Margaritaville Restaurant Finally Coming to California

The New York Times has a great article on Jimmy Buffett and his business empire. It’s a good read, includes an interview with Jimmy Buffett and his partner, and reveals that Margaritaville is finally coming to California:

The company’s first resort, a planned $700 million casino and hotel in Biloxi, Miss., was delayed by the late-2000s economic collapse. Margaritaville eventually opened a much smaller hotel in Biloxi, but it went belly up, perhaps because the company picked a bad location. This month Mr. Cohlan announced a third attempt, set to open later this year. This time, there will be more of a family focus, and no casino. Eight more Margaritaville hotels, including one in Grand Cayman, are in various stages of development.

Margaritaville’s signature restaurant chain is expanding quickly — it will soon push into California for the first time, opening at Universal Studios Hollywood — but a spinoff series of restaurants in the Midwest called Cheeseburger in Paradise has struggled. Margaritaville sold its Cheeseburger stake in 2005 and, since then, roughly half the locations have closed as the brand was lobbed between owners.

Read the full story here.