In the late 1980s when I worked at the Vancouver Stock Exchange, we’d sometimes hang out at Trader Vic’s, the Polynesian-style bar and restaurant that sat in the parking lot of the Westin Bayshore Hotel.
1961 – 1999:
It’s been gone since 1999—taken to Vancouver Island and left to rot.
I was reminded of Trader Vic’s again when I was reading Aaron Chapman’s Vancouver After Dark and looking at the photo of the building disappearing on a barge underneath the Lion’s Gate bridge.
Designed by architect Reno Negrin, the A-frame building opened in 1961 when the trend for all things Hawaiian was at its height, and Vancouver restaurants mostly served European, Chinese or North American food. Apparently, some well-endowed fertility statues were a bit much for local sensibilities and their presence almost prevented the restaurant from getting a liquor licence. The offending figures were removed and patrons got to drink with their dinner. They could also park their boat right near the front door.
Part of a Chain:
Trader Vic’s was part of an American chain based out of California and founded by Victor Jules Bergeron, who claims to have invented the Mai Tai. The first restaurant opened in Seattle in 1949 (called the Outrigger) and a second followed in Hawaii the following year. At its peak, there were 25 restaurants worldwide, with two in Canada—Vancouver’s and one in Toronto.
Home in Saanich:
The Bayshore sold the building to David Whiffin of Vancouver Island. Whiffin has 25-acres of waterfront property off Mount Newton Cross Road in central Saanich. I wasn’t able to reach Whiffin to ask him what he paid for the building and what his plans are for it now, but according to newspaper accounts he had wanted to turn it either into a tasting room for a vineyard that he didn’t have or renovate it into a sort of farmers market.
Aaron tells me that he remembers going to Trader Vic’s with his parents in the 1980s and dining with Grace McCarthy.
He believes that tiki bars like the Shameful Tiki Room and the Waldorf Hotel are seeing a bit of a revival, so perhaps Trader Vic’s may have come back into vogue if it stuck around for a few more years.
“A whole new millennial crowd would have discovered it. That it’s just sitting in somebody’s yard over on the island and falling apart from neglect is a sad thing,” he says.
For more stories like this one, check out my new Book Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History.
With thanks to Patrick Gunn of Heritage Vancouver who kindly sent along the organization’s newsletter from May 1999 with a story about Trader Vic’s.
© All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all blog content copyright Eve Lazarus.
38 comments on “Missing Heritage: Trader Vic’s”
Eve, wish I had dined there. I am glad that there was no violence associated with this dining establishment. Just maybe some dates that carried over to the Bayshore next door. Love that area where Stanley Park begins and ends.
David Whiffin paid 10,000 for the building, plus the cost to ship it to his property in Saanich. It otherwise would have been destroyed. He also lives in Trader Vics, it is not ‘rotting’ and is maintained. I would love to see new life breathed into this building, but trying to do anything outside of box in Saanich is next to impossible. He’s tried.
Thanks for your comment Sonia. I would love to believe that this is true, but I’ve only seen photos of it that don’t show it to be in very good shape at all and a 2014 film of the inside which wasn’t looking very good either. However, if you’re a friend of Mr. Whiffin’s please pass along his contact information and I’d be happy to do a follow up story with current photos.
Found it on google maps.
Dropped pin
Near Central Saanich, BC
https://goo.gl/maps/PLSCw8SsgisbDjyV6
My older, late brother, JACKSON, was the long time General Manager of TV until it’s closure by the Westin Bayshore. I was very close to him and we’d talk daily from wherever I was about what was going on there. His restaurant was the highest grossing of the whole chain worldwide. In my business travels throughout North America, I stopped into as many TV’s I could. The Vancouver TV was superior to any of the ones I dined in.
If you’d like more information, please contact me at your convenience.
Calvin, I was so sorry to learn of your brother’s passing. In 1971, at the age of 18, I started to work at Trader Vic’s as a busboy and worked for several years. I played tennis with Jack, as well as taking him out fishing. I always wondered about him and his then wife, Marilyn. When did Jack pass away and what was the cause? Thank you.
I went there a few times on special occasions. I did not know what happened to it. What is shame it’s desolate now.
Thank you for this story Eve. I went to Trader Vic’s in the late ’70s – I don’t remember the food as being particularly outstanding, but the ambiance ( and the cocktail menu) was certainly exotic for this transplanted prairie girl! Sorry to see the current condition of the building.
Fantastic photo of the Bayshore environs! That looks like the Lady Alexandra at the far left.
I was there once in the mid 1990’s for a work dinner associated with a small mining conference, (Roundup-which is now a fairly big deal), taking place at the Westin Bayshore. It was still very cool and a wee bit campy for this pretty sheltered girl from Cloverdale 🙂 Glad I had the chance to experience it before the Bayshore renovation. As always, thanks for the lovely remembories Eve.
I enjoyed a few meals there when my father came to Vancouver on business with the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 1970s. Before I turned 21 I was invited to dinner with a family friend from Melbourne, Charlie Smith. He ordered a bottle of white wine to go with the meal, and the waiter took away my wine glass because I was underage. Charlie said: “Drink up all your water and you can have the wine in that glass.” And so I did. The Bayshore Inn and Trader Vic’s were quite a contrast to the marine ways and shipyards immediately to the east.
I went there many times – there was nothing else like it! Playing cupid many years ago, I introduced a couple over drinks at Trader Vic’s (I wanted them to be able to remember the somewhere special where they had met – so romantic). Sadly, the relationship ended up like the building. But you’re right – a whole new millennial crowd would have loved it. What a lost opportunity – it looks like it’s beyond remediation.
Trader Vics was such a wonderful and fabulous place.
My husband and I went many Thursday for date night and loved everything about it. We loved the food the drinks the wonderful waiters David was our our favourite.
The appetizers crab Rangoon Mahi Mahi with macadamia nuts best Mai Tai’s.
Miss it a lot.
So glad we spent many years celebrating any occasion we could think of.
Great memories that I will never forget. Thank you for sharing the story of the building and hoping the new owners are enjoying it.
Thanks for another fine flashback, Eve. Had dinner there a couple of times with my family in the mid-late ’60s. Yes, pretty exotic for a youngster from Surrey.
Yes, It was a classy restuarant in the 60’s. We went there for special events, or drinks if a family friend was staying at the hotel.
Always sad to hear of these endings……
I took my mom there for a fashion show/lady’s night out (I believe it was a Mother’s day special event), sometime in the 1990’s. It was our first time to a fashion show, and we had a memorable time. (p.s. I purchased your new book, Vancouver Exposed, and am thoroughly enjoying it!)
Trader Vic’s served absolutely the best hamburger in Vancouver! I always stopped in for one after a flight up the coast (from the floatplane dock in front of the hotel).
From the Night Life column of the June 1967 issue of Vancouver Life magazine:
TRADER VIC’S – Atmosphere as refreshing and atmospheric as the food; in fact it’s all as Polynesian as you’ll find anywhere in the world.
Everything is so good it is impossible to recommend a specialty, but if you have a large group and a week’s notice, order barbecued whole suckling pig, just for fun. About $25 for two, with wine. Bayshore Inn, 1601 West Georgia. MU 2-3377.
Using the inflation calculator, $25 in 1967 would be $187 today. My rent for a one bedroom apartment in 1967 was $80 a month.
This is a great blast from the past. I have many fond memories of the Trader Vic’s. They had drinks called Scorpions with gardenias floating in them. There was a dessert in the restaurant called a Snowball, coconut covered ice cream. And most importantly, while waiting for some girlfriends on the evening of Christmas Day (they didn’t show) I decided I needed to get married! And the next year I was married on New Year’s Eve. Not at Trader Vic’s but in the Yukon. I wish it was still around so we could celebrate our wedding anniversaries there.
My father was the Dining Room Manager at Trader Vic’s in the 1960’s.
I was young child at the time but recall the memorable Christmas parties. Santa Claus would give a gift to each child. The interior was so dark, exotic and full of Polynesian paraphernalia like puffer fish, aboriginal spears with shields, glass balls suspended from knotted ropes hanging from the ceiling and tiki torches burning around the outside perimeter of the building. The place was amazing.
They had the BEST cheesecake.
Hi, Eve – I dined at Trader Vic’s a number of times…very exotic… celebrated my 16th BD there with schoolfriends and was introduced to Green Goddess Salad…WOW! We then went on to see “Westside Story” – a night to remember! Later when I was old enough to imbibe alcohol would indulge in a fancy drink served in a coconut with a live gardenia on top! Guess I was star-struck…didn’t notice that it was a separate building from the Bayshore…..THANKS for the story!
My brother took us family and friends there after winning the Irish Sweepstakes. Great place.
I went there one time in the early 80’s with some girlfriend. Was amazed by everything I saw in the restaurant. I also ordered one of the drinks with the gardenia on top. thought it was so wonderful, came with a pin to wear on your jacket.
Thanks Nicole Chang for reminding me about the mouth-watering cheesecake at Trader Vic’s. My parents took me there several times for special dinners in the 1960s. When I graduated from UBC in June, 1967, my father’s boss took us there for lunch. When we were having our dessert, he presented me with a gold Rolex watch with my initials (BHS), degree (BSc), and the date engraved on the back! Thank you Trader Vic’s for your role in this memorable occasion.
The article and comments make me nostalgic. My father was a waiter at Trader Vic’s for 35 years, part of their opening staff. He retired when the restaurant closed. I remember gardenias, chocolate mint squares, little plastic tiki dolls (male and female), and walking past the Bayshore lobby shops before entering the restaurant. During his time there, Dad worked split days off Wednesdays and Sundays, and daily split shifts. Except for Saturdays, he only worked the evening shift.
Thank-you for the article. It was nice trip down memory lane.
What great memories! Thanks for stopping by
Why leave it abandoned?? Should renovate it
I just went, introduced myself to Dave, he gave me a tour, awesome guy! He’s quite the character. Its not abandoned – he lives in it! I have some photos (i would post, but this comment window doesn’t allow me to post windows) – Its amazing how much dedication he put into getting it up onto his land, he has an amazing view from the front pane windows. It basically a funky bachelor pad in the woods over-looking the ocean.
Kim, I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear this! Can you send the photos to me at eve@evelazarus.com. If you have a contact number or email for Dave please send that as well I’d love to do an update of the post. Thanks! Eve
As a huge Tiki fan and member of the vast Tiki community, I would love to see your pictures and perhaps you can even send me the exact address so I can go visit him too?? Just to let him know there’s a ton of people out there interested to see what it looks like today.
Hi! I’d love to get in contact with Dave.
My family and I basically grew up at Trader Vics, would love to see it now!
Well folks , I was standing in that building today. I played the drums that were there , there was a host of musical instruments the building is well loved, far from pristine but so original , I felt soo fortunate to be in there
Thank you for sharing. My great grandfather William “Bill” Spence was the Bartender there until he passed suddenly in the mid 1960’s. He was a well dressed gentleman, so I assumed when he worked there it was a fairly classy establishment. Intresting to hear it ended up in Victoria I live in Victoria and never put two and two together until now. Would be neat to see what it looks like now.
Hi Eve,
My neighbour in Mole Hill in the 1980s and ‘90s was Paul Brady. He apparently had also been the bartender at Trader Vic’s. I’m not sure of the time frame.
He also was a veteran of Dieppe and had scars all over his back testifying to that terrible Canadian sacrifice.
Paul was soft spoken and polite and lived alone until his untimely death in the mid 1990s. He was Metis.
I wonder what happened to that canoe hanging from the rafters.
Trader Vics, it was a great place with good food, booze, and staff. The staff were impeccible. Loved the drinks. They always looked so cool. Went there in the 70s for dinner and some times just drinks after work.
The Bayshore was fun. Had a nice bar, the boats outside and the water planes. Used to drive up to the hotel, the doormen parked your vehicles for you, would walk to the water plane, and go to the Gulf Islands for the night. Be back for work the next day
Unions also used the hotel for conferences. Nice rooms. Liife was good and easy in the 1970s as a twenty something.
During the 70s there were a number of good places in Vancouver to eat and drink, It was fun and also felt safe.
Wow! Such wonderful memories!
My uncle and aunt borrowed the idea of having theTiki torches for their ‘Hawaiian ‘ parties . They lent such ambiance to the whole beautiful, fun scene. All from Trader Vic’s which they loved. TV really set the scene throughout many homes in Vancouver, North and West Van. Thank you for these sweet memories!
i had the pleasure of dining and having cocktails at Trader Vic’s when it first opened and was fortunate enough to see first hand, the Tiki Hut and enjoy THREE “Scorpion” cocktails with gorgeous gardenias decorating them – the 60;s – when i found this site I was so happy – brings back memories – sure wasn’t much of a building when I look back on it compared to the arciture today = but my or my i felt like a queen to say the lease. Thank you so much for heritage reporting – it’s wonderful