Margaritaville brand spreads outside South Florida

The new Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort represents an expanding hospitality brand with appeal well beyond South Florida. The oceanfront resort in Hollywood is part of a growing hotel business headed by recording artist and entrepreneur Jimmy Buffett and his business partner John Cohlan. Another Margaritaville resort will open later this year in Biloxi, Mississippi, and eight others are in development, including one in Grand Cayman. Billionaire Warren E. Buffett, a friend but not a relative of Jimmy Buffett, told the New York Times, “He understands his brand, which has substantial reach. One of his secrets to his success is that he never really loses any fans.

The recording artist opened a restaurant in Key West named Margaritaville in 1987, a decade after the 1977 release of his popular song of the same name. The second Margaritaville restaurant location in New Orleans flopped. Another Margaritaville restaurant opened in 1999 at the Universal Orlando Resort and has been a success. Cohlan told the New York Times the restaurant last year had about $22 million in sales. The Margaritaville restaurant chain has grown further and soon will expand into California for the first time with a location at Universal Studios Hollywood. [The New York Times] — Mike

Original content The Real Deal