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A time to every season: Farewell Trader Vic's SF. |
martiki
Official Mixologist
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 3056
From: http://www.smugglerscovesf.com
|  Posted: 2007-12-31 10:40 pm Permalink
It is with a heavy heart that I must sadly report that Trader Vic's San Francisco has closed its doors.
All the decor and supplies are headed back to the warehouse, and I'm sure are bound for another location.
I am particularly saddened as it is where I cut my chops under the watchful eye of my now manager Jim Shoemake, the mighty Sonya Runkle, and of course, my dear old Lars Hilldebrand.
Yavuz was an excellent manager who did the very best he could, and always went the extra mile for Tiki Central and the Tiki Crawl.
A lot of great people were employed there and it was my pleasure to work with them, even if only for a short time.
We've all said it here before, but it certainly bears repeating:
Support.
Your.
Local.
Tiki.
Bar.
There but for the grace of god go us all.
Sorry to start the new year on a downer, but take off you hats and raise a Mai Tai tonight to another lost Vic's.
Mahalo,
Martin
[ This Message was edited by: martiki 2007-12-31 22:41 ]
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RevBambooBen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 7198
From: Huntikington Beach
| Posted: 2007-12-31 10:58 pm Permalink
So when is F.I. Vegas gonna happen???!
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Hiphipahula
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: May 27, 2006
Posts: 2376
From: The Valley! Female, leo,fav color pink.
| Posted: 2007-12-31 11:06 pm Permalink
Ben sure can lighten a subject, thats why we all love him! 
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2007-12-31 11:15 pm Permalink
martin, you know if there was an F.I. vegas i'd be there every night. that sucks big time as i was looking forward to spending a night there with all of you guys. i can help with the vegas plans . . . i haves skilllzzz . . . .
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Ojaitimo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 04, 2006
Posts: 1283 | Posted: 2007-12-31 11:41 pm Permalink
Martin. I hope you are kidding. I just came back from Traitor Vic's in Las Vegas and I'm still in shock.
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Mai Tai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 21, 2004
Posts: 1430
From: Exotic Isle of Alameda
| Posted: 2008-01-01 04:41 am Permalink
Martin sprung this on us this New Year's Eve, with the announcement at our table of "I have some very sad news for you guys!" We were thinking that maybe the fire marshall was shutting down Forbidden Island for the evening, even though it was a private party that wasn't close to over capacity.
It took a minute for the news to sink in to us - after all, we were all fairly buzzed at that point (and some of us still are  ), but hey, the news still sucks. I can't believe that this is the first thing i'm posting on for any online forum for 2008. Hey, the locals around here tried to make the best of the place, especially while Martin, Jim, Lars, and Sonya still worked there. We were pretty much the only folks to show up there on Monday nights! I feel bad for Trader Vic's, and wish them nothing but the best in the future - lord knows Yavuz, along with everyone else, did what they could to keep the place afloat in the old Stars Cafe location for as long as they could. And let me re-iterate what a pleasure it was to work with Yavuz for the 2007 Tiki Central Tiki Crawl, and what stellar service he gave to us, including the Mai Tai boat, and all the cool give away schwag as well.
A moment's silence for Trader Vic's San Francisco. And let me repeat what Martin said:
Support Your Local Tiki Bar!
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 "It's Mai Tai. It's out of this world." - Victor Jules Bergeron Jr.
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Bora Boris
Mr. Unreasonable
Joined: Mar 25, 2005
Posts: 2402
From: Boogie Wonderland
| Posted: 2008-01-01 11:48 am Permalink
Very Sad,
I was only there twice but had lots of fun each time.
Seems like Trader Vic's is getting stealthier with each close.
I will miss it.
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bigtikidude
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 10, 2004
Posts: 8262
From: Anaheim,Ca.
| Posted: 2008-01-01 12:19 pm Permalink
Damn,
thats horrible, and I was just in the Bay area in Oct. and Dec.
and didn't make it.
I hope the same fate is not in store for the Emmeryville one.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
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MrBaliHai
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 01, 2002
Posts: 775 | Posted: 2008-01-01 12:57 pm Permalink
This is sad, but I don't think anyone should be too surprised. After all, the Bay Area is kind of TV-saturated compared to the rest of the US, and there's a lot of competition from other tiki bars in the general vicinity. Out of the 3 Vic's in the BA, I thought the SF one was the least impressive, so losing it isn't as painful as losing the Emeryville or Palo Alto locations would be.
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Molokai Mike
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 26, 2003
Posts: 498
From: the birthplace of the Mai Tai
| Posted: 2008-01-01 12:57 pm Permalink
We will certainly miss SF Trader Vics' - our favorite stop off point whenever in the City. Actually, it was the first place I headed to after I picked up the business license for Forbidden Island.
Sadly, the end has been evident for some time now. Our last few visits have had us being the only folks at the bar (on a weekend night) with a myriad of open tables and ever changing bar staff. On a recent Xmas shopping trip, we escaped the madness that was Union Square and caught a cab to Vics, only to discover that they had changed their hours (again) and were now closed till evening. On another occasion, they were just closed.
SF Vics was without a doubt, the best place to order a Trader Vic's Stinker. Emeryville tries to duplicate Lars' unique recipe for me, but it never quite tastes the same.
Really, really sad. SF Vic's ... you will be missed.
Now can someone please help them move some of the decor to TV Las Vegas.
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SilverLine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 02, 2004
Posts: 608
From: Kansas City
| Posted: 2008-01-01 1:00 pm Permalink
Well that sucks. When (if) TV's Kansas City opens this fall I'll photograph the decor extensively and we'll see if any of the SF goodies made it inland.
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dogbytes
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 2240
From: seattle, wa
| Posted: 2008-01-01 1:09 pm Permalink
wow. i'm really glad we went on Thanksgiving Weekend. i thought it was odd, that TVSF would close at 11:30 on a Saturday evening.
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5734
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2008-01-01 1:56 pm Permalink
Well,
At least I had the privilege of going there a number of times.
Better than reading about the ones here on TC that were closed before I was into this.
A good thread down memory lane.
Maybe they should have put in a waterfall. 
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Coco Loco
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 21, 2004
Posts: 821
From: Exotic Isle of Alameda
| Posted: 2008-01-01 3:10 pm Permalink
Emeryville has much more of a following than SF. It's the oldest and it holds sentimentality in literally generations of families -- who utilize it for a multitude of occasions. Beyond the "special occasion use", business people seem to be utilizing it as well. Interestingly enough, it's also a hangout for some of the locals of all adult ages.
The several times I've been in during lunch and early afternoon, they had customers in there. Unlike SF, the East Bay is perhaps not as competitive in the category that TV is in..so hopefully with continued support, it'll be okay. I understand that for Thanksgiving, they were nearly booked out.
Despite all this, we locals do need to support it more. Therefore, I'm going to propose a monthly visit there...between that and Weds at FI, and Conga Lounge forays, that'll about tap us out...
And a note regarding TV SF and Yavuz. He was an exceptional manager to work with, the epitome of professionalism. I had the honor of working with him in an outside business capacity and he was a pleasure to work with. Thanks SF TV for memories and great drinks!
Quote:
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On 2008-01-01 12:19, bigtikidude wrote:
Damn,
thats horrible, and I was just in the Bay area in Oct. and Dec.
and didn't make it.
I hope the same fate is not in store for the Emmeryville one.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
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[ This Message was edited by: Coco Loco 2008-01-01 15:11 ]
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christiki295
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3616
From: LA-2547 mls east Hawaii &5500 Easter Is
| Posted: 2008-01-01 6:16 pm Permalink
A shame!
I am glad I had the chance to visit it when I did.
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