Victoria Station (restaurant)

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check|nested=1|template=Infobox company|cat=Template:Main other|name; company_name|logo; company_logo|logo_alt; alt|trade_name; trading_name|former_names; former_name|type; company_type|predecessors; predecessor|successors; successor|foundation; founded|founders; founder|defunct; dissolved|hq_location; location|hq_location_city; location_city|hq_location_country; location_country|num_locations; locations|areas_served; area_served|net_income; profit|net_income_year; profit_year|owners; owner |homepage; website }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox company with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank=y | alt | area_served | areas_served | assets | assets_year | aum | brands | company_logo | company_name | company_type | defunct | dissolved | divisions | embed | equity | equity_year | fate | footnotes | headquarters | former_name | former_names | foundation | founded | founder | founders | genre | homepage | hq_location | hq_location_city | hq_location_country | incorporated | image | image_alt | image_caption | image_size | image_upright | income_year | industry | ISIN | key_people | location | location_city | location_country | locations | logo | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_class | logo_size | logo_upright | members | members_year | module | name | native_name | native_name_lang | net_income | net_income_year | num_employees | num_employees_year | num_locations | num_locations_year | operating_income | owner | owners | parent | predecessor | predecessors | production | production_year | products | profit | profit_year | rating | ratio | revenue | revenue_year | romanized_name | services | subsid | subsidiaries | successor | successors | traded_as | trade_name | trading_name | type | website| qid | fetchwikidata | suppressfields | noicon | nocat | demo | categories }} Victoria Station was a chain of railroad-themed steakhouse restaurants. At the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, the chain had 100 locations in the United States. The firm filed for bankruptcy in 1986. The last remaining restaurant in the former chain was located in Salem, Massachusetts until it abruptly closed in December 2017.<ref name="Victoria Station shut down">Template:Cite news</ref>

A four-restaurant chain in Malaysia continues under the Victoria Station Restaurant name with a train theme but a significantly different menu; however, it claims an independent heritage, whereby the founding family thought up the concept on a London Underground train while on holiday in England.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The concept evolved from a Cornell University School of Hotel Administration graduate project, according to original owners Bob Freeman, Peter Lee, and Dick Bradley, all 1963 graduates of the school.<ref name="nyt-1982jul01">Template:Cite news</ref> The first location was opened in San Francisco in December 1969<ref name="baycrossingmag">Template:Cite web</ref> and was a 158-seat restaurant located on the Embarcadero at Broadway that was constructed out of five boxcars and two cabooses around a central lobby-service area.<ref name="cornelljournal">Template:Cite journal</ref> Another source incorrectly claimed an April 1969 opening date.<ref name="fiujournal">Template:Cite journal</ref> The restaurant was grossing $90,000 monthly during its first year of operations.<ref name="cornelljournal" />

By the end of 1978, Victoria Station had 97 restaurants, all company owned.<ref name="fiujournal" />

The chain was designed to attract members of the baby boom generation. The theme of the restaurant was loosely based on London's Victoria Station. Antique English railway artifacts were used as decor inside, and the exteriors were composed of American Railway cars, primarily boxcars, with a signature Caboose placed in front. On the "entry platform" to each restaurant was a London-style phone booth. Prime rib was the featured item on a limited menu that included steaks, barbecued beef ribs, and shrimp done in a variation of scampi style known as "Shrimp Victoria". Most of the restaurants used authentic railway cars for dining areas, often boxcars or cabooses.<ref name=History>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Victoria Station chain flourished in the 1970s, according to a memoir by former Victoria Station corporate marketing manager Tom Blake. The company was among the first restaurant companies to offer its employees stock options and an ESOP program. The peak of success of the Victoria Station restaurant chain took place at the time of the culmination of a joint venture with Universal Studios, which resulted in the opening of Victoria Station Universal City, a location on the "hill" near where Citywalk now stands. At its peak, the Universal City location of Victoria Station was among the highest grossing restaurants in the United States.<ref name=History /> The coaches in the restaurant used four of the coaches from Flying Scotsman's tour of America. They were repainted and converted into dining cars.

The U.S. operations of the Victoria Station chain began running into financial difficulties in the mid-1980s, causing gradual shutdowns of the franchise restaurants.<ref name=History/><ref name=Larkspur>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 1986, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. bankruptcy court.<ref name="lat-1986may21">Template:Cite news</ref> Eight months later, it was reported in January 1987 that the company had a restructuring plan in place that would require it to sell a number of restaurants.<ref name="lat-1987jan30">Template:Cite news</ref>

A new company, called Victoria Station Acquisition Corporation and was controlled by Lowell Farkas, purchased the Victoria Station trademark and 11 of the restaurants for $6.5 million and the assumption of a $1 million tax liability.<ref name="fiujournal" />

There was a similar chain called "Twickenham Station" in Alabama and Florida during the same time span. They were not connected. (Huntsville AL, Montgomery AL, Mobile AL, Pensacola FL)

Promotions

Singer Johnny Cash produced a promotional album of train songs for the chain, titled Destination Victoria Station, which was then sold in the restaurants. This included the title song of the same name written and performed by Cash specifically for the album.<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars">Template:Cite bookTemplate:RpTemplate:Rp</ref>

The chain was a sponsor of the United States Ski Team at least from 1977 to 1979<ref>Skiing Magazine, November 1977, p. 83; Ski Magazine, March 1978, p. 86; Skiing Magazine, November 1979, p. 88.</ref> For several years, the Park City Ski Area (Mountain Resort) -- at which the US Olympic Ski team practices -- named one of its ski lifts Victoria Station.<ref>Skiing, October 1979, p. 133.</ref>

Alfred Hitchcock flipped the railroad switch for the official opening of Victoria Station Universal City, on May 2, 1977. That restaurant included a funicular which carried patrons 600 feet up from the lower parking lot.<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />

Known locations in the U.S.

Template:More citations needed section The following locations in the U.S. are known to have at one time housed a Victoria Station restaurant:

  • Colorado
    • Glendale<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp (demolished)The Victoria Station restaurant was located in the parking lot of a Target store in Glendale CO a small suburb of Denver near the intersection of Alameda Ave and Leetsdale Drive (some sources say Alameda Ave and Colorado Blvd.)<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp
    • Golden
  • Connecticut
    • Darien<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp (building still standing, but the rail cars removed, now a Bertucci's)
  • Georgia
    • Atlanta<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp (there were at least three, all now demolished. One was near Cumberland Mall (2785 Cumberland Pkwy SE, Atlanta, GA 30339) one near Northlake Mall, and another on Piedmont, just south of Lindbergh)
    • Macon (Macon Mall)
  • Indiana
  • Massachusetts
    • Burlington (128 Middlesex Turnpike. Location closed in 2005, building demolished; a Border Cafe is now on the site)
    • Boston<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp (located near South Station, now demolished, old photo at [1])
    • Framingham
    • Salem (closed December 2017;<ref name="Victoria Station shut down"/> future site Finz Restaurant)
  • Michigan
    • Southfield (later became "Bonkers" then eventually demolished)
    • Troy (on Big Beaver Road; became a "Bonkers" then eventually demolished)
  • Missouri
    • Kansas City<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp 2 locations, 103rd & Wornall and River Market area. 103rd became Spaghetti Factory, but demolished and now car dealership.
    • St. Louis
  • New York
    • Albany - Sand Creek Rd. (site is now Barnsider restaurant)
    • White Plains
    • Latham
    • Yonkers, (boxcars are offices for a Sanitation Company. As of 2018, it appears to be demolished).
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp (the downtown and east locations are both demolished)
    • Columbus<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp</ref (was on Hwy 161, now demolished)
    • Maumee structure still there, converted to Fricker's restaurant, box cars and caboose are externally covered but can still be seen for inside
    • Orange Village (located on Orange Place near Interstate 271; now demolished - another structure now occupies the site)
    • Rocky River<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp
    • [[Woodmere, Ohio - see Orange Village, above.
  • Oklahoma
    • Tulsa (decorative train water tower still standing in 2018)
  • Oregon
    • Portland<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp (at SW Macadam and Nebraska, demolished, caboose saved and relocated near Hillsboro Airport) Opened in 1973, restaurant number 14; closed in 1986 with bankruptcy of the chain.<ref> Template:Cite web</ref> A Mount Hood chairlift named Victoria Station was associated with the restaurant's opening: the chair was in service from 1966 through 2000 (when it was upgraded and renamed Molly's Express).<ref> Template:Cite web </ref>
    • Quinn's Lighthouse<ref name="Prime Rib & Boxcars" />Template:Rp
  • Tennessee
  • Washington
    • Seattle (became a Thai restaurant on Eastlake Ave.)

Worldwide Locations

  • Japan
    • Kitami complete with Big Boy statue
    • Kobe (named "Central Station" which was Victoria Station's chain, now closed)
    • Osaka (now closed)
    • Sapporo complete with Big Boy statues
    • Tokyo (still running under the name Victoria Station)
    • Yokohama (now closed)

International

In 1979, Daiei and Wendy's International formed a joint company called Wenco Japan Inc. that operated Victoria Station franchise steak houses and Wendy's fast-food restaurants in Japan.<ref name="booktmp-2016">Template:Cite book</ref> In 2002, Daiei sold Wenco Japan, which included the Victoria Station franchised restaurants, to Zensho for 4.60 billion yen.<ref name="jwm-2002dec09">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-2002dec03">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cnn-2002dec01">Template:Cite news</ref> The brand continues to be operated in Japan under the Zensho firm.

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

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