This Trader Vic's location is the original. It started out as Hinky Dink's, opened by Victor Bergeron a few years earlier in 1934 and had its name changed in 1937. Hinky Dink's had some great atmosphere and cocktails, but wasn't Polynesian until Bergeron was inspired by a visit to Hollywood, where he experienced Seven Seas and Don the Beachcomber.

In 1949, Bergeron opened a second location, initially called The Outrigger but later becoming Trader Vic's, in Seattle. In 1951 a location opened in San Francisco that was considered a powerhouse in the restaurant scene for decades. From there, it exploded into a number of restaurants that still pepper the globe today.

Bergeron is credited with being among the first to incorporate actual tikis into a tropical bar/restaurant concept. Bamboo bars and tropical restaurants had been around for a long time, and folks like Eli Hedley and Don the Beachcomber had created a more gritty, flotsam & jetsam inspired "beachcomber" look, but Bergeron took that a step further into look that was both refined and primal at the same time. But most of all, he brought in the tikis. He also brought a focus to the food, innovative for its time, blending the exotic tastes of many ethnic cuisines and presenting them for the still-developing American palates.

In the mid-1990s, many Trader Vic's locations in the United States closed, including the San Francisco and Seattle locations. International locations, including many in the Middle East, continued opening. In more recent years, the number of Trader Vic's locations in the United States have been growing again, with mixed results.

The original Trader Vic's location closed in 1972, when the company shifted its flagship location to Emeryville.

Hinky Dink's was Victor Bergeron's first restaurant; in 1937 it was renamed Trader Vic's, and became the launching point for a group of restaurants that heavily influenced the world of Polynesian Pop.

Bergeron opened Hinky Dink's in 1934 when he was 32. Advertisements for Hinky Dink's declared it the "Home of the Frankenstein." Hinky Dink's had great cocktails and unusual decor, but it wasn't the tropical paradise we think of with Trader Vic's today. Menus were printed on wooden cigar boxes.

Inspired by a trip to Hollywood, where he saw the tropical Seven Seas and Don the Beachcomber, he came home and upped the ante, coming up with the "Trader Vic" persona and developing the food & interior design.

Newer Trader Vic's location, a freestanding building on the grounds of the newly renovated vintage hotel, Valley Ho. The restaurant opened in Summer 2006, and closed in 2011.

This new Trader Vic's restaurant opened in March 2006. It was located within the new Liberty Square complex, adjacent to a Westin hotel. The space was nearly 8,000 square feet, with a main dining room and two private dining rooms. The restaurant had lots of tapa cloth, and a large outrigger canoe, but was an example of the newer, modern, disappointingly sparse Trader Vic's.

The Bellevue Trader Vic's closed in August 2008.

Opened in 2005.

A tiki bar from Doug Miller, owner of nearby Club Mallard. Interiors are full of tapa cloth and carvings from Oceanic Arts, and lots of bamboo installed by Bamboo Ben with the help of Crazy Al Evans. Highlights of the decor include a volcano behind the bar that "erupts" with smoke periodically, and a life-size bronze hula girl complete with swivelling hips.

Kona Club is situated just a block or so from Trader Vic's final resting place at Mountain View Cemetery.

The Rendez'vous opened in Summer 2005. Tropical drinks are served in tiki mugs and volcano bowls, and are mixed using fresh ingredients -- including mint. Decor includes pieces from Oceanic Arts and local carver Lake Tiki. Pretzels are available, and light food may be added in the future.

The Tahitian Terrace is a restaurant in Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland that opened in 2005. It is somewhat different from the original Tahitian Terrace, which was in Disneyland's Adventureland for many years. It does have tikis cast from the originals at the Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland.

Built in 1970.

Hawaiian Gardens began as a large apartment complex, and now is mostly a retirement community.

The grounds remain well maintained, with water features, palms and flowers in the landscaping.

Many tikis were on the site as of the mid 2000s, still in good shape, including a few likely Witco pieces. However reports of theft and huge sweeping renovations may have disposed of what once was.

Modern, upscale and vague in its tropicality, the short-lived Canoe Club lacked the dense, exotic feel most tikiphiles crave. What it lacked in throwback tiki spirit it tried to make up for with a few features: the central bar was wrapped around a large shark tank, and the dining room featured large fake palm trees and a two-story waterfall. Canoe Club opened in early 2005, and closed in Fall 2007.

As of 2021, this location is home to Cajun Boil & Bar.

Opened in 1964.

South Pacific had been serving Chinese food in a Polynesian environment for many decades, and the decor was still present when it closed in September 2012 upon the owners' retirement. There were several tiki poles, and carved details in the trim. The walls had painted tropical scenes, and a back room was decorated like a tropical hut. Shell lamps and other tiki-style lighting were used throughout. Drinks were served in tiki mugs.

The last sign of what once was, its lovely neon sign, was removed in May 2016.

This was the original location for The Tiki Terrace; it opened in 2005 and closed in December 2007 and then opened four months later in a new, improved location in nearby Des Plaines.

This restaurant and entertainment venue was the realization of a dream of the Zuziak family, whose A Custom Production supplies the Chicago area with Polynesian and tropical decor and props.

Around 20 tikis were carved for the Tiki Terrace, other decor included rock formations and moai. The restaurant was divided into three dining rooms and a bar: Rapa Nui Row, The Ali'i, Kapa Nui Kove, and the Tiki Cocktail Bar. Cocktail waitresses doubled as hula entertainment, courtesy of a partnership with Gwen Kennedy of local luau organizer Barefoot Hawaiian.

At White Point, in Royal Palms beach in San Pedro, Eli Hedley made his home with his wife and four daughters. Literally made it -- mostly out of driftwood. They started in the fall of 1945 and the two-bedroom English style driftwood cottage took two years to build. They combed every cove from Palos Verdes to Portugese Bend for timber and most of it came from broken up barges. In addition to the two bedrooms, there was a bunk room, galley, dining deck, poop deck, living room and a hold. Hedley used nautical terms to describe the house. Their furnishings were made of driftwood, they used a fire guard hood from a ship's engine room for a fireplace, and bamboo strips from a Japanese ship were used for an interior door. Numerous live palms gave the homestead a secluded tropical feel.

Hedley was largely responsible for creating the "beachcomber look," by collecting items from the beach and reusing them as home items and decor for his own family and to sell to others. Hedley became a major name in the Hollywood set for decorating, and was responsible for the decor in bars, restaurants, hotels and apartment buildings in the 1940s through the 1970s. He built his home on land leased from the military (the military had control over this land since World War II, as White Point juts out into the Pacific). The land today is a public park, and a plaque can be seen giving the history of the spot, including the Hedley residence. The home is now gone, but the foundation remains.