VICTORIA STATION (RESTAURANT)

'Victoria Station' [1] is a chain of railroad-themed prime rib houses that was at the peak of its popularity in the 1970s but which later hit financial troubles and filed for bankruptcy in 1986. The whole concept evolved from a Cornell University Hotel School graduate project , according to original owners Bob Freeman, Peter Lee, and Dick Bradley, graduates of the renowned hotel school at Cornell. Innovative and unique, the first restaurant was located in San Francisco. The concept was a successful product of creativity and serendipity. The Baby Boom generation was coming into their own, and across the country in the early 70's was looking for casual and hip lounges and restaurants that they could adopt as their own. Fueled by this confluence of age, disposable income and word of mouth, the phenomenal popularity of the first units in California created a pro-growth environment that may not be duplicated in the restaurant industry ever again. The company at one time had some 100 locations all across the U.S. and Canada, but the number has dropped to one, in Salem (MA). Other locations around the world with the name ''Victoria Station'' may be under different management (unverified). The theme of the restaurant is loosely based on London's well known Victoria Station, which provided the name. Antique English railway artifacts provided the decor inside, but the exteriors were composed of American Railway cars, primarily boxcars, with a signature Caboose placed in front. Also found on the wooden "entry platform" to each restaurant was an iconic 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). The chain flourished, often flamboyantly, in the 1970's , as recounted in a memoir Prime Rib and Boxcars:Whatever Happened to Victoria Station? 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. Many early employees of the company saw their shares soar with the heyday from a dollar a share to fourteen. This created an espirit de corps that accounted for the upbeat tone to service in most of the units. Many feel its peak was the culmination of a joint venture with Universal Studios that resulted in Victoria Station Universal City, a landmark on the "hill" where Citywalk now stands. At its peak , the Universal City location was among the highest grossing restaurants in the nation. It featured an "Angel's Flight" style incline railway/elevator from the parking area.

Contents

Known locations in the U.S.

Worldwide Locations

External links

Known locations in the U.S.

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

★ Arlington, TX (now demolished)

★ Alexandria, VA (demolished - Public Storage now on site)

★ Atlanta, GA

★ Birmingham, AL

★ Bloomington, MN

★ Boston, MA

★ Burlington, MA (Closed in 2005, demolished in 2006)

★ Casselberry, FL (on Fernwood Blvd)

★ Charlotte, NC

★ Cincinnati, OH (the downtown and east locations are both demolished)

★ Columbus, OH (Was on Hwy 161, now demolished)

★ Darien, CT (building still standing, but the rail cars removed)

★ Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

★ Denver, CO (demolished)

★ East Brunswick, NJ (on Rt. 18; now an Olive Garden restaurant)

★ Fairfax, VA (demolished; CVS/pharmacy now on site; next door to an Outback Steakhouse)

★ Framingham, MA

★ Gaithersburg, MD (now a Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse; burned March 10, 2005/reopened February, 2006)

★ Golden, CO

★ Honolulu, HI (on Kapiolani Blvd. in Waikiki; demolished)

★ Houston, TX (now a Droubi's Imports)

★ Indianapolis, IN (was on Keystone Ave, now demolished)

★ Jacksonville, FL (Demolished, date unknown)

★ Kansas City

★ King of Prussia, PA

★ Los Angeles, CA (including one in Hollywood just outside of Universal Studios)

★ Louisville, KY

★ Marin, CA

★ Maumee, OH

★ Memphis, TN

★ Miami, FL (CLOSED, building still standing, was last called Apo's Cafe. Abandoned and boarded up as of 8/2007.)

★ New Orleans, LA

★ Newport Beach, CA

★ Niles, IL (now a Russian restaurant called "Moscow Nights")

★ North Miami Beach, FL

★ Northbrook, IL

★ Northridge, CA

★ Oakland, CA

★ Philadelphia, PA (demolished)

★ Pittsburgh, PA

★ Phoenix, AZ

★ Portland, OR (now a China Bay restaurant; caboose still on the premises)

★ Reno, NV (now an Olive Garden restaurant)

★ Richmond, VA (now a day care center, railroad cars still on the premises)

★ Rocky River, OH

★ Roseville, MN

★ Sacramento, CA

★ Salem, MA (still run by Victoria Station, Inc.)

★ Salt Lake City, UT

★ San Antonio, TX

★ San Diego, CA (Train cars moved to another city, location now a Del Taco, next door to In Cahoots, formerly Confetti's)

★ San Francisco, CA (Original location, demolished after the quake of 1989)

★ Schaumburg, IL

★ Seattle, WA

★ Southfield, MI

★ St. Louis, MO

★ Sunnyvale, CA (Now a Chinese restaurant)

★ Tahoe City, CA

★ Tampa, FL

★ Torrance, CA (previously incorrectly listed as demolished-as of April 2007 location operating as the South Bay Grill, 23805 Hawthorne Bl, Torrance CA 90505. Boxcars and caboose are intact with building)

★ Universal City, CA

★ Vancouver, WA

★ Villa Park, CA

★ Virginia Beach, VA

★ Wauwatosa, WI

★ Wayne, NJ (now a market research facility)

★ West Covina , CA

★ Whippany, NJ (now a restaurant off Rt. 10 that still maintains a RR theme)

★ White Plains, NY

★ Woodland Hills, CA (later became "Bonkers" then eventually demolished)

Worldwide Locations

★ Montreal, Canada (demolished)

★ Malaysia

★ Tokyo, Japan (still running under the name ''Victoria Station'')

★ Paris, France

External links

★ History and pictures of Victoria Station

★ A book titled Prime Rib and Boxcars: Whatever Happened to Victoria Station? (ISBN 0972796622)

★ Other restaurant named ''Victoria Station'' in Townsend, TN and Perth, Australia.

★ Victoria Station Stock Certificate

★ The Old Spaghetti Factory and Spaghetti Warehouse are two chains with a theme similar to that of Victoria Station

★ Crowne Plaza Hotel in Indianapolis has sleeping rooms constructed of real Pullman train cars

★ Barstow Station, a mini-mall in Barstow, California at is made up partly of old passenger cars

★ Another list of restaurants with train themes

★ Victoria Station Employee Reunion on MySpace.com