Victoria Station

**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 chain was revived by both Mills Corporation & Planet Hollywood in 2012.

## History

### Original Chain

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.

By the end of 1978, Victoria Station had 97 restaurants, all company owned.

The chain was designed to attract members of the baby boom generation. The theme of the restaurant was loosely based on London's Victoria Station. Antique English railway artifacts were used as decor inside, and the exteriors were composed of American Railway cars, primarily boxcars, with a signature Caboose placed in front. On the "entry platform" to each restaurant was a London-style phone booth. Prime rib was the featured item on a limited menu that included steaks, barbecued beef ribs, and shrimp done in a variation of scampi style known as "Shrimp Victoria". Most of the restaurants used authentic railway cars for dining areas, often boxcars or cabooses.

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.

The U.S. operations of the Victoria Station chain began running into financial difficulties in the mid-1980s, causing gradual shutdowns of the franchise restaurants. 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.

There was a similar chain called "Twickenham Station" in Alabama and Florida during the same time span. They were not connected. (Huntsville AL, Montgomery AL, Mobile AL, Pensacola FL)

### Revival

In 2004, Mills Corporation had acquired the Victoria Station assets from the current owner for $22 million. Attempted plans to bring back the Victoria Station chain via possible new Mills Corporation developments were considered but cancelled due to lacking funds needed for the project. The revival pursuit was put in development hell until 2009, when Robert Earl of Planet Hollywood decided to jump on board of the project, with the agreement to acquire 50% or more of the concept in the future. In 2012, the first Victoria Station restaurant in almost 40 years opened to the public, with the announcement of more to come from Mills Corporation and Earl Holdings (Planet Hollywood). When Earl Holdings acquired Planet Hollywood back from Sears Alliance's Cendant in 2015, to repay The Mills, he sent a letter selling ownership of Mars 2112 and bringing up the prior agreement from before. The Mills obliged and gave 50% ownership of Victoria Station to Earl Holdings (Planet Hollywood).

In 2014, a location opened in Darien Lake amusement park making it the chain's only seasonally-operated location.

## Promotions

Singer Johnny Cash produced for the chain a promotional album of train songs, entitled Destination Victoria Station, which was then sold in the restaurants. This included the title song of the same name written and performed by Cash specifically for the album.

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.

Since 2013, the chain used Thomas the Tank Engine and Mr. Conductor for promoting the kids menu.

Since 2015, the chain could be accessed discounts from Earl Holdings' Phamous Rewards.

## Locations

### Locations in the US

* Alabama
	+ Birmingham, Alabama
* Arizona
	+ Phoenix, Arizona
* California
	+ Burlingame, California
	+ Larkspur, California
	+ Los Angeles, California
	+ Newport Beach, California
	+ Northridge, California
	+ Oakland, California
	+ Roseville, California
	+ Sacramento, California
	+ San Diego, California
	+ San Francisco, California
	+ Sunnyvale, California
	+ Tahoe City, California
	+ Torrance, California
	+ Universal City, California
	+ Villa Park, California
	+ West Covina, California
	+ Westminster, California
	+ Woodland Hills, California
* Colorado
	+ Glendale, Colorado
	+ Golden, Colorado
* Connecticut
	+ Darien, Connecticut
* Florida
	+ Altamonte Springs, Florida
	+ Casselberry, Florida
	+ Fort Lauderdale, Florida
	+ Jacksonville, Florida
	+ Miami, Florida
	+ North Miami Beach, Florida
	+ Tampa, Florida
	+ Virginia Gardens, Florida
	+ West Palm Beach, Florida
* Georgia
	+ Atlanta, Georgia
		- Cumberland Mall
		- Northlake Mall
	+ Macon, Georgia
* Hawaii
	+ Honolulu, Hawaii
* Illinois
	+ Niles, Illinois
	+ Northbrook, Illinois
	+ Schaumburg, Illinois
	+ Villa Park, Illinois
* Indiana
	+ Indianapolis, Indiana
* Kentucky
	+ Louisville, Kentucky
* Louisiana
	+ New Orleans, Louisiana
* Maryland
	+ Gaithersburg, Maryland
* Massachusetts
	+ Boston, Massachusetts
	+ Burlington, Massachusetts
	+ Framingham, Massachusetts
	+ Salem, Massachusetts
* Michigan
	+ Southfield, Michigan
* Minnesota
	+ Bloomington, Minnesota
	+ Roseville, Minnesota
* Missouri
	+ Kansas City, Missouri
	+ St. Louis, Missouri
* Nevada
	+ Reno, Nevada
* New Jersey
	+ Cherry Hill, New Jersey
	+ East Brunswick, New Jersey
	+ Wayne, New Jersey
	+ Whippany, New Jersey
* New York
	+ Albany, New York
	+ Darien Lake, New York (opened in 2014; seasonal)
	+ Latham, New York
	+ White Plains, New York
	+ Yonkers, New York
* North Carolina
	+ Charlotte, North Carolina
* Ohio
	+ Cincinnati, Ohio
	+ Columbus, Ohio
	+ Maumee, Ohio
	+ Rocky River, Ohio
	+ Woodmere, Ohio
* Oklahoma
	+ Tulsa, Oklahoma
* Oregon
	+ Portland, Oregon
* Pennsylvania
	+ King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
	+ Monroeville, Pennsylvania
	+ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
	+ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
	+ Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
* Tennessee
	+ Knoxville, Tennessee
	+ Memphis, Tennessee
	+ Nashville, Tennessee (opened in 2015)
* Texas
	+ Amarillo, Texas
	+ Arlington, Texas
	+ Austin, Texas
	+ Houston, Texas
	+ San Antonio, Texas
* Utah
	+ Salt Lake City, Utah
* Virginia
	+ Alexandria, Virginia
	+ Fairfax, Virginia
	+ Richmond, Virginia
	+ Virginia Beach, Virginia
* Washington
	+ Seattle, Washington
* Wisconsin
	+ Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

### Locations Internationally

* Canada
	+ Montreal, Quebec, Canada
* France
	+ Paris, France
* Malaysia
* Japan
	+ Kobe, Japan
	+ Osaka, Japan
	+ Sapporo, Japan
	+ Tokyo, Japan
	+ Yokohama, Japan

## See also

**Shopping Malls**
*The Block*: The Block at Orange | The Block at the Source | Broadway at the Beach - The Block
*The Dreams*: Madrid Xanadu | Meadowlands Xanadu | Desti**ny** USA

**Landmark Entertainment**
*Landmark Retailing*: Nickelodeon Store | Paramount Store | Club Libby Lu
*Former Ventures*: NFL GridIron Grill