Singer Johnny Cash produced a promotional album of train songs for the chain, titled Destination Victoria Station, which was then sold in the restaurants. (Huntsville AL, Montgomery AL, Mobile AL, Pensacola FL) There was a similar chain called "Twickenham Station" in Alabama and Florida during the same time span. Ī 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.
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.
In May 1986, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in 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. It's unknown what happened to the coaches after the restaurant closed, it can be pursued they were sold for scrap. They were repainted and converted into dining cars. The coaches in the restaurant used four of the coaches from Flying Scotsman's tour of America. At its peak, the Universal City location of Victoria Station was among the highest grossing restaurants in the United States. 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. The company was among the first restaurant companies to offer its employees stock options and an ESOP program. The Victoria Station chain flourished in the 1970s, according to a memoir by former Victoria Station corporate marketing manager Tom Blake. Most of the restaurants used authentic railway cars for dining areas, often boxcars or cabooses. 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". On the "entry platform" to each restaurant was a London-style phone booth. 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. The theme of the restaurant was loosely based on London's Victoria Station. The chain was designed to attract members of the baby boom generation. īy the end of 1978, Victoria Station had 97 restaurants, all company owned. The restaurant was grossing $90,000 monthly during its first year of operations. Another source incorrectly claimed an April 1969 opening date. 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. 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.
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