The venerable Trader Vic’s brand is returning to Florida for the first time in more than a decade with a new concept that promises an intimate and sophisticated cocktail experience. Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s opens Friday (Sept. 13) in a luxury boutique hotel in South Beach.
Billed as a “lush, tranquil oasis” that “embraces the essence of escapism and indulgence,” the 1,000-square-foot, 50-seat bar in the Esmé Miami Beach Hotel will be a far different animal than the last Trader Vic’s concept in Florida. Trader Vic’s Island Bar & Grille, located in an old R.J. Gator’s restaurant space in Sarasota, closed in 2013 after 3 1/2 years in business.
“We’ve long dreamed of bringing the Bamboo Room to life, and when the opportunity arose to partner with the Esmé Miami Beach Hotel, we knew it was the perfect match,” Rhett Rosen, CEO of Trader Vic’s Hospitality Group, was quoted as saying. “With the rich history of both our brands, this collaboration offers a unique experience that we’re thrilled to share with the Miami community.”
Rosen is no stranger to the Sunshine State. He’s a Florida native who earned a degree in marketing and business administration from the University of Central Florida. He received a doctorate from the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, not far from the new Bamboo Room.
The Bamboo Room is one of several new concepts listed on the Trader Vic’s Hospitality Group website. The pioneering Polynesian restaurant chain, founded by Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron in California in 1934, recently celebrated its 90th anniversary with a weekend of events at its flagship location in Emeryville, Calif., (open since 1972).
The hospitality group, formerly known as Trader Vic’s Worldwide, has for decades sought to expand the scope of its offerings beyond the traditional Tiki-centric restaurants by touting its “fusion flavors, tropical vibes, and Mai Tais.”
Bergeron famously created the iconic cocktail in 1944, and the “Trader Vic’s Original Mai Tai” remains a signature at most of the locations around the world. Successful expansion has recently been limited mainly to the Middle East.
With the Bamboo Room concept, Trader Vic’s appears to be embracing a more streamlined approach, similar to how Don the Beachcomber plans to roll out smaller Gantt Reserve Collection bars. Seeking an insider’s view, we sought out one of the Tiki scene’s foremost experts on Trader Vic’s (and the Mai Tai).
California-based blogger and reviewer Kevin Crossman has been writing about The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai since 1998, focusing on Mai Tai history and recipes. The website evolved into a blog companion to his Instagram page, containing deeper dive essays, Tiki bar reviews, and more.
Crossman agreed that “eliminating the restaurant component” should make the new concept more likely to be profitable. “The Bamboo Room concept looks to be an immersive and cohesive space with nostalgic touches, an example of taking the escapist foundations of the company into a different genre and for a different audience,” he said.
Breaking away from the old Polynesian restaurant model is something Trader Vic’s has been experimenting with for some time. “The Trader Vic’s Outpost at San Jose International Airport demonstrates that the company can serve signature cocktails and dishes in venues that aren’t traditional Polynesian themed restaurants,” Crossman said. “Some of the current overseas locations have more of a modern look that serve to demonstrate the concept can work with a different type of decor.”
What to expect at Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s
The Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s is designed to “transcend the ordinary cocktail experience,” according to the website. “Nestled within a lush, tranquil oasis, this concept embraces the essence of escapism and indulgence.”
The website also promises a serene and relaxing environment: “A harmonious blend of soft bamboo textures, dimly lit lanterns casting warm hues, and the faint aroma of exotic florals lingering in the air.”
While the menu is still listed as “coming soon,” a Lifestyle magazine story posted Sept. 6 touts a cocktail menu that takes guests on a “global journey” with drinks from cities and regions that have influenced the Trader Vic’s legacy. These include Park Lane (named after the street where Trader Vic’s first opened in London), El Polinesio (a tribute to the original Trader Vic’s location in Cuba), and Hinky Dinks (a twist on the original Mai Tai, named after the proto-Trader Vic’s establishment in Oakland, Calif., in 1934).
The latter is also the source of the Bamboo Room name and inspiration for its decor. Before he dove head-first into full-blown Polynesian theming, Bergeron’s original Hinky Dinks restaurant featured a “Bamboo Room” with that era’s more common tropical theming. The new Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s “artfully combines the charm of 1930s tiki culture with modern-day elegance,” the Lifestyle story says. “Its accents, tropical décor and innovative cocktail menu create an exotic, escapist ambiance that transports guests to a different era.”
The neighboring Sushi Bar will create “a seamless dining and cocktail experience,” the story says. It also quotes an official with the hotel ownership group as saying that “Trader Vic’s iconic concepts perfectly align with our mission to marry the past, present, and future of hospitality for our guests – all while serving incredible cocktails here in Miami Beach.”
Crossman was pleased to see a smoked old fashioned pictured on the website, saying it looks similar to the Smoke Show that was added in Emeryville earlier this year. “It’s total Instagram eye candy, and the smoky flavors work well with this format of cocktail,” he said.
“Trader Vic’s has added a number of high quality cocktails to the menu during the past five years, indicating they aren’t just resting on the laurels of Victor Bergeron’s cocktail heyday,” Crossman said. “This bodes very well for the Bamboo Room.”
The contrast between the Bamboo Room and the previous Trader Vic’s in Florida couldn’t be more stark. Derided as “Trader Vic’s light,” the Island Bar & Grille in Sarasota was an attempt to appeal to the middle-of-the-road Florida market. But it was too late for the the older Trader Vic’s audience and too early to grab the new generation of Tikiphiles who were coming around the corner.
South Beach, on the other hand, is one of the hottest luxury dining markets in the country, if not the world. In 2023, three of the top five highest grossing independent restaurants in the country occupied the small swath of expensive real estate on the Atlantic Ocean, separated from downtown Miami by Biscayne Bay.
The Esmé, located in the heart of South Beach at Washington Avenue and Española Way, is a chic hotel nestled in a restored village of buildings that date to the 1920s and once housed a colony of artists. It was also reportedly a hangout for gangsters such as Al Capone.
Featuring Spanish-Mediterranean architecture and Moorish decor, the hotel opened in 2021 after a $40 million renovation by Infinity Hospitality Group. Besides the Bamboo Room, the Esmé features multiple restaurants and bars. It’s a short walk to the famous beach as well as museums, nightclubs, and all that South Beach has to offer.
Trader Vic’s in transition: A mix of old and new
Besides Emeryville, the only Trader Vic’s branded locations in North America are the old-school restaurant in the Atlanta Hilton, which dates back to 1976, and the 3-year-old Trader Vic’s Outpost in the San Jose Airport. Crossman calls the latter “the world’s greatest airport bar.” Another Outpost is planned for the Oakland Airport, according to TraderVic’s.com.
The corporate website touts 25 restaurants in 11 countries. There are two other original Trader Vic’s that were built during Bergeron’s lifetime (1902-1984): Munich, Germany, (1971) and Tokyo, Japan, (1974). A Trader Vic’s was opened in Bangkok in 1992, and another on Mahe Island in the Syechelles near Africa in 2017.
The remaining locations, which include the original and several new concepts, started popping up in the Mideast in 1994. You can now get a Mai Tai in Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Most Trader Vic’s branded locations around the world are located in hotels or resorts.
A partnership with Hilton was cultivated by Bergeron, who expanded his empire via the hotel chain in the 1950s through 1970s. [See the full history on Wikipedia] Sadly, one of the most historic of these closed in 2022 after 59 years in the Hilton Park Lane in London, despite a petition that garnered nearly 8,000 signatures. The only Florida location during this era was not in a Hilton, but instead a restaurant in the Sheraton-Bel Air in St. Petersburg (1971-73).
Not far from Miami, one of the most notorious Trader Vic’s still stands (sort of) in Havana, Cuba. Opened in 1958 in the Habana Hilton just before Fidel Castro assumed power, the restaurant was abandoned a year or so later amid the revolution. However, much of the original theming and decor remains intact in the current El Polinesio restaurant in the Habana Libre, which has become an obscure attraction for Tiki tourists.
With new CEO, Trader Vic’s looks to the future
Before the Island Bar & Grill in Sarasota, Trader Vic’s had another short-lived restaurant in Florida at the Palms of Destin Resort (2007-2010). This era also marked the closing of several ill-fated locations across the United States, including Dallas, Las Vegas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland.
Several issues played a part in these locations failing. “I’ve long felt that smaller footprint locations would have a better chance of surviving, but the early 2000s examples in Las Vegas, Bellevue, and Palo Alto were large and costly,” Crossman said. “Traditionally, Vic’s locations were franchise-based, so typically franchisees aren’t as committed to the brand.”
Crossman added that he thought the brand in general was also not helped by lackluster retail products that were “at odds with the upscale history of their restaurants and higher-priced cocktails.” It was Bergeron’s beloved cocktails that were keeping Trader Vic’s relevant. “The craft cocktail revolution has trained a whole generation of neo bartenders to pay attention to Vic’s classic cocktails, but the rum and syrups haven’t been met with as much enthusiasm,” he said.
Since Rosen took over as CEO in 2019, he has seemingly righted the ship and put Trader Vic’s back on a stable track. There have been much fewer closings, but also fewer openings, which makes sense considering the impact of the COVID pandemic.
But now, things may be changing. The Trader Vic’s Hospitality rebranding, the new concepts, and the Miami Beach opening all point to a deliberate move forward. Crossman said he doesn’t see why Trader Vic’s can’t expand into new markets.
“The Outpost location at San Jose Airport is really doing great business,” he said. “Trader Vic’s says this concept could also be placed in hotel lobbies, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a concept that does a stellar job with cocktails and food but does so with decor that inspires rather than envelopes.”
With the San Jose location recently expanded and Oakland coming online in the future, he added: “I’d love to fly in and out of airports with Trader Vic’s Outposts.” If Bamboo Room can tap into that same momentum, Rosen might have another winner on his hands.
The CEO came to Trader Vic’s in 2016 from VEEV Spirits in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he was director of sales operations. He quickly rose through the ranks, from executive vice president to chief operating officer before he was named chief executive. Under his watch, the online store became much more robust, which was likely an asset during the pandemic.
In an email addressed to “Trader Vic’s Family” and sent to subscribers who ordered Trader Vic’s merchandise, Rosen rang in 2024 with a hint of things to come. “This year promises a new chapter of fresh new experiences, vibrant events that celebrate the essence of Trader Vic’s, and incredibly exciting announcements,” he wrote.
The Trader Vic’s 90th Anniversary Celebration proved to be a poignant event. It included an elegant “Black Tai” event that featured artifacts from the original Hinky Dinks as well as the succeeding generations of Trader Vic’s. The weekend culminated with Mai Tai Day, featuring live music, vendors, guest bartenders, food and drinks, plus seminars by Eve Bergeron, Trader Vic’s granddaughter and the company’s marketing and public relations director.
Check out Crossman’s coverage on The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai blog: Mai Tai Day 2024 recap | Trader Vic’s Tiki Tai Treasure Hunt Crawl | Trader Vic’s Black Tai event
Bamboo Room by Trader Vic’s is located at 1438 Washington Ave. in the Esmé Hotel Miami Beach. Open seven days from 5:30 p.m. You can call the hotel at (305) 809-8050.
Official sites and social media
• BambooRoomMia.com | Instagram | Bamboo Room at TraderVics.com
• TraderVics.com | Instagram | Facebook
MORE ON TRADER VIC’S
The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
• Kevin Crossman’s blog | Instagram | Facebook
The Atomic Grog: Trader Vic’s cocktail recipes | Mai Tai recipes
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