Victoria Station Restaurant - Oakland

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Victoria Station was a chain of train-themed restaurants. The Oakland location opened in 1971 in Embarcadero Cove, in the former East Oakland Station building. They also used several old railroad cars. It was open until the end of 1986.

There were mentions of opening an Oakland location for the chain, and a reference to the lighthouse in 1970. Don Durant, who was leasing the property from the Port of Oakland as part of a business known as Sailboats, Inc., obtained a building permit for the restaurant in November 1970. The restaurant opened in April 1971 at 55 Embarcadero Cove (now 1955 Embarcadero). Business in Oakland must have been good, because a year later in April 1972 they opened Quinn's Lighthouse close by the restaurant.

When the Flying Scotsman train between Edinburgh and London sold some old passenger cars in 1973, the Victoria Station chain bought seven. Three were to be used at the Oakland location. It doesn't appear that they were, as the remaining structure consists of the station building, two boxcars, and two cabooses. (One was the bar, the other appears to have been a bathroom, based on the added plumbing.)

The Chain

The first location opened in San Francisco in December 1969, started by Cornell grads Dick Bradley, Bob Freeman and Peter Lee. By the end of 1978, they had 97 restaurants across the country.

Many former employees found Victoria Station (VS) restaurants an amazing place to work. There's a VS alumni website, and former operational manager Tom Blake wrote a book about the chain, Whatever Happened to Victoria Station? | Prime Rib & Boxcars.

Given the phenomenal growth of the chain in the 1970s, it was part of multiple business school and other academic studies.

The Oakland location was open until the end of 1986. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1986 and sold their remaining assets in 1987. Some locations continued on for a few years before closing.

The Site Today

In November 2025, it appears there is work being done on the building. The exterior has been repainted, and there are newer signs for the Train Station Restaurant and Lounge.

Photos CC SA-BY Our Oakland