Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is the name of a United States-based hospitality company that manages and franchises a casual dining American restaurant chain, a chain of stores selling Jimmy Buffett-themed merchandise, and casinos with lodging facilities.
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in Key West, Florida | |
Industry | Hospitality |
---|---|
Founded | 1985 (Key West, Florida) |
Founder | Jimmy Buffett |
Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 23 - Margaritaville 1 - JWB Prime Steak and Seafood 7 - 5 o'clock Somewhere Bar & Grill |
Key people | Jonathan Cohlan |
Owner | Margaritaville Holdings LLC International Meal Co. 50% Restaurants Coral Hospitality LLC 50% Hotels and Resorts |
Website | https://www.margaritaville.com/ |
The brand is named after Buffett's hit song "Margaritaville" and is owned by Margaritaville Holdings LLC (a subsidiary of Cheeseburger Holding Company, LLC). There are locations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, six island locations throughout the Caribbean as well as in Sydney, Australia since September 2012.
Some locations are franchise owned, such as the Caribbean, Australian, and Mexican locations. In 2014, a Brazilian company bought 12 Margaritaville Restaurants and the rights to expand the company in the U.S.[1]
History
In 1985, Buffett opened his first successful "Margaritaville" retail store in Key West, Florida, following a failed Margaritaville in Gulf Shores, Alabama.[2][3] In 2002, he expanded his business ventures by partnering with Outback Steakhouse to develop the first Cheeseburger in Paradise Restaurant in Southport (Indianapolis, IN).
In late 2006, Jimmy Buffett announced on the website that the Margaritaville Cafes will no longer purchase or serve Canadian seafood products.[4]
On May 15, 2007, Harrah's Entertainment, now Caesars Entertainment Corp. announced plans to build the $700 million Margaritaville Casino Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi on the site of the former Grand Casino Biloxi and Casino Magic Biloxi properties.[5] Due to the U.S. recession, however, construction of the casino ceased on June 10, 2008.[6]
On January 12, 2011, following the announcement of the new partnership between MVB Holdings and the Brosig, Sekul and Sims families, for the differently planned Biloxi, MS casino, John Payne, Caesars Entertainment Corp. central division president, stated, "We are disappointed that our project with Margaritaville will not proceed."[7] This casino eventually opened, then closed a few years later. Recently, a Margaritaville resort opened on Highway 90 at the location of the old Grand Casino. This new resort does not have a casino.
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is featured in the 2015 film Jurassic World as one of the restaurants in the fictional theme park, with Buffett himself making a cameo appearance as one of the guests running away from the Pteranodon attack.[8]
Locations
Margaritaville
- Lake Conroe, Texas
- Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Biloxi, Mississippi
- Bloomington, Minnesota
- Chicago, Illinois
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Cozumel, Mexico
- Destin, Florida
- Falmouth, Jamaica
- Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
- Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands
- Hollywood, California
- Hollywood, Florida
- Key West, Florida
- Las Vegas, Nevada (part of Flamingo Las Vegas)
- Montego Bay, Jamaica
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Negril, Jamaica
- Niagara Falls Ontario
- Ocho Rios, Jamaica
- Orlando, Florida
- Osage Beach, Missouri
- Panama City Beach, Florida
- Paradise Island, Bahamas
- Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
- San Antonio, Texas
- Syracuse, New York
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
Landshark Bar & Grill
- Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Biloxi, Mississippi
- Branson, Missouri
- Buford, Georgia
- Daytona Beach, Florida
- Gatlinburg, Tennessee
- Harvest Caye, Belize
- Hollywood, Florida
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Vicksburg, Mississippi
- Pensacola Beach, Florida
- Pereybere, Mauritius
- Osage Beach, Missouri
Air Margaritaville
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport
- Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport
- Cancún International Airport
- São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Tocumen International Airport
- Sangster International Airport
- Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport
Retail outlets
As of February 2020, United States retail store locations are in Key West, FL, New Orleans, LA, Orlando, FL, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Glendale, Panama City Beach, FL, Mohegan Sun, Honolulu, HI, Pensacola Beach, Nashville, TN and Chicago, IL. The newest concept, a "Landshark Surfshack Retail Shop" opened May 17, 2011 at the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel attraction. Mexico's retail locations are in Cancun and Cozumel. Canada's retail location is in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Caribbean retail locations in the British West Indies are in Montego Bay (including two "Air Margaritaville" locations at Sangster International Airport), Negril and Ocho Rios on the island of Jamaica; Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands; and George Town, Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands.[9][10][11][12]
Vacation Clubs
Nested in the Caribbean, specifically St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, are vacation clubs operated by Margaritaville.[13]
Hotels
On June 28, 2010, the Margaritaville Beach Hotel (pictured to the right) opened on Pensacola Beach. The former site of a Holiday Inn, destroyed by Hurricane Ivan on September 16, 2004,[14] Margaritaville Hotel sits on over 800 feet of gulf-front property. An additional 800 feet overlooks the bay. The beachfront hotel features 'barefoot elegance' with 162 guest rooms, including 24 Corner King Executive rooms with wrap-around balconies.[15]
Future phased-plans include an adjacent free-standing Margaritaville Cafe restaurant and a bayside waterpark.[16]
Plans for a second and third Margaritaville Beach Hotel were announced in 2010. The second, still in the planning stages, would be located in Myrtle Beach, SC.[17]
The 349-room Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort opened in 2015 in Hollywood, Florida.[18]
The Margaritaville Island Hotel opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 2015 followed by Margaritaville Island Inn in 2017. The Margaritaville Resort opened in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 2018.
Margaritaville Lake of the Ozarks opened in the Spring of 2019 and offers a wide variety of bars, restaurants, water activities, golf, etc.- all right on the Lake. Has large outdoor pool, tiki bar, marina as well as indoor waterpark and even horseback riding. [19]
In late 2020, the first Margaritaville Resort on the West Coast opened in Palm Springs, California. [20]
Casinos
The Las Vegas Margaritaville at the Flamingo has expanded to include its very own 15,000-square-foot Margaritaville-branded casino. The casino was scheduled to open October 1, 2011.[21]
On January 12, 2011, it was announced that Buffett's MVB Holdings company is working with Coast casino veteran Tom Brosig and other investors to build the casual three-story, 68,000-square-foot, $48 million "Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Casino and Restaurant" resort on the back bay at the old East Harrison County Industrial Park on 5th Street in Biloxi, MS. The developers will build the casino resort in phases, starting with a small casino, a restaurant, events center and marina.[22][23]
Developers said it should open in April or May 2012.[24]
On June 22, 2011, Paradise Casino LLC unveiled plans for the Margaritaville Resort Casino to be built in Bossier City, Louisiana. The complex, a $170 million, 400-room resort, would include an 18-story hotel tower, 1,000-seat entertainment complex with a VIP balcony and an outdoor tropical area visible to the north from the Louisiana Boardwalk.[25][26]
In March 2013, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation announced that its River Spirit Casino on the Arkansas River in Tulsa would become a Margaritaville Casino as part of a $250 million project that would also add a 22-story, 500-room luxury tower to the existing facility.[27]
Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach
Latitude Margaritaville is a $1 billion retirement village in Daytona Beach, Florida.[28][29] The project is a joint venture between Minto Communities and Buffett's Margaritaville Holdings, with the development being built on land close to LPGA Boulevard and about a mile to the west from Interstate-95.[28]
Phase one of the community will have 400 homes with a potential of 6,900 homes, once the project is completed. As of March 2018, 250 lots have been sold with prices between the low $200,000s to the mid $300,000s. The community will have a pet salon, grocery store, and a private beach when it opens in April 2018.[28]
Since opening in Daytona, two other locations have been announced; Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head, South Carolina and Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, Florida. Hilton head offers a wide range of home designs and floor plans. Amenities will include a resort-style pool, fitness center, social hall, game and hobby rooms, arts and learning programs, indoor and outdoor dining with signature Margaritaville food and beverage concepts, tennis and pickleball courts, and a 290,000-square-foot Margaritaville retail center. Phase one is currently underway with 203 home sites. Current plans call for 3,000+ homes once the community is complete.
Latitude Margaritaville Watersound will break ground in late 2019 and will be the third of the communities to be developed.
References
- Pedicini, Sandra (April 24, 2014). "Firm buys Margaritaville restaurants". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- Jimmy Buffett – Gulf Shores Benefit Concert – Come Monday – 5 (YouTube), retrieved July 12, 2013
- Lambert, Molly (April 11, 2017). "The Parrothead Inside Me". MTV News. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- Seals Find a Friend in Margaritaville: Jimmy Buffett's Restaurants Join the Canadian Seafood Boycott, December 12, 2006, archived from the original on January 28, 2007, retrieved April 28, 2007
- Harrah's to open Biloxi Margaritaville casino, Reuters, May 15, 2007, retrieved May 15, 2007
- canadaeast.com – As original completion date passes, Biloxi's Margaritaville casino remains on hold, June 30, 2010, retrieved November 28, 2010
- New Margaritaville in the works - Casinos - SunHerald.com, January 12, 2012, archived from the original on January 14, 2011, retrieved January 13, 2011
- Reyes, Mike (June 14, 2015). "Jimmy Buffett Appeared in Jurassic World, and Odds Are You Saw Him". CinemaBlend. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
- Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.com – Online State of Mind: Shop, archived from the original on October 11, 2007, retrieved November 28, 2010
- Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville :: Latest News and Articles, retrieved June 20, 2011
- Margaritaville Chicago Shooting for Memorial Weekend Opening, retrieved April 21, 2011
- Small part of SkyWheel attraction in Myrtle Beach has opened, retrieved May 18, 2011
- https://www.margaritaville.com/stay
- Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Hotel Opening in Pensacola Beach, May 21, 2010, archived from the original on June 15, 2010, retrieved October 28, 2010
- Margaritaville Beach Hotel :: About, October 28, 2010, retrieved October 28, 2010
- Fins Up Pensacola ... Jimmy Buffett's New Margaritaville Beach Hotel Set to Open This Summer in Pensacola Beach, FL., May 25, 2010, retrieved January 13, 2011
- Margaritaville hotel possible for Myrtle Beach, retrieved November 28, 2010
- Goldberg, Lyssa. "The Newly Opened Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort Is More Jimmy Buffett Than You Can Even Imagine". Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- https://www.margaritavilleresortlakeoftheozarks.com/
- https://www.margaritavilleresorts.com/margaritaville-resort-palm-springs
- Jimmy Buffett-themed casino opening in Vegas, retrieved September 25, 2011
- Margaritaville Casino on its way again, archived from the original on January 14, 2011, retrieved January 12, 2011
- New Margaritaville in the works - Casinos - SunHerald.com, archived from the original on January 14, 2011, retrieved January 13, 2011
- Road to Margaritaville needed by opening day, retrieved September 22, 2011
- Bossier City Council Approves Negotiation For New Casino, archived from the original on June 25, 2011, retrieved June 22, 2011
- Margaritaville Hotel and Casino planned for Bossier City site, retrieved June 22, 2011
- "River Spirit Casino announces Margaritaville partnership". KOKI-TV. March 18, 2013. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- Taylor Martin, Susan (March 15, 2018). "Real-life Margaritaville wows parrothead retirees". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- Bestler, Bob (March 18, 2017). "Jimmy Buffett's countless ventures now include a retirement spot for the Parrotheads". The Sun News. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
External links
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