Hard Rock Cafe

The first Hard Rock Care opened its doors to the public on June 14, 1971, in London, England. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, two enterpirising and big time, music loving Americans. The Hard Rock Café was an instant classic, attracting large crowds of customers with its first rate, but appropriately priced casual American fare, warm service and ever-present rock and roll music and sensibility. Although it was initially decorated with an eye towards eclectic Americana, the Hard Rock Café has ultimately become the world’s leading collector and exhibitors of rock and roll memorabilia. Hard Rock Café began its global expansion in 1982 when Tigrett and Morton agreed to develop their own Hard Rock Cafes in various other parts of the globe. Morton opened Hard Rock Cafes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. Tigrett opened locations in New York, Dallas, Boston, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Paris and Berlin, eventually selling his interest to Mecca Leisure. 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, and with it, one of the most universally recognized trademarks. Hard Rock Café has become a truly global phenomenon. From its launch in London, England, to New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokoyo, and on to such exotic and far-flung locations such as Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, Hard Rock offers a special experience to its devoted, ever-changing and expanding clientele. Its unparalleled memorabilia collection, which consists of more than 60,000 pieces that are rotated from restaurant to restaurant, provides the world’s most comprehensive “visual history” of rock and roll. These treasures include an awe-inspiring collection of classics guitars and other instruments,

Cited: Brand Strategy. (2008). Hard Rock: Not only rock ‘n’ roll. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from http://www.brandstrategy.co.uk. Funding Universe. (2000). Hard Rock Café International, Inc. Company History. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from http://www.fundinguniverse.com Hallock, Betty. (2009). Recession takes big bite out of L.A. restaurant business. Los Angeles Times Hard Rock. (2009). Corporate / History. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from http://www.hardrock.com Hard Rock. (2009). Corporate / Philanthropy. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from http://www.hardrock.com MacLaurin, Donald J., & MacLaurin, Tanya L. (2000). Customer Perceptions of Singapore’s Theme Restaurants