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Throughout the 1940s, it was joked that the best restaurant in San Francisco was in Oakland. Then, in 1951, Victor Bergeron brought his popular eatery into San Francisco proper. As a location, he chose (of all places) an obscure alley called Cosmo Place.
The Tiki-themed restaurant and bar soon became a San Francisco legend, attracting the famous and infamous.
After Bergeron died in 1984, things were never the same, and Trader Vic's eventually passed into history. The building in Cosmo Place is currently occupied by an upscale Vietnamese restaurant.
In the last couple of years, a new incarnation of Trader Vic's has appeared on Golden Gate Avenue. Reviews have been mixed.
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Original photographs ©2005, 2006 by Mike Humbert - all rights reserved