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.

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.

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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. The first location was opened in San Francisco in December 1969 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. Another source incorrectly claimed an April 1969 opening date. The restaurant was grossing $90,000 monthly during its first year of operations.

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. In May 1986, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. bankruptcy court. 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.

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.

The chain was a sponsor of the United States Ski Team at least from 1977 to 1979 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.

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. 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).

  • Quinn's Lighthouse In 2002, Daiei sold Wenco Japan, which included the Victoria Station franchised restaurants, to Zensho for 4.60 billion yen. The brand continues to be operated in Japan under the Zensho firm.

See also

  • List of steakhouses
  • Pacific Dining Car

References

Further reading

  • Victoria Station is still working on its restructuring. March 19, 1986 - Los Angeles Times (re: Victoria Station at Larkspur Landing in California).
  • Prime Rib and Boxcars: Whatever Happened to Victoria Station? history of the chain ().
  • 1981 newspaper ad for the Seattle Victoria Station location.
  • Zensho's Victoria Station website (in Japanese)
  • Floyd's Bar Dinner Victoria