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

Nice article from 1940 with a young looking Trader Vic setting off to Hawaii to open his second restaurant. The myth that he travelled the south seas before opening his restaurants is perpetuated here.

DC

A postcard I have not seen before... Trader Vic's exterior on Ward Avenue with Granny Abbott's name on the front.

The back is dated May 1941, right when Abbott bought Vic out.

DC

Nice

Super clean coaster from the original Trader Vic's on Ward Avenue.

DC

Gonna do some nerding out here. So I think we've established that Vic opened the original Honolulu location in 1940 and left by 1941 with Granny Abbott taking over. Here's a postcard sized menu I have that is undated...

...which is presumably earlier than this one somebody else posted...

...where Fred Mosher's name is added. Unless the two of them originally bought out Vic in '41 and then Granny bought out Fred after that. Anyone know?

Anyway, the inside content of both are practically the same. No dates or drink prices included, just clever drink descriptions not unlike ones Vic himself would write. The only indication of age is the place for a 3 cent stamp. I googled when the 3 cent stamp was used to see if I can pinpoint a date but it began in 1932 and didn't change until 1958, so that's unhelpful.

A couple weeks ago I spotted this menu on ebay, which has both owners names, but different content inside, including drink prices. What makes this one special is a hand written letter that is dated July 1945, a whole year after the date many have accepted as when the Mai Tai was created.

A couple things they wrote struck me:

"The owner of Trader Vic's is the originator of the Zombie."
"I just love to go there, it is so nice, just full of Hawaiian atmosphere."

So much to digest in so few words!!!

First off, someone visiting Honolulu is stating they're getting a full Hawaiian experience at Trader Vic's, which was a relatively new establishment on the island and the brain child of a mainlander's idea of paradise. So wish we had more interior pictures of this location to witness what they were taking in.

But what really caught my eye is the statement about the Zombie. We know Vic had nothing to do with this location by that time, or the zombie for that matter. Vic liked to embellish and borrowed heavily from Don, and this establishment continued the rhetoric following his departure. But what I'm wondering, if the Mai Tai was invented in 1944, when did it actually hit the menus of Vic's establishments, and when did it become a phenomenon where every other bar in the world tried to copy it? If this non-Vic owned Trader Vic's is flaunting about drinks that they created, why wouldn't they at least be claiming the Mai Tai as their own, rather than the zombie. My guess is that the Mai Tai wasn't yet a sensation. It doesn't appear on any of the three menus above (although we only know for certain one post-dates the creation of the Mai Tai). But I also have this undated menu from Vic's Hawaii...

...which lists a "Mai Kai" but not a Mai Tai. I've seen this menu advertised as being from 1947 and other Vic menus from his actual establishments from around '44-47 which have no mention of a Mai Tai. If he created the drink in '44, why wasn't it promptly put on a menu?

I want to believe the 1944 story but besides his own sworn testimony and that of the lady who named it, I haven't seen empirical evidence to back it up. Curious when other bars in the US started putting their versions of the Mai Tai on menus. I'm guessing not until the 50s.

Mikehooker,

Nice little bit of research there. I can tell you that Fred Mosher got involved after Vic left in 1941. Mosher's obit states

"He graduated from Roosevelt High School, class of 1936, and attended the University of Hawaii. Early in his career he was manager of the Commercial Club, the Armed Forces Officers Club, and finally the Outrigger Canoe Club on the beach at Waikiki between the Moana Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel."

So Mosher would have been in college when Trader Vic's originally opened in 1940. Funny no mention of his involvement at Trader Vic's in the obit.

As for Granny Abbott, the story continues into the 1960s. This article from 1955 indicates that his son, also Granny Abbott, had taken the place over from his dad.

Another article from 1960 also confirms that Granville Abbott was running the place 20 years after his dad opened it.

As to the Mai Tai question, I believe there is a pretty decent thread on TC reviewing that.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2020-01-03 16:40 ]

Just to fill in a little more history, the Spenccliff Corp bought Trader Vic's rights in Hawaii in 1967 as detailed in this article.

Sounds like they planned for some minor changes including a dance permit to bring in acts managed by Don Ho, but they kept the manager Kam Leong pictured here at the restaurant entrance.

DC

Mikehooker,

Tikicoma posted this Trader Vic's menu from Hawaii that included the Mai Tai under Rum Originals. The drink prices are a little higher than the one you posted so it is a little newer.

DC

A little more history on the Honolulu Trader Vic's It was sold in 1963 to Robert L. Lynch and the manager at that time was Harold Ching.

It was back on the market in 1964. The ad indicated that is was leased through 1967 which may be why Spencecliff purchased it in 1967.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2020-01-08 16:30 ]

Great work, DC.

So we know Vic and Granny Abbott opened the Ward location in 1939.
Vic was bought out by 1941. Would love to know the circumstances behind that since on future menus he makes such a fuss about not being affiliated with that location. Was he forced out? Operational or personal disagreements?
It's unclear exactly when (or why) Fred Mosher came into the picture, or when (or why) he left. Maybe as part of the purchase from Vic, Abbott needed more capital so he brought him in as a partner or investor?
At some point before 1955, Abbott's son, who also had experience in the restaurant industry, took over operations.
He ran it until atleast 1960, but maybe not past 1964 when an ad was posted looking for a lease takeover.
Spencecliff Corp bought the property in 1967. Curious if there was another operator in the 1964-67 period or if Abbott continued it til the end of the lease. The article alludes to business having been good and not many operational changes being made except upgrading the food offerings when Spencecliff took over.

As for the menu Tikicoma posted that features the Mai Tai, while the art and layout are similar, the prices for Fog Cutter, Zombie and Tonga are nearly double that of mine so I'm guessing it's quite a bit later, maybe from the 50's when Granny Jr. was in charge.

Mike Hooker,

Here is an article from 1973 when Trader Vic was visiting the islands to promote his new line of food and drinks for United Airlines. In the article Vic recounts how the deal went sour with Granny Abbott and describes the buyout by Lynch in 1963 and the subsequent sale to Spencecliff. Vic states in the article that he went to the Ward Drive location in 1973 to find it “all torn up”.

This article documents the move to the International Market Place in 1970 and the name change to "Old Plantation".

So here is my slightly different version of the Trader Vic’s Hawaii time-line.

1940 Trader Vic and Granny Abbott open Trader Vic’s on Ward Drive as partners

1941 Granny Abbott buys out a dejected Trader Vic after he slyly incorporates the Trader Vic’s name in the territory of Hawaii

1945 Fred Mosher comes on-board briefly, most likely as a restaurant manager as he would later do at the Outrigger Canoe Club

1950-1955 Granny Abbott’s son (also Granny Abbott) takes over as manager until at least 1960

1963 Robert L. Lynch from Southern California buys Trader Vic’s, presumably to franchise it to the Spencecliff Corp

1964 Lynch puts the Trader Vic’s property up for sale

1967 Spencecliff buys the Trader Vic’s Corporation from Lynch and announces that a two 16 story buildings will be constructed
on the site.

1970 Trader Vic’s moves to the International Market Place and the Ward Drive location becomes the Old Plantation

1973 Trader Vic’s on Ward Drive is being torn down when Victor Bergeron visits

Brilliant! Thanks for filling in the blanks.

Here are some photos of a Trader Vic's Honolulu menu I found in the Denver Library archives. Unfortunately, there's no indication of the year.