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Image:Baltimore_fg01.jpg|Hard Rock Cafe in [[Baltimore]]
Image:Baltimore_fg01.jpg|Hard Rock Cafe in [[Baltimore]]
Image:Hard Rock Cafe Sign Sacramento.JPG|Hard Rock [[Sacramento]] at the K street mall
Image:Hard Rock Cafe Sign Sacramento.JPG|Hard Rock [[Sacramento]] at the K street mall
Image:HK Hard Rock.JPG|Hard Rock Cafe, [[Hong Kong]] (now closed)
Image:HK Hard Rock.JPG|Hard Rock Cafe, [[Hong Kong]] (closed since Nov. 24, 2008)<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aE9y7cbVva_A&refer=asia bloomberg.com "Hong Kong Recession Cuts Jobs at Hard Rock, Retailer, SCMP Says", Nov. 15, 2008]</ref>
Image:Hardrockcafetoronto.jpg|Hard Rock Cafe, [[Toronto]], The second Hard Rock Cafe location and the home of classic rock station [[CILQ-FM|Q107]]
Image:Hardrockcafetoronto.jpg|Hard Rock Cafe, [[Toronto]], The second Hard Rock Cafe location and the home of classic rock station [[CILQ-FM|Q107]]
Image:DecaturNOLAHardRockBike3Oct07.jpg|[[French Quarter]] Hard Rock Cafe, [[New Orleans]]
Image:DecaturNOLAHardRockBike3Oct07.jpg|[[French Quarter]] Hard Rock Cafe, [[New Orleans]]

Revision as of 13:44, 6 October 2009

Hard Rock Cafe
Company typePrivate
Industrycasual dining restaurants, casinos, hotels
FoundedJune 14, 1971 in London, England (UK)
HeadquartersOrlando, Florida, U.S.
Websitewww.hardrock.com

Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of bar-restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton. The first Hard Rock Cafe opened near Hyde Park Corner in London. In 1979 the cafe started covering its walls with rock 'n' roll ephemera, a tradition now extended to the other establishments of the chain. The company was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 2006. There are currently over 140 Hard Rock Cafes in over 36 countries.

History

Restaurants

Hard Rock Cafe located on Broadway in the heart of Times Square.

The first Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) opened its doors to the public on June 14, 1971, in London, England. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton. The HRC's initially had an eclectic decor but later began to collect and display the largest collection of rock and roll memorabilia. Worldwide expansion began in 1982 with locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, New York, Dallas, Boston, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Paris and Berlin[1].

In 1990, The Rank Group, Plc., a London-based leisure company, acquired Mecca and continued expansion of the concept in their geographic territory. Rank then acquired Hard Rock America from Peter Morton, and Hard Rock Canada from Nick Bitove. With these acquisitions, Rank consolidated worldwide control of the brand. In March 2007, the Seminole Tribe of Florida acquired Hard Rock International, Inc. and other related entities from The Rank Group, Plc. for $965 million[2] In recent times the business has come in for some criticism because of its practice of paying its waiting staff less than half the official minimum wage, with the business allocating tips to staff to bring their salaries within the law. Most customers, it was argued, do not realise that they are subsidizing an illegal wage when they give the tip [3].

On May 28, 2009, Hard Rock International announced plans to open a 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2), 500 seat HRC on Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles featuring a live concert area and a limited edition retail shop. Hard Rock International closed its first location in the Los Angeles area located in the Beverly Center which had opened in 1982 during their worldwide expansion.[4] An opening date has not been announced.

Expansion into other businesses

Casinos and hotels

The Hard Rock Hotel (building with golden top) in Chicago, Illinois

In 1995 Peter Parker spent $80 million to open the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino off the Las Vegas Strip. A subsequent $100 million expansion nearly doubled the hotel's capacity in 1999.[citation needed]

In May 2006 Morton sold the Las Vegas "Hard Rock Hotel" to New York-based Morgans Hotel Group for $770 million, including the rights to the "Hard Rock Hotel" brand west of the Mississippi River, including Texas, California, Australia and Vancouver, British Columbia. Edward Scheetz, a Morgans' executive, described the 11-story, 650-room "Hard Rock Hotel" as a "trophy property" that will never be replicated in Las Vegas because of land values. The "Hard Rock" pool alone occupies land valued at $50 million.[citation needed] On September 1, 2007 the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas announced the sponsorship of the 2004 Indianapolis 500 champion, Buddy Rice for the final two races of the 2007 IndyCar Series Season.

Today, the Seminole Indian tribe of Florida owns and operates all units except the Las Vegas facility. In 2004, Hard Rock International and Sol Melia Hotels and Resorts launched Lifestar Hoteles Espana SL, a joint venture that manages Europe's first Hard Rock Hotel in Madrid. The other joint venture hotels are in Chicago, New York and San Diego (the San Diego property includes Hard Rock condominiums). Hard Rock also operates hotels and resorts in Orlando, Florida (a joint venture with Loews Hotels); Bali, Indonesia; and Pattaya, Thailand (joint ventures with Ong Beng Seng/Hotel Properties Limited). Hard Rock International (Rank Organisation) continues to expand internationally (hotels, casinos, resorts, and now condominiums) through several joint ventures (Becker Ventures, Ong Beng Seng/Hotel Properties Limited, Loews Hotels, and the Seminole Indian Nation) including hotels in Chicago, Bali, Orlando, San Diego and planned openings in Atlanta and Penang [5] as well as hotel-casinos in Hollywood, Florida, Tampa, Florida, Biloxi, Mississippi Las Vegas, Nevada and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Hard Rock Park - Theme Park

Hard Rock Cafe International announced in March 2006 that they licensed the "Hard Rock" name to HRP Myrtle Beach Operations, LLC, to design, build, and own a $400 million 150-acre (0.61 km2) theme park called Hard Rock Park. Hard Rock Park opened on April 15, 2008 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, closed into bankruptcy September 24, 2008, and converted to Chapter 7 liquidation January 2, 2009. The park was expected to draw an estimated 30,000 visitors per day, promised to create more than 3,000 jobs, and was billed as the largest single investment in South Carolina history. It planned to feature a large concert arena and six zones with more than 40 attractions.[6]. But HRP Myrtle Beach Operations, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 on September 25, 2008. The company had at the time hoped to re-open in 2009 after restructuring. On January 2, 2009 after failing to attract a buyer with a minimum US$35 million bid for over 2 months, Hard Rock Park asked a Delaware Bankruptcy Court to convert their filing to Chapter 7 (triggering immediate liquidation of assets to pay off creditors) and closing the park.[7] New owners renamed the park Freestyle Music Park and expect it to reopen by Memorial Day, 2009, but without the Hard Rock name, though a music theme will remain.[8]

Seminole Tribe of Florida takeover

On December 7, 2006, Rank sold the Hard Rock business to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for US$965 million. Included in the deal are 124 Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and stakes in three unbranded hotels. Rank is keeping the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in London, but has changed its name to G Casino Piccadilly. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is also not part of the deal, as it was sold by Peter Morton to Morgans Hotel Group in May 2006.[9] The final takeover was mired in controversy, as another of the chain's suitors, Power Plant Entertainment, charged that Merrill Lynch sabotaged its acquisition efforts. On January 8, 2007, Rank Group shareholders approved the Seminoles' US$965 million offer. The Tribe expects to have finalized the deal by March 5, 2007.[10] The Hollywood Casino/Hotel location gained some notoriety on February 8, 2007 when Anna Nicole Smith died there.

On June 22, 2008 the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida began "Vegas-style" table gambling instead of using just type-II slots. The tribe paid the state of Florida US$100 million for the 25-year pact. On July 5, 2008, the Florida supreme court ruled that the governor's agreement was unconstitutional but table games continue to operate because the Federal Department of the Interior approved the now illegal compact with the state.[11]

Music memorabilia

Hard Rock is known for its collection of rock and roll memorabilia. The cafes solicit donations of music memorabilia but also purchase a number of items at auctions around the world, including autographed guitars, outfits from world tours and rare photographs are often to be found mounted on cafe walls. The collection began in 1979 with the gift of an un-signed guitar (a Red Fender Lead II) from Eric Clapton, who was a regular at the first restaurant in London. This prompted Pete Townshend of The Who to give one of his guitars, also un-signed with the note "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete."[citation needed] Hard Rock's archive includes over 70,000 items and it opened a Hard Rock museum named "The Vault" in Orlando, Florida in January 2003 but subsequently closed it in September 2004. The London Vault remains open, located near the original cafe. In 2005 Deep Purple launched their new album Rapture of the Deep in Hard Rock Cafe London. This show was released as a DVD.[12]

References

  1. ^ http://www.hardrock.com/corporate/history/
  2. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6216292.stm
  3. ^ BBC NEWS | Business | Hard Rock wages 'below minimum'
  4. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/othercities/orlando/stories/2009/05/25/daily23.html
  5. ^ http://www.hardrockhotels.com/GenericPages.aspx?process=news/hard_rock_international_and_the_luckie_street_partners_announce_atlanta_hotel_development.html
  6. ^ Hard Rock Park press release
  7. ^ Hard Rock Park in SC files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
  8. ^ Official Press Release On New Name
  9. ^ FoxNews article on Hard Rock sale to Seminoles
  10. ^ Seminole Tribe of Florida rocks out
  11. ^ http://500nations.com/news/Florida/20080705.asp
  12. ^ The Highway Star — Montreux'2006 DVD details
  13. ^ bloomberg.com "Hong Kong Recession Cuts Jobs at Hard Rock, Retailer, SCMP Says", Nov. 15, 2008
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