Businessman. He founded the Trader Vic's chain of Polynesian restaurants. At the height of "Tiki" popularity, Trader Vic's had more than two dozen locations around the world. The chain still survives today. Bergeron became acquainted with the food business as a child, when his father was a waiter at San Francisco's famed Fairmont Hotel and also ran a grocery store in Oakland. The family both lived above and worked in the store. At the age of 30, he opened a pub, originally called Hinky Dink's, across the street that served cocktails and Polynesian food. The name was later changed to Trader Vic's. Vital to any restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area at that time was getting a good review from San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen. In 1936, an item in Caen's column said of Trader Vic's that the "best restaurant in San Francisco is in Oakland." He and his competitor, "Don the Beachcomber," both claimed to have invented the Mai Tai cocktail. Adept at storytelling, Bergeron also published several books of both recipes and fiction.
Businessman. He founded the Trader Vic's chain of Polynesian restaurants. At the height of "Tiki" popularity, Trader Vic's had more than two dozen locations around the world. The chain still survives today. Bergeron became acquainted with the food business as a child, when his father was a waiter at San Francisco's famed Fairmont Hotel and also ran a grocery store in Oakland. The family both lived above and worked in the store. At the age of 30, he opened a pub, originally called Hinky Dink's, across the street that served cocktails and Polynesian food. The name was later changed to Trader Vic's. Vital to any restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area at that time was getting a good review from San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen. In 1936, an item in Caen's column said of Trader Vic's that the "best restaurant in San Francisco is in Oakland." He and his competitor, "Don the Beachcomber," both claimed to have invented the Mai Tai cocktail. Adept at storytelling, Bergeron also published several books of both recipes and fiction.
Bio by: countedx58
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