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Trader Vic's CONFIRMED news: Read on! |
martiki
Official Mixologist
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 3056
From: http://www.smugglerscovesf.com
|  Posted: 2006-01-13 1:52 pm Permalink
Trader Vic's Palo Alto is redesigning their bar at the end of the month. It will be renamed "The Mai Tai Lounge at Trader Vic's" and will feature dimmer, red lighting, more tikis, a larger space (partial expansion into the dining room to the right) and more. Doubt that it will suddenly be covered in Tapa, but better than nothing, right? Also look or an expanded happy hour with more items. The effort is to get the local to see the bar as almost a seperate entity within Vic's, and of course, to encourage more drinking!
Soft opening scheduled for January 27th.
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2006-01-13 4:18 pm Permalink
Even a small change like that will be awesome -- the bar area at Palo Alto could use some coziness but also some more room, so what they're doing makes sense. And the magic words "expanded happy hour" are like music to my ears. I already see it as a separate entity within Vic's so, mission accomplished!
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tikipedia
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 25, 2004
Posts: 488
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2006-01-13 7:58 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-13 13:52, martiki wrote:
It will be renamed "The Mai Tai Lounge at Trader Vic's"
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Isn't that kind of redundant? 
Actually, this is good news! The place was just a bit too Pottery Barn-ish.
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Tiki Royale
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 06, 2002
Posts: 891
From: The Aloha Room in Beautiful Belmont, CA!
| Posted: 2006-01-13 11:42 pm Permalink
Sounds nice!
Perhaps a little Grand re-Opening TC gathering?
I love the PA Vic's during the summer when they open the deck... hopefully they'll rethink the loud bands they often have in there.
Aloha,
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-01-14 12:15 am Permalink
Excellent news!
Does anyone know whether this is a corporate decision - to be similarly reflected in other new Trader Vics, or a decision by the Palo Alto investors?
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tikivixen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 28, 2002
Posts: 724
From: Vallejo CA
| Posted: 2006-01-14 12:56 am Permalink
Ah-HA! Very interesting news indeed. "Pottery Barnish", that's funny.
Hm. It IS, kinda. Or maybe Sundance-ish.
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martiki
Official Mixologist
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 3056
From: http://www.smugglerscovesf.com
| Posted: 2006-01-14 10:14 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-14 00:15, christiki295 wrote:
Excellent news!
Does anyone know whether this is a corporate decision - to be similarly reflected in other new Trader Vics, or a decision by the Palo Alto investors?
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Hotel Director's decision.
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Humuhumu
Grand Member (5 years)
Joined: Aug 22, 2002
Posts: 3536
From: San Francisco
| Posted: 2006-01-26 11:37 pm Permalink
About a week ago, Hanford & I decided to get some drinks & a few tidbits in the bar in Palo Alto, to see the bar in its "before" state one last time, and see if we could learn any more details about the remodel.
After we've had a chance to establish a friendly rapport with our bartender, I ask him what he can tell us about the impending bar remodel. He looks at me like I've just asked him what he thinks of the giant rhinoceros in the parking lot. He tells me there are no plans to remodel the bar, but I get pretty specific with him about what I'd heard -- more tikis, expanding into the side dining room, dimmer red lights, etc. He now looks a bit puzzled, almost concerned, but says he's pretty sure there's nothing like that being planned, and continues his work. A few minutes later, he's feeling itchy enough about it that he decides to ask his manager. He comes back, now with a look of shock on his face, and says that everything I said was true. He was pretty pleased to hear that the bar was expanding -- more business for him. Through the rest of the night, he jokes that he wants to know what else I know about Palo Alto (had to tell him, nuttin'), and who my sources were.
On our way out of Trader Vic's, we picked up the newsletter they have on a table by the entrance, like we always do. Right there, top of the damned page, with a big headline that surely could be read from many feet away, is a couple big paragraphs heralding the new bar makeover, coming in mid-January! So, I ain't so special after all. I'm not sure which is more odd -- that the Palo Alto TV management is more on the ball with communicating with their customers than with their staff, or that the newsletter is completely off the staff's radar.
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-01-27 08:32 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-26 23:37, Humuhumu wrote:
Through the rest of the night, he jokes that he wants to know what else I know about Palo Alto (had to tell him, nuttin'), and who my sources were.
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A Special Tiki Central Agent has the best intelligence available.
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hodadhank
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 28, 2005
Posts: 1682
From: Mission Beach, CA
| Posted: 2006-01-27 09:19 am Permalink
Good news for all Silicon Valley Savages!
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2006-01-27 6:01 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2006-01-26 23:37, Humuhumu wrote:
Through the rest of the night, he jokes that he wants to know what else I know about Palo Alto (had to tell him, nuttin')
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Those who know don't say.
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tikiskip
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: Nov 26, 2005
Posts: 2085 | Posted: 2006-01-27 8:29 pm Permalink
We can only hope that when they take the pottery barn feel out of the place, That they will take that bartender out with it!
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