Trader Vic's was delayed when the Corbin Park developer filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Construction activity began resuming in 2012; however, a new completion date for Trader Vic's has not been announced. The song "Werewolves of London," a Top 40 hit co-written by Warren Zevon and appearing on his 1978 album Excitable Boy, contains the line "I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic's," presumably referring to the chain's London location. The restaurant is also referenced by Bill Murray's character Frank Cross to John Forsythe's character Lew Hayward in the 1988 movie "Scrooged." Trader Vic's Trader Vic's is a
Warren Zevon family and was of English descent. They moved to Fresno, California. By the age of 13, Zevon was an occasional visitor to the home of Igor Stravinsky, where he briefly studied modern classical music alongside Robert Craft. Zevon's parents divorced when he was 16 years old; he soon quit high school and moved from Los Angeles to New York City to become a folk singer. Zevon turned to a musical career early, including a stretch with his high school friend Violet Santangelo as a musical duo called lyme and cybelle. He spent time as a session musician and jingle composer.