Victoria Station (restaurant) facts for kids

Victoria Station was a chain of restaurants that looked like old train stations. In the 1970s, it was very popular, with 100 locations across the United States. The company faced money problems and closed many restaurants in 1986. The very last restaurant in the U.S. was in Salem, Massachusetts, and it closed in 2017.

Today, Victoria Station restaurants still exist in Malaysia.

The Story of Victoria Station

The idea for Victoria Station came from a project at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. The original owners, Bob Freeman, Peter Lee, and Dick Bradley, all studied there. The first restaurant opened in San Francisco in December 1969. It was built using five old boxcars and two cabooses around a main lobby. This first location made a lot of money, about $90,000 each month in its first year!

By the end of 1978, Victoria Station had grown to 97 restaurants. All of these were owned by the company itself.

Train-Themed Fun

The restaurants were designed to attract young people. The theme was inspired by London's famous Victoria Station train station. Inside, you would find old English railway items as decorations. Outside, the buildings were made from real American railway cars, mostly boxcars, with a special caboose out front. Each restaurant also had a red London-style phone booth at the entrance.

The main dish was prime rib, a type of beef. The menu also included steaks, barbecued beef ribs, and a special shrimp dish called "Shrimp Victoria." Many of the restaurants used real train cars as dining areas, which made eating there a unique experience.

Peak Popularity and Challenges

Victoria Station was very successful in the 1970s. The company was one of the first restaurant chains to let its employees own parts of the company through stock options. A big moment for Victoria Station was when they teamed up with Universal Studios. This led to the opening of a Victoria Station restaurant at Universal City. This location was one of the highest-earning restaurants in the entire United States! It even used four train coaches from the famous Flying Scotsman train, which were turned into dining cars.

In the mid-1980s, the U.S. restaurants started having financial difficulties. This caused many locations to close down slowly. In May 1986, the company had to file for Chapter 11 protection, which is a way for companies to reorganize their money problems. A new company later bought the Victoria Station name and 11 restaurants.

There was another similar train-themed restaurant chain called "Twickenham Station" in Alabama and Florida. However, it was not connected to Victoria Station.

Cool Promotions

Victoria Station had some interesting promotions:

• Music Album: The famous singer Johnny Cash made a special album of train songs for the chain. It was called Destination Victoria Station and was sold in the restaurants. He even wrote a song just for the album!
• Ski Team Sponsor: The chain helped sponsor the United States Ski Team from 1977 to 1979. For several years, a ski lift at the Park City Ski Area in Utah was even named "Victoria Station."
• Grand Opening: The famous movie director Alfred Hitchcock helped open the Victoria Station at Universal City on May 2, 1977. That restaurant even had a special funicular (a type of cable railway) that carried customers up a hill!

Victoria Station Locations in the U.S.

Here are some places in the United States where Victoria Station restaurants used to be:

• Albany, New York - now a different restaurant.
• Amarillo, TX - no longer there.
• Arlington, TX - no longer there.
• Alexandria, VA - no longer there.
• Altamonte Springs, FL - no longer there.
• Atlanta, GA - at least three locations, all gone.
• Austin, TX - now a Longhorn Steakhouse.
• Birmingham, AL - opened in 1975, now a different business.
• Bloomington, MN - now an Olive Garden restaurant.
• Boston, MA - near South Station, no longer there.
• Burlingame, CA - now Kincaid's Bayhouse.
• Burlington, MA - closed in 2005, now a Border Cafe.
• Casselberry, FL
• Charlotte, NC
• Maple Shade, NJ - no longer there.
• Cincinnati, OH - both downtown and east locations are gone.
• Columbus, OH - no longer there.
• Columbia, MO - building now a bar and grill.
• Darien, CT - building still there, but train cars are gone.
• Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
• Glendale, CO - no longer there.
• East Brunswick, NJ - now an Olive Garden restaurant.
• Fairfax, VA - no longer there.
• Framingham, MA
• Ft. Lauderdale, FL - no longer there.
• Gaithersburg, MD - now a Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse.
• Golden, CO
• Honolulu, HI - no longer there.
• Houston, TX - now a different business.
• Indianapolis, IN - opened in 1973, no longer there.
• Jacksonville, FL - no longer there.
• Kansas City, MO - two locations, both gone.
• King of Prussia, PA - no longer there, now a McDonald's.
• Knoxville, TN
• Larkspur, California - no longer there.
• Latham, NY
• Los Angeles, CA - including one in Hollywood.
• Louisville, KY
• Macon, GA (Macon Mall)
• Marin, CA - no longer there.
• Maumee, OH - structure still there, now a Fricker's restaurant.
• Memphis, TN - no longer there.
• Miami, FL - two locations, both gone. One is now a Victoria's Secret.
• Monroeville, Pennsylvania - no longer there.
• New Orleans, LA
• Newport Beach, CA
• Niles, IL - now a Russian restaurant.
• North Miami Beach, FL
• Northbrook, IL - no longer there.
• Northridge, CA
• Oakland, California - building still stands with train cars, now part of a marine business.
• Orange Village, Ohio - no longer there.
• Philadelphia, PA - no longer there.
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Phoenix, AZ
• Plantation Gardens, Hawaii (Kauai)
• Portland, OR - no longer there, but a caboose was saved.
• Quinn's Lighthouse
• Reno, NV - now an Olive Garden restaurant.
• Richmond, VA - train cars are still there and used as classrooms for a school.
• Rocky River, OH
• Roseville, California - buildings still remain.
• Roseville, MN
• Sacramento, CA
• Salem, Massachusetts - closed December 2017.
• Salt Lake City, UT
• San Antonio, TX
• San Diego, CA - train cars moved to another city.
• San Francisco, CA - original location, no longer there after an earthquake.
• Schaumburg, IL
• Seattle, WA - became a Thai restaurant.
• Southfield, MI - no longer there.
• St. Louis, MO
• Sunnyvale, CA - now a Vietnamese soup restaurant.
• Tahoe City, CA
• Tampa, FL
• Torrance, CA - train cars were intact for a while, but now demolished.
• Troy, MI
• Tulsa, OK - a decorative train water tower is still standing.
• Universal City, CA
• Virginia Gardens, Florida
• Villa Park, CA
• Villa Park, IL
• Virginia Beach, VA
• Wauwatosa, WI
• Wayne, NJ - now a market research facility.
• West Covina, CA
• Westminster, CA
• West Palm Beach, FL - no longer there, now Olive Garden.
• Whippany, NJ - no longer there, now a CVS.
• White Plains, NY
• Willow Grove, PA - no longer there, now a hotel.
• Woodmere, OH - no longer there.
• Woodland Hills, CA - no longer there.
• Yonkers, NY - train cars were offices, now seem to be gone.

Victoria Station Around the World

Victoria Station also had locations outside the U.S.:

• Montreal, Quebec, Canada - no longer there.
• Tokyo, Japan - still open under the name Victoria Station.
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada - no longer there.
• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - now closed.
• Yokohama, Japan - now closed.
• Osaka, Japan - now closed.
• Kobe, Japan - named "Central Station," now closed.
• Sapporo, Japan - had Big Boy statues.

Victoria Station in Japan

In 1979, two companies, Daiei and Wendy's International, created a joint company called Wenco Japan Inc. This company ran Victoria Station restaurants and Wendy's fast-food places in Japan. Later, in 2002, Daiei sold Wenco Japan to another company called Zensho. The Victoria Station brand is still used in Japan by the Zensho company today.