Trader Vic’s was founded in 1934 by Victor Jules Bergeron Jnr and started out life in Oakland, California with the name Hinky Dink’s. As the menu and décor took on a tropical flair, it was re-named Trader Vic’s.

Bergeron was one of two people who claimed to have invented the Mai Tai cocktail. The other was his friend and competitor Donn Beach who created the Don the Beachcomber restaurant and bar chain.

In the 1940s and 50s, Bergeron partnered with various hotel groups like Hilton to open Trader Vic’s in hotels, and this luncheon menu was from the company’s outpost on East 58^th Street in New York. Its regulars included the film director Stanley Kubrick who is said to have first described his idea for 2001: A Space Odyssey here.

The Trader Vic’s opened in 1958 and lasted until 1965 when the hotel was demolished to make way for the General Motors building. It moved across Fifth Avenue to the Plaza Hotel.  

Tiki culture had its heyday in the 50s and 60s when as many as 25 Trader Vic’s restaurants operated worldwide.

Bergeron’s other famous drinks inventions included the Fog Cutter, the Scorpion and the Eastern Sour, all served in elaborately decorated mugs or bowls and still much-imitated today.

Trader Vic’s remains a popular concept – especially with the revived interest in tiki culture – and the company has three thriving restaurants in the US and 16 others worldwide.