In 1940, Victor Bergeron (aka Trader Vic) was approached by the Matson Navigation co, instrumental in the development of tourism in Hawaii and the South Pacific, to build a restaurant at 926 Ward Avenue in Honolulu.

The enterprising businessman partnered with fellow Oakland businessman Granville

’Granny’ Abbott, a WWII Navy veteran, then living in Honolulu.

The new restaurant was decorated with typical Trader Vic’s flair and included a 6,000-pound anchor shipped over from the mainland to stand in front of the restaurant.

Granny registered the Trader Vic’s name in Hawaii – at the time the island was still a US territory – but the partnership broke down and Granny bought Bergeron out a few months later.

Though no longer affiliated with the main Trader Vic’s brand, he was still able to use the name – hence this interesting menu cover and piece of Tiki history. Granny later partnered with another businessman Fred Mosher whose name was also added to the cover,

Abbott’s son took over the business in 1955 and the restaurant empire Spencecliff Corp. purchased the rights in 1967, moving the restaurant to Don the Beachcombers’ International Market Place in 1970. The original building was demolished in 1973.

Granny Abbott returned to the US, at least for a time, because he was a professor at Heald’s Business College in San Francisco. He died in Honolulu at the age of 84 in 2007.