Victor Bergeron - 100th birthday next month

Hey everyone.

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else yet, so I thought I'd bring it up.

Victor Bergeron (aka Trader Vic for you newbies) was born on December 10, 1902.

His 100th birthday would have been next month.

I plan to call the Trader Vic's here in Chicago this week to see if they are planning a celebration, and if not, I am just going to round up a big posse of Tikiphiles and stage an invasion.

Any plans for those of you in Emeryville, Beverly Hills, Atlanta, Palo Alto, London, or anywhere else...?

On 2002-11-04 11:49, tikibars wrote:
Victor Bergeron (aka Trader Vic for you newbies) was born on December 10, 1902. His 100th birthday would have been next month.

Any plans for those of you in Emeryville, Beverly Hills, Atlanta, Palo Alto, London, or anywhere else...?

I didn't even notice that when I was taking pictures of his grave! We ought to have some sort of celebration in Emeryville, since it's the closest location to the Mother Ship.

:drink:

"We ought to have some sort of celebration in Emeryville"

Absolutely...I wonder if some sort of commemoration will be taking place there next month. Seems like a worthy date, Vic's centennial and all. Especially given the nes from Sven regarding new TV locations proposed for NYC, SF, etc...

The 10th is a tuesday.

midnite

Hey, mine's the 14th! But of course Vic was a Sagittarius! We could raise the roof in Emeryville the Saturday before, perhaps? though Tuesday's fine with me. I do agree a celebration's in order!!

I know this is a stupid and obvious question, but any relation to Tom Bergeron of Hollywood Squares fame?

I know this is a stupid and obvious question, but any relation to Tom Bergeron of Hollywood Squares fame?

Scamboogah, I always wondered that myself!

Hey, I plan on drinks at Emeryville on the 10th!! Anyone want to join me?? Hey, his 100th only happens....once :)

TikiHula wrote:
Hey, I plan on drinks at Emeryville on the 10th!! Anyone want to join me?? Hey, his 100th only happens....once :)

me! me! me!

--cyn

I am gonna try, but you know Vic's 99th was sort of a bust, hence my expectations are minimal. The celebration was ok, but someone put the "Tiki Gardens" cd on the hi-fi and dagnabbit wouldn't ya know it...I forgot my rollerskates!

"Let's over to Trader Frank's for one of those delightful terry-akkee steak dinners"

Let's hope we get a few folks there to raise a Zombie or Mai-Tai for Vic. He didn't start the movement, but like the King...he made it accessible for so many.

"As we visit monkey village, you hear chatterings of our playful monkeys, with a solo by Chester...the South American Wooly"

Chester rocks! I got my Bic lit...Freebird, Freebird!!!

midnite :drink:

Alright, let's get serious about this. Do we have enough people to rent out a room over there? There is the one smaller room with the round table that seats 8 - 10. Or there's the room----

STOP THE PRESSES!!!!!!

I just called over there, and the 10 person room was the only one left- they just had a cancellation. WE ARE IN!

So here's my idea- Atlanta...Chicago...BH...London....Palo Alto (?) - We should be at every one of them. Then we'd really feel the Tiki Spirit. :)

Everyone: Get reservations at your local. Start new threads for each in Tiki Events.

I will repost in Tiki Events. So far:

Cindy
Vixen
Mike
Midnite
Martin
Rebecca
See-Ming (my Shag collecting co-worker)

Of course, it will be great if other centralites just book other tables, or hang in the bar. For the people above, remember to confirm if you are serious, and post if you can't make it, to give others a chance.

I'm excited already.

-martin

I am glad all of you in Emeryville and SF have taken my idea to heart, but are there any CHICAGOANS besides me on this board???

Come on guys, let's get something going!

:)

Mr. James...

I was going to shoot you an email on this very topic later today, but lest it look like we Chicagoans don't appreciate our good fortune, yessir, lets hook things up at the Palmer House on the 10th.

I would love to hit Atlanta. Went by there today but was two hours early and a bit underdressed. The Maitre De let me peek in....incredible. A TON of Leroy Schmaltz carved posts in there. I'm in if someone will e-mail me and help craft a plan.

I talked to a manager at TV Chicago about this, and he didn't seem too interested in having a promotion. They have a drink special that night anyway, but that's all we're getting out of them.

I will send an Email to my "Chicago Tiki" mail list in a week or so, and we'll see how many responses I get, and then make a reservation...

How is the CA planning going?

I will be celebrating mine and Vic's B-day this friday at the Palo Alto Trader Vic's.
Unfortunately, due to family restraints, I will be there pretty early in the evening and gone well before 9:00. So if there are any early birds hanging around come in and say Aloha. I will be wearing a green hawaiian shirt and will be with a family looking group.
Have fun all!
Chongolio

Aloha!

Here's an update on the Chicago celebration (in the form of an Email I sent out to Chicagoans and a few other people):

"Aloha Menehunes!

Victor J. Bergeron, AKA Trader Vic, will have been 100 years old next Tuesday, December 10.

I called Trader Vic's in the Palmer House Hilton to see if we could organize a celebration, and puzzlingly, they weren't really interested. They did say that we were welcome to come down for dinner and drinks (of course), so I told them to expect about forty people beginning at 6PM and drifting in until 9PM or so. We're staging a major invasion - be there for it!

Their usual Tuesday night drink special is in effect (not a Mai Tai unfortunately). I am going to continue to work on them to try to get at least some sort of vibe going, or possibly at least an appetizer special, or SOMETHING!

Anyway - all Tikiphiles in Chicago are hereby informed - next Tuesday, December 10, Trader Vics (in the Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe (corner of Wabash)) is the place to be after 6:00! Parallel impromptu/unofficial celebrations are being planned to various degrees at the Trader Vics locations in Emeryville, Beverly Hills, London, and Atlanta - and possibly at other Trader Vic's restaurants across the globe.

Since this is an unofficial event (at the moment), if you are going to want a table for dinner, call ahead and make a reservation. Otherwise, we'll see you at the Tiki Bar!
Come down and be a part of the centennial party for the man who made Tiki culture what it is today..."

...

Hey, are we going to try to get together a celebration at the Beverly Hill's TV? Any other december birthdays' that we could celebrate there too? Mine was yesterday (the 1st). I did the Hollywood Christmas parade and we were forming up right in front of the Lava Lounge, but I didn't get a chance to go in for a drink. I wouldn't mind raising a Mai Tai to celebrate Vic's birthday on tuesday.

Okay, now we're geting somewhere!

I got this letter today...

"
Dear James:

I work in the Trader Vic's Corporate Office for Hans Richter, Pres & CEO, and for Sven Koch, V.P. of American Operations.

We received a copy of your email advising Tiki fans of Trader Vic's 100th birthday celebration next Tuesday.

We, of course, are thrilled at this news. I forwarded your email to the managers of the restaurants mentioned ( Emeryville - Beverly Hills - Atlanta - Chicago -
London ) and advised them of your plans to celebrate.

As they are all ( except for Emeryville ) independently run, we cannot tell them what they should or should not do in regards to specials, but Hans will be returning to the office tomorrow and I will talk to him about sending out an email to all the managers involved about your plans for celebration. This is obviously something quite special.

Thanks, James...We hope it turns out to be a night to remember...

Kindest regards,

ERIK ( MR. RICHTER'S ASSISTANT )"

Now that Trader Vic's managers are in the loop, hopefully things will go smoother if the invasion in any particular city becomes as large is it SHOULD be! Perhaps Mr. Richter can be convinced to put Mai Tai and PuPus on special for us...

Way to go!!!. Good Job.
Al

Thanks James- it looks like we are going to make the Emeryville celebration a night to remember!! Hope you all do the same!

Great effort James,
The folks at all TV's should be aware of the "grass-roots" support they could/can have. I figured the TV's were "franchise" type operations, thanks for the confirmation...I do think the Chicago group has it right with some of their efforts of late.

We're looking forward to the Emeryville festivities, we need to do some planning.

re:"Perhaps Mr. Richter can be convinced to put Mai Tai and PuPus on special for us..."

$4 Zombies?...mayday mayday, foam the runways!

midnite

Beverly Hills should have a showing. Paging Wierd Uncle! Dr. Z, Sabu, CB Howlie, FuturaGirl, Mano Tiki Tia, Tangaroa, VintageGirl, Atomic Cocktail, Big Bro Tiki, Tiki Gardener, Johnnie Velour, Lady Velour, Polynesian Pop, Trader Pup...

I pinged a bunch of Los Angeles area TCers about showing up at the Beverly Hills branch on the 10th. Dr Z suggested that Saturday the 7th might be a better date for more people. What do you all think?

good chance i'd try to head over on the 10th, but this weekend's already booked :(

tikibars wrote:
I forwarded your email to the managers of the restaurants mentioned ( Emeryville - Beverly Hills - Atlanta - Chicago -
London ) and advised them of your plans to celebrate.

So what's happening in London? Sadly, it's too difficult for me to get into the big city on Tuesday as it's a 'schoolnight', but I'd like to read a report of the festivities.

In the meantime, we'll be toasting Vic from home with a run-through of his classic drinks.

Trader Woody

I called to reconfirm my reservation last night and the woman I spoke with knew it was his 100th, but didn't know of any specific plans going on. I told her there were loads of us coming and she said said she'd tell the manager. I think we'll be fine....

Anybody visiting poor old Palo Alto?

-martin

Update: So far, Dr. Z, Z Girl, Sabu and Polynesian Pop are liking the Saturday the 7th date. I will be a later arrival as I have another engagement that evening.

STOP THE PRESSES:

$1 MAI TAI in Emeryville!

Woo-hoo!

Those of you plannig to visit on the 7th might want to reconsider - Trader Vic's corporate is now on-board...

The latest missive:

"Hey James:
Thanks for your email.
I don't remember if I forwarded a copy to you, but I contacted all the
managers at all 22 restaurants around the world about this.

I talked yesterday to Patrick Cahuzac, manager in Emeryville. He says they
will be offering Mai Tai's for " 100 cents " . A buck each, but I guess 100
cents sounds better for the 100th birthday.

Sven Koch, V.P. for U.S., is returning to the office today and as soon as he
walks in the door I will ask him about Chicago. I don't understand why they
didn't seem real excited about this. Did you talk to Girly Fedilo ? She is
the manager there.

Anyway, I will talk to Sven (a manager, not Kirsten! - JT) when he comes in today and I will let you know.
We want to thank you for this, we dropped the ball, it seems.

I also just talked very quickly to the Manager in London, Yavuz, and he says
they definetly will be doing something to honor the day. I agree,with you --
half-price Mai Tai's or anything to do with Mai Tai's is the way to go.

I will get back to you...

THANKS, JAMES !! ALOHA !"

Uh Oh:

"$1 MAI TAI in Emeryville!"

Definitely foam the runway, this one is gonna land hard. Looks like a limo, or a BART/Cab combo.

Way to go James, you dah man!

midnite :drink: that's a buck!

Well geez, in that case, I'll take 20 bucks worth...:)

Can't make the 7th, but the 10th might be a possibility.

Floratina- I think for the 100th birthday, it's kinda weird to not celebrate it ON that date. It's sorta just like let's have a drink at Vic's Beverly Hills.
I don't know if I can come on either (my son), but I think it should be Tuesday the 10th, to do it right.

Damn nice work, James. That just made our night a little brighter. Or darker, depending on how the night goes.

-martin

Well, my plan is to head down there ont he evening of the 10th. Sure, tuesday is a pain, especially when LA traffic must be dealt with, but it seems worth the trip. Maybe I should take a cab if there are going to be $1 Mai Tai's. Hopefully BH will get on board for that, too.

The 10th it is. I stopped by the BH TV and spoke with the General Manager, Chai (cool guy) and he got the memo. One-dollar Mai Tais. I asked him "What if we want a Hinky Dink?" and he said that was okay, too. But you have to mention the Trader's birthday to get the special price. Dr. Z and Z Girl and Sabu think the 10th sounds like a good date - the special price for the drinks is a worthy incentive...

I'm down and i'll see if i can get c.b. to pick me up afterwards so i can partake in more of those mai tais...

how late are they open on a tuesday?

Somebody say dollar mai tai's? Lapu and I will definately be there.

Hey Spike - I didn't know if you guys would be up for the long drive to the Trader's, but Dr. Z had faith. Maybe I should work on some other OCer's...Bong?

For a drink special like that? Sure. This is the only way that I can afford to go to Trader Vics and drink. Tuesday is usually a hard night to get out but maybe Bax and Bonger can make it?

I've got a feeling that this is gonna be a rough month.

Spike

[ Edited by: Luckydesigns on 2002-12-05 19:04 ]

A rough $ month indeed. Trader Vic's drinks are the real deal, and they pack a punch. I am also pleased to announce that BC Da Da, Two Wheelin Tiki and Johnnie Velour are going to put in an appearance, too. Glory be!

Count me & maybe the missus in too.

This news is most excellent, Chiki baby.

Count me in for TV LA. 12/10. Sounds great. What time is everybody starting?

BBV- We chose 7:30 as a start time. We haven't seen you in quite a while, I'm glad you'll be there.

Hukilau Brown has notified me that he will also grace us with his presence. This is shaping up nicely.

How could I pass up a gathering like this?!?!! See you all in Beverly Hills around 9:00.

-Weird Uncle Tiki

When I said a rough month, I meant on the liver. We all have TVs, then Sam's, and I have a bunch of holiday parties to go to. It'll all be alot of fun though, I'm sure.

For the Beverly Hills T.V. are we doing the bar or getiing a table? What is the general consensus? If it is the bar the first arrival can hold a section. Order 20 Mai Tai's ($20bucks) and say we are on the way?
Bon Bon & Vic

Upscale vintage clothing store Catwalk (on Fairfax roughly adjacent to Eat-A-Pita) is throwing an everybody-invited holiday party at 7:30 this evening if tiki-types wish to pre-lubricate en route to TVBH for Vic's 100th!