The Experience, Emeryville: Trader Vic’s Turns 90

The Experience:

Happy Birthday Trader Vic’s!

It will be an unforgettable evening. Get ready to celebrate 90 years of Trader Vic’s at their spectacular ‘Black ‘Tai’ Cocktail Party on Friday, August 23rd!

Join the crew at Trader Vic’s Emeryville on Friday, August 23 at 6pm as they honor nine decades of their legendary history.

They’ll be serving up a delightful array of tropical dishes and drinks, alongside live music from the the Martini Kings, DJ Speakeasy Ray, DJ BLK&WHT, and René Escovedo. The evening will be brimming with decor that pays tribute to their storied past, from their beginnings as a 1934 saloon to their evolution into a global icon.

Ticket price covers entry, food, and drinks throughout the event, plus plenty of surprises. Immerse yourself in the rich legacy and modern flair of Trader Vic’s.

About Trader Vic’s + the Mai Tai

Decades ahead of his time, Vic ‘The Trader’ Bergeron chose to offer Chinese dishes alongside the then-contemporary Continental cuisine, creating maybe the original fusion menu. Today, Trader Vic’s continues the tradition and still uses the Chinese Wood-fired Ovens featuring dishes from the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Asia, and Japan. And, as we all know, Trader Vic’s claims to be home to the original Mai Tai.

According to the Trader, Vic Bergeron, “In 1944, after success with several exotic rum drinks, I felt a new drink was needed. I was at the service bar in my Oakland restaurant. I took down a bottle of 17-year-old Jamaican J. Wray Nephew rum, added fresh lime, some Orange Curaçao from Holland, a dash of Rock Candy Syrup, and a dollop of French Orgeat, for its subtle flavor. A generous amount of shaved ice and vigorous shaking by hand produced the marriage I was after. Half the lime shell went in for color, I stuck in a branch of fresh mint, and gave two of them to Ham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti, who were there that night. Carrie took one sip and said, “Mai Tai – Roa Ae” In Tahitian means “Out of this World- The Best”. Well, that was that, I named the drink ‘Mai Tai.’”

(Victor Bergeron and Carrie Guild featured below in 1970)

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