawaiian Restaurants were doing on the Islands. Having local manufacturers didn't hurt that's for sure!

Trader Vic mentions, very briefly, the Hawaii Trader Vic's in this interview from San Francisco in 1970:

"I originated the Mai Tai and have put together a bit of the background on the evolution of this drink, which has earned worldwide identification and acceptance. There has been a lot of conversation over the beginning of this drink. Many have claimed credit, including Harry Owens. The people who now own Trader Vic's in Honolulu, which at this time has no connection with the Trader Vic operations on the mainland, claimed it was originated in Tahiti .... This aggravates my ulcer completely. The drink was never introduced by me in Tahiti except informally through our good friends, Eastham and Carrie Guild."

Okay enough rambling. How about we get some interior Trader Vic Hawaii shots on here! Somebody has got to have some hidden away??!!

TabooDan

Here is a different match case from the Ward Avenue location:

TabooDan

Trader Vic's Waikiki 1976.

Doors at the International Market Place led to the closed Trader Vic's!

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2010-12-30 13:26 ]

This rare mug from the Trader Vic's in Hawaii sold recently on ebay for some serious $$$$. Don't think I have seen this one before.

DC

I was wondering if there should be two locations on here for this particular Trader Vic's? One for Ward Ave and the other for the International Market Place. What do you think?

The buildings, decor and environment were very different. Although it was the same restaurant that moved in the late 1960's. It was only about a 3 mile move which is under 10 minutes to get from the old spot to the new.

It sure would be interesting to get some real answers about these locations.
I think it would also be interesting to note if they closed the location on Ward Avenue while building the new one at the Market Place or if they kept it operating at the same time. Did they move all the decor or just some and if not, do we know where any of it ended up? The Ward Ave location opened so early that there really aren't enough people that probably remember or care for that matter.

Now regarding the opening of this location, in my menu that I had talked about earlier in this post from the Vancouver Trader Vic's, throughout the menu it states that they are not affiliated to Trader Vic's in Honolulu which we have already established.

In the menu, it actually states:

"In 1939 Trader Vic opened in Honolulu but sold his interest in 1941. The name remains there but TRADER VIC'S is not associated in any way with the Waikiki restaurant bearing that name."

Pretty direct comments I thought. They sure make a point in this particular menu to let everyone know this. Almost every second page of the menu says they are not affiliated. This particular menu is dated 1978.

Since the first location did open in 1940 or so, the new location at the Market Place opening some 25-28 years later was probably much needed to get a newer, bigger and better establishment going. It was also now apart of one of the largest tourist draws to the area. A good move for business!!

Here is a old Ad from 1962 for the location on Ward Ave:

Mahalo, TabooDan

Dan - I agree. We should kick off another thread for the later Honolulu Vic's. There's so much material - what with all those custom mugs unique to its location - it deserves its own thread.

Most of the movie Forbidden Island was shot at Silver Springs in Florida. According to Martin Denny who played "Marty" the piano player in a bar in the Phillipines, all his shots were done inside Trader Vics Honolulu. The movie was released in 1959 so it was the original location. Check out the cocktail glass sitting on Marty's piano. There is about 5-7 minutes shot in the bar. I will need to dig out the movie to see if i can do some screen grabs. I remember seeing some fogcutter mugs on a shelf behind the bar

amazing:

On 2009-12-14 12:13, Dustycajun wrote:

On 2010-02-24 20:50, bongofury wrote:
According to Martin Denny who played "Marty" the piano player in a bar in the Phillipines, all his shots were done inside Trader Vics Honolulu. There is about 5-7 minutes shot in the bar. I will need to dig out the movie to see if i can do some screen grabs. I remember seeing some fogcutter mugs on a shelf behind the bar

Ron,

I missed this post the first time around, that is an awesome movie poster with the Martin Denny signature. When did you hook up with Martin Denny?

Thanks for posting that and look forward to seeing those screen grabs from the movie.

DC

Here is an old photo of the Ward Dr. Trader Vics from ebay.

You can make out a piece of the outrigger sign in the corner.

DC

Some more images:

VERY slight variation on the one TabooDan already posted. Same address, different phone number!

Also, I have this one photo from the 80s showing the outside of TVics at the Intl Marketplace. Doesn't show much other than the sign (and the "parrot walk" nearby).

-Randy

Aquarj,

Those are some great pictures of the Hawaii Trader Vic's. That add with the couple drinking out of the custom scorpion bowl is great. I really like those hanging coconut room dividers. Can you zoom in on the bowl, I can't figure out which one it is.

Here is another matchbook from the Ward Drive location featuring the anchor logo.

DC

Sure DC, here's a closeup, in all its raw unmolested glory. OK, a teeny bit of molestation - I tried to sharpen the bowl a little.

-Randy

Great pics .

I really like the typefaces Trader Vic's Honululu used, quite different than the U.S. chain's.

Yes, I like their lettering styles too, both the principal style and even the simple one on this little ad.

I like it because it kinda reminds me of the old cuban Bacardi lettering.

-Randy

Randy,

Thanks for that blow up. I put that bowl on the Crypto mug thread as I have never seen one before.

Here is another ad from the Ward Drive Trader Vic's.

DC

On 2010-04-20 04:50, bigbrotiki wrote:
I really like the typefaces Trader Vic's Honolulu used, quite different than the U.S. chain's.

Another Trader Vic's matchbook style from Ward Drive with some cool lettering fonts.

DC

Here is another version of the trading license from the Ward Drive Trader Vic's with a nice rendering of the building.

DC

I found some photos of the Trader Vic's on Ward Drive in a Spenceclif Restaurant Guide that I picked up. This was right before Trader Vic's moved to the International Market Place. When TV moved to the IMP the Ward Drive restaurant became The Old Plantation for a period.

Here is the ad showing the bar and the outdoor patio dinning area.

Close up of the nice Tiki rendering.

The patio area.

The bar.

Here you can see the various custom mugs that were used only at the Trader Vic's in Hawaii.

More mugs and a Tiki behind the bar.

Here is a menu showing the different mug types from the Hawaii Trader Vic's.

DC

Great zoom-in work, DC! That skull mug, wow! Those Tiki renderings were swiped from the Tahitian Lanai/Waikikian, art work by Stanley Stubenberg, I believe.

On 2010-06-09 11:38, bigbrotiki wrote:
Those Tiki renderings were swiped from the Tahitian Lanai/Waikikian, art work by Stanley Stubenberg, I believe.

Bigbro,

Once again, nice memory bank on spotting the borrowed Tiki figures. Since they were both Spenceclif restaurants, I guess the owners felt it was OK to use a little art from one to the other.

Here is a comparison:

Tahitian Lanai

Trader Vic's

They gave the big Tiki on the left a little hair cut!

DC

Those images were borrowed by the Aku Aku in Cadillac MI as well only slightly modified. Sorry for derailing the thread.

Trav,

No worries about the thread hijack, it is always great to see how widespread the Tiki Transmission Tradition was! Hawaii to Michigan.

Now, back to our show. I found this ad on the internet from the Trader Vic's on Ward. A great rendering of the trees through the roof. I wonder what the inside of the restaurant looked like with the palm trunks?

Zombies and free parking.

DC

Saw this amazing mug on ebay from Vernon Kilns that was made for the Honolulu Trader Vic's. I knew Vernon Kilns made the dinner ware for TVs but this is the first mug I remember, are there others?

DC

Aaaah, the "Forbidden Fruit" mug! The first Fog Cutter generation, pictured in Vic's 1947 Bartender's Guide:

I think it hails from the years when the Trader was still in charge of the Honolulu Vic's

On 2010-07-24 10:13, bigbrotiki wrote:
I think it hails from the years when the Trader was still in charge of the Honolulu Vic's

I'd say it (the mug) was after Vic was involved with this shop. I have what I think is an earlier green version of the mug in "Waikiki Tiki: Art, History and Photographs." Don Blanding designed for Vernon Kilns. It's likely that this is the vagabond poet's design.

Around December 1940, Vic and Granville "Granny" Abbott partner and create the Ward Avenue location. Bergeron mixes and serves mai-tais at the opening. There is an arguement and Vic sells his half. This seems to occur in early 1941.

So, you're implying that you have evidence proving that Mr. Bergeron served Mai Tais four years earlier than the until-now understood invention date of 1944? Can you please post a scan or other facsimile of your source? This new discovery could blow the roof off of all previously known history of the Mai Tai!!!

On 2010-07-26 00:01, JONPAUL wrote:
So, you're implying that you have evidence proving that Mr. Bergeron served Mai Tais four years earlier than the until-now understood invention date of 1944? Can you please post a scan or other facsimile of your source? This new discovery could blow the roof off of all previously known history of the Mai Tai!!!

Yep, I can post those sources. Here ya' go...

Article 1- from the 1955 Honolulu Advertiser firmly establishes the opening date of the Ward Avenue Trader Vic's as December 18, 1940.

Article 2- from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin states Vic "introduced and served the first Mai Tai when he founded the Honolulu Trader Vic's..."

Waikiki Tiki; Art, History, and Photographs.
October 1st, 2010 from Bess Press Hawaii.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2010-07-26 13:33 ]

Posted and scanned, there it is! Doesn't mean it's true though :) As many others who ever specialized in any specific field have experienced, the news-printed word must often be taken with a grain of salt. Just a couple of months ago, a major travel magazine stated the Book of Tiki had been published in 2003, while it actually came out in September of 2000, and already went into its third printing in 2003.

Let's see what Trader Vic had to say in his 1970 press kit, which was published in conjunction with his court case about his invention of the Mai Tai:

Now in 2000, I published the most important page from that press kit on page 169 of the Book of Tiki, here are some closer scans of it:

This version has been accepted by the majority of cocktail historians and was quoted Jeff Berry (with a wink), who wrote a couple of fascinating pages on the various claims about the Mai Tai's origin in his newest tome Beachbum Berry Remixed.

Since Vic had a falling out with the Honolulu Trader Vic's owners, I bet they just loved to "aggravate his ulcer" with all sorts of little stories like the one above. I personally like to trust the handwritten signatures in my possession. Vic might have been an insufferable bastard at times, but no one would call him a lying bastard.

On 2010-07-26 20:11, bigbrotiki wrote:
Posted and scanned, there it is! Doesn't mean it's true though :)

What was that lyric from Joe Jackson's song "Sunday Papers?" "They wouldn't print it if it wasn't true!" :) The second article (dated June 26, 1956) by Coby Black seems to be quoting Vic.

"Before then, the only topical drink you could buy was a Planters Punch" CONTINUED the man who..."

So if Vic told her that, he must be attributed to the information in the paragraph above it.

"I could be a liar and say I started the Polynesian trend in dining, but I won't. Don the Beachcomber was really the father of it all, and Hawaii owes him a vote of thanks for encouraging Polynesian atmosphere." Vic IS being honest here, so why would he not be honest before this point in the article?

Let's see what Trader Vic had to say in his 1970 press kit, which was published in conjunction with his court case about his invention of the Mai Tai:

I tend to trust newspapers more than I do press kits. Journalists seem more reliable (even then) than press kit writers. Press kits by nature are designed to get out YOUR side.

The fact that Vic has a witness to his 1944 account is good in court case, and it does make compelling evidence.

Since Vic had a falling out with the Honolulu Trader Vic's owners, I bet they just loved to "aggravate his ulcer" with all sorts of little stories like the one above. I personally like to trust the handwritten signatures in my possession. Vic might have been an insufferable bastard at times, but no one would call him a lying bastard.

Nor am I calling him (or anyone) a "lying bastard." I simply must agree to disagree in this case and keep an open mind.

It does not seem that the second article was influenced by the Honolulu Trader Vic's (Spence and Cliff Weaver in 1970) owners to "aggravate his ulcer." It's quite possible that the 1940 story is true. It's just as possible that it's not and Vic said it because he knew he was doing an interview with a journalist from Honolulu. Faulty memory 30 years later as opposed to 16 years later? Reliable witness in 1944 is a better story that will stand up in court in 1970?

If the buyer of the Trader Vic's Hawaii Fog Cutter mug is on TC, give me a PM. I would like to talk to you about a project which may be of interest.

Thanks,
GK

1971 ad for the International Market Place location.

-Randy

Here's a colored version of that ad with other relevent venues. From This Week mag 1972 I believe.

On 2010-07-28 13:18, Phillip Roberts wrote:
I tend to trust newspapers more than I do press kits. Journalists seem more reliable (even then) than press kit writers. Press kits by nature are designed to get out YOUR side.

I don't get it. What I posted above is not some press kit written some press kit writer. It is a statement by Trader Vic, in his words, signed by his hand in ink (not a printed signature). The article you found does not quote Vic directly, it is the writer who makes the statement "this gray haired genial host served the first Mai Tai when he founded the Honululu Trader Vic's" and only after that goes into a direct quote by Vic. It seems much more likely to me that the writer's statement is based on some miss-information or a miss-understanding, than that Vic would be contradicting himself in this matter.

By the way, I just found out that we now can add Augie Goupil as one more claimant to the invention of the Mai Tai mythology. :)

Finally found an interior shot of the International Marketplace location, from 1970.

Nice Socks, Buddy!

It looks like there are some nice lamps hiding back beyond the bamboo lattice-work wall, but otherwise it's much more bland than the Ward Ave location. They don't seem to be using any of the signature ceramics or glassware either (at least in this photo).

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2010-11-07 01:07 ]

Sabu,

Nice photo. Odd to see a Trader Vic's so low on the TIPSY factor.

Here are a few more shots of the Trader Vic's at the International Market Place from a restaurant guide I saw on ebay.

DC

Here is a great souvenir photo from the Honolulu Trader Vic's that I attempted to purchase on ebay a while back.

Pretty good photo of the restaurant scene, and you have to love the matching his and hers outfits!

DC

So...who's going to contact Hinkles? If they're still around their archive of old negatives from Waikiki restaurants and showrooms must be filled with great stuff!

*My ability to call long distance is currently turned off at the moment. :lol:

I finally found one the Trader Vic's menus from Hawaii with the great illustrations of the mugs that were used exclusively in Hawaii.

Here is the cover and the back.

And the drinks..

If you compare my menu to the older menu I posted you can see that the Red Pants and Seahorse Mugs were added.

I have yet to see one of those blue Navy Grog mugs.

Here is a proclamation on the menu stating that these drinks and mugs were for the Trader Vic's in Hawaii only.

DC