Another Vic's Bites the Dust - this time in Scottsdale, AZ

[i]On 2011-07-27 11:27, bigbrotiki wrote:

As I said, the causes for these closures are largely based on individual franchise factors - plus the fact that the context for the brand is not understood by the general public. It needs to be re-enticed. Beyond that, there's no mystery to it, harping on the why and wherefores will not solve anything.

I wish it was that simple. But let's not let our affinity for Tiki preclude an acknowledgement of reality.

As many Trader Vics have closed as remain open in the US.
There are 8 Trader Vics currently open, including Portland.
However, there are 7 which, unfortunately, have closed:

1. Scottsdale - July, 2011
2. Chicago - June, 2011
3. Dallas - 2010
4. Las Vegas - 2009
5. Bellevue - 2008
6. Beverly Hills - 2007
7. San Francisco - 2007

At the same time, Hawaiian, but non-Tiki, Roys has expanded to 29 locations in the US.
Coincidently, Roys remain open in areas where Trader Vics has not been so fortunate:

Las Vegas
Phoenix
San Francisco

Although this is NOT a thread on taboo Cove or Las Vegas, I will add this to Bigbro's comments; Taboo Cove opened approx. a month before 9/11. The financial panic that ensued (ie: people were afraid the spend money-whether or not it included travel) doomed many businesses. San Francisco lost a TON of OLD, established businesses in the 6 months after 9/11.

only a few days left!

[ Edited by: mrsmiley 2011-08-08 08:02 ]

Don't forget this Saturday is the last day!

*On 2011-07-24 03:21, bigbadtikidaddy wrote:
They didn't even have any regular mai tai glasses, just plain cocktail glasses. I was told that people have been stealing damn near everything they can get their hands on, especially the glassware. *

A Mai Tai in a pint glass, was a new one for me!

I got to swing by on Tuesday, down a couple last cocktails, say goodbye. This will bring it six(?) the number of Trader Vic's I have visited and which have subsequently closed. Not happy about that tally, ok maybe for the Vegas location. Life is short, eh? Do enjoy any Trader Vic's while they last is the lesson I can offer.

In blossom today, then scattered.

midnite

Today is the last day of business for this Trader Vics! ...very sad....we can't make the trip from Vegas today. :(

Just got back today after a stay at the Valley Ho. As of Friday, most of the bar menus and the TV glasses had been pilfered. My Mai Tais and Navy Grogs came in non-standard highball glasses, rather than old fashion glasses.

From what I gathered talking with the staff, the decision to close the Scottsdale Trader Vic's was made by Westroc Hotels, the owners of the Valley Ho. They opted to go with Trader Vic's when the Valley Ho was just trying to get established in its restored form back in 2004. But now that the hotel is going strong, the management decided they wanted their own restaurant rather than a franchise. The new restaurant is supposed to continue the theme of the hotel, but the menu will be less expensive than that of Trader Vic's. This seems to be a strategy to attract more locals to visit.

Our experience yesterday was not quite up there as it had been in the past. The drinks seemed to be lacking, and many of the tables weren't even bussed toward the end of the night. All of the branded glassware is gone, and they don't even have the standard TV swizzles anymore. Even flatbread/breadstick combo they used to offer as an appetizer was replaced by some sort of cibatta bread. I can understand why they aren't bothering to restock the TV stuff, but it is sad nonetheless.

If you do go, say hi to JK. He is an awesome bartender. Hope he manages to land another gig at the Valley Ho.

The Tikipedia
www.tikipedia.com

[ Edited by: tikipedia 2011-07-30 20:56 ]

Another on bites the dust! RAZZ !!!! RIP SCOTTSDALE (again).

I have to say, so far the best tiki bar closing (I mean the last not, not the CONCEPT of its closing) has to be the Kahiki. Plus, by announcing that they intended to reopen elsewhere (which I DO believe they did-at the time), they had minimal pilfering that I noticed. Plus, most of their mugs and menus, etc were for sale in the gift shop so you had an honest option. Too bad it was somewhat of a whimper-Tipipedia...how was the business? Busy , meium or slow?

On 2011-07-30 20:09, tikipedia wrote:
Just got back today after a stay at the Valley Ho. As of Friday, most of the bar menus and the TV glasses had been pilfered. My Mai Tais and Navy Grogs came in non-standard highball glasses, rather than old fashion glasses.

Maybe TV stopped ordering the glasses a while back?
Or, maybe the staff took them?
Or, I fear most likely, they will end up on Ebay.

On 2011-07-31 12:08, christiki295 wrote:
Maybe TV stopped ordering the glasses a while back?
Or, maybe the staff took them?
Or, I fear most likely, they will end up on Ebay.

We went on Wednesday and Friday (the last day being Saturday). Trader Vic's was closed for a private party on Thursday. Both days we went were pretty busy in the bar, and we could only get Friday dinner reservations late (9 pm or later).

On Wednesday, there were still menus and glasses, which all seemed to vanish by Friday. Perhaps they gave a lot of the stuff away at the private party? In any case, TV Scottsdale will be selling most of the non corporate-owned items online over the next few months. Valley Ho plans to have the new restaurant opened in about 6 months, so I would expect the items to become available before then.

On 2011-07-31 12:08, christiki295 wrote:

On 2011-07-30 20:09, tikipedia wrote:
Just got back today after a stay at the Valley Ho. As of Friday, most of the bar menus and the TV glasses had been pilfered. My Mai Tais and Navy Grogs came in non-standard highball glasses, rather than old fashion glasses.

Maybe TV stopped ordering the glasses a while back?
Or, maybe the staff took them?
Or, I fear most likely, they will end up on Ebay.

as I stated earlier, JK & another bartender told me that people, meaning GUESTS, were stealing everything they could get their hands on, especially glassware. but not just the mai tai glasses, everything.

On 2011-07-31 15:43, bigbadtikidaddy wrote:

On 2011-07-31 12:08, christiki295 wrote:

On 2011-07-30 20:09, tikipedia wrote:
Just got back today after a stay at the Valley Ho. As of Friday, most of the bar menus and the TV glasses had been pilfered. My Mai Tais and Navy Grogs came in non-standard highball glasses, rather than old fashion glasses.

Maybe TV stopped ordering the glasses a while back?
Or, maybe the staff took them?
Or, I fear most likely, they will end up on Ebay.

as I stated earlier, JK & another bartender told me that people, meaning GUESTS, were stealing everything they could get their hands on, especially glassware. but not just the mai tai glasses, everything.

Our server on Friday said he saw numerous people slipping glassware into purses and bags. I did recall seeing a stack of Scorpion bowls in the bar on Wednesday, but don't recall if they were still there on Friday (but slipping those into a purse might be a bit difficult). Amazingly, the photos in the bathrooms were still there! For the record, I didn't pinch a thing. :D

Happily, I was there closing night. Errr, I shouldn't say happily. That was one of my favorite Vic's. The food was always excellent and the drinks were consistently excellent. I spoke with the waitress and she told me that another restaurant was already planned to go in (she didn't know the name) but that most, if not all the TV staff were going to be working for that restaurant. At least in this economic climate, they weren't out of a job.

As for the "field collecting", that cold be the case. We were served mai tais and suffering bastards in standard non-descript classes. I didn't see any of the Vic's glasses at the bar at all. We ordered a tiki bown and it DID come in the bowl. I did see a shell bowl and rum barrel bowl going out from the bar to tables. So not everything was "snatched" up. The interesting thing was, the dining room and the bar were swamped. We got there at 9 and it was humming the entire night.

Sad to see it go. They also had great happy hours-- 2 happy hours each day!! (4-6pm & 9-11pm) $6 mai tais and suffering bastards. Now THAT is a great deal.

[i]On 2011-07-31 21:08, Marty Lush wrote:

Nice PNG Tiki!
I wished I would have made it.

[i]On 2011-07-31 21:08, Marty Lush wrote:

Rarely have I seen a sadder sight.

[ Edited by: christiki295 2011-07-31 21:25 ]

[i]On 2011-07-31 21:08, Marty Lush wrote:

As for the "field collecting", that cold be the case. . . . I did see a shell bowl and rum barrel bowl going out from the bar to tables. So not everything was "snatched" up. The interesting thing was, the dining room and the bar were swamped.

The giant Tikis are the real prize.
It would be nice if they could find an appropriate home.