Trader Vic's, Philly?? Hope so!

Was taking a look through 'Tiki Road Trip' today to plot another northeast Tiki target and came aross the section on Pennsylvania. According to JT there were, or are plans to open up a Trader Vic's in Philadelphia which if it is still true, is great news!! After having the book for like 3 months now, it's the first time I actually saw it mentioned in the book. That's a train ride away and not a bad excuse to go to Philly which is pretty cool destination to hang out in for a weekend or day trip. Anybody know what the scoop is on this??

See page 4 of this thread, 2nd message:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=1563&forum=1&start=45

No news since then, as far as I know.

Thanks for the reply Erika. Hopefully it's in the works. I'd actually like to see it in Philly. AC is cool but not may fave place in the world to go to.

Aloha!

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-09-09 10:56 ]

Sad news, I recently received an email from TVs SF Corp office stating...

They've received several emails from people in the Philly area regarding a future TVs, but as of right now there are NO discussions concerning Philly. They aren't sure where those rumors started.

Well bad news indeed, but I say all is not lost. Keep reminding TV that Philly is definitely interested in TV coming!

Here's to a future TV Mai Tai on the Delaware River! :drink:

Boooooo! Boo I say!

Oh well. Perhaps we here at Tiki Central can collectively send a message to the Trader Vic people to let them know that there is a strong interest in their franchise. What the hell? How many of us are on here in fact? Mr. Lemoore, what is the total head count here. I say we send them an open letter and let them know what the deal is. Anybody with me?

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-09-09 19:29 ]

i too have read that on the author's website before the book even came out! i have not found any other info on the web however... one can only hope. there is however a 'tiki bob's' outside old city heading towards northern liberties. BEWARE.. it is a false paradise..
outside the city is the kona kai bamboo grill which i believe is somehow related to the original kona kai of philadelphia... although not as good of course.. but has some halfway decent elements.
just over the bridge in NJ is 'The Pub', the last remaining of philadelphia's 'Pub Tiki' fame. this particular establishment is not tiki by any means but has been around since at least the early sixties maybe earlier and reeks of a medieval fifties vibe.

but yes a trader vic's would be nice..

The information about Philly came to me directly from a gentleman who told me that he was slated to fill the position as the GM of the Scottsdale, AZ location (also under for construction.... now in question?).

He listed the five cities that (at that time) were being planned for as destinations for new TVs locations.

I'll be doing a book signing at TVs here in Chicago on March 31 (along with Sven Kirsten and Duke Carter), and perhaps at that time we can extract some new info from the management.

great!! tell them either the philly or atlantic city area would do well.. there are a lot of "culture in general" starved people over here!!

A friend of mine is in Philadelphia through the weekend and will be happy to pick up any tiki mugs, etc. for me. I've read this thread and the related ones and don't think anything is there. Any chance there is?

I just wrote to Trader Vic's again, and got a reply that nothing came of their Atlantic City discussions and there are no plans for a restaurant in the area (Atlantic City/Philadelphia) anytime soon.

Dang it! :(

Thanks for keeping the torches lit Erika, I am saddened by the news. I believe in my heart that a Philly local would do great. Lets just remind them of that every now and then!

[i]On 2004-03-23 11:11, tikibars wrote:

. . . He listed the five cities that (at that time) were being planned for as destinations for new TVs locations.

I'll be doing a book signing at TVs here in Chicago on March 31 (along with Sven Kirsten and Duke Carter), and perhaps at that time we can extract some new info from the management.

Don't forget to inquire about the Big Island and Las Vegas.

On 2004-11-14 21:43, christiki295 wrote:

[i]On 2004-03-23 11:11, tikibars wrote:

. . . He listed the five cities that (at that time) were being planned for as destinations for new TVs locations.

I'll be doing a book signing at TVs here in Chicago on March 31 (along with Sven Kirsten and Duke Carter), and perhaps at that time we can extract some new info from the management.

Don't forget to inquire about the Big Island and Las Vegas.

An off the record comment from a Vic's employee is that Arizona is next (now surprise), then Vegas (no location yet) and in a few years, Hawaii (also no location yet).
Also, Trader Vic's drink book is being re-issued!!!!

Yo - west philly in the house...
I grew up in the city of Brudderly Love, and a friend of mine there who is into tiki (so cute, he didn't realize that anyone else collected mugs, has a killer garage sale collection...) He told us of a Polynesian Restaurant in Northeast Philly, on Roosevelt Blvd. that has fire dancers, the whole shebang. We've gone back there a few times, and never had to time to pursue. There is a giant water spouting tiki at the water slide park in Ocean City NJ. (see mr. p/tikibot's signature on his posts...)

On 2004-11-15 12:27, mrsmiley wrote:

An off the record comment from a Vic's employee is that Arizona is next (no surprise)

The new menu at Trader Vic's SF lists Scottsdale as openging in 2005, so it appears official.

To be honest, I've written them about every other month about it. There's a bunch of locations in center city that they could easily build, and the biggest business in philly is the restaurant business. I know from an inside source of mine that there are two more restaurants in philly that are about to collapse. If only there were osme philly restauranteur that could invest in a Vic's. Sigh. Maybe in Neil Stein's better days before he snorted away his money, he could have been convinced. But it looks like Steven Starr is the only one left in Philly. So if anyone knows him personally, get on his ass and let's get a half decent tiki bar in Philly. Dammit. Ah, what a post of utter defeat. Aloha!