Radio Margaritaville’s Miles Hampton announced tonight that Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will play a show at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas on Saturday, April 26th.

Tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster on Monday, March 3rd.

He also said that this year’s tour will be called the “The Year Of Still Here.”

We expect more tour dates to come out within the next few days.

Crain’s Detroit Press has an article on Ferndale-based Garden Fresh Gourmet, Inc., who just inked a deal with Margaritaville Foods to produce Buffett’s newest creation: Margaritaville Salsa.

On Dec. 21, Garden Fresh signed a manufacturing and production deal to produce a full line of salsa, hummus, tortillas and dips for singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Foods.

“It’s really a great move for us. We have a shot at doubling the size of our company in 18 months,” said Garden Fresh Vice Chairman Dave Zilko.

Margaritaville Foods, inspired by songs written by Buffett, already has several other lines of food and drinks that include frozen seafood, beer, tequila and margarita mix.

After considering other manufacturers, Margaritaville President Tom Keane said they chose Garden Fresh for two reasons.

“First of all, they make great products. But that was sort of a minimal threshold for us,” Keane said. “What really separated them from other people was just the passion they have for the business.”

Already, Garden Fresh is distributing Margaritaville salsa nationwide to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp.’s Los Angeles division. It’s planning to begin distribution in April to Kroger Co. and is close to an agreement with Meijer Inc.

Margaritaville Foods was established about four years ago as the consumer and packaged goods division of Orlando, Fla.-based Margaritaville Enterprises L.L.C.

Zilko said sales of Margaritaville’s frozen seafood line went from zero to $50 million in about three years and believes Garden Fresh products have the potential for similar growth.

Read the entire article here, or learn more about Buffett’s business empire here.

Make that two Cheeseburger In Paradise restaurants that have announced plans this week to close. First, the Asheville, North Carolina location, and now the Lansing, Michigan location that opened two years ago. The parent company, OSI Restaurant Partners Inc., has altered its strategic planning and is closing stores that no longer fit into this new plan according to the Lansing State Journal:

The restaurant, at 5924 W. Saginaw Highway, was closed “because it no longer fits the strategic plans for the Cheeseburger in Paradise brand,” parent company OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. said. The Tampa, Fla.-based company said it will relocate employees to other nearby company restaurants. Among others, OSI owns Outback Steakhouse, which has area locations in Delta Township and Okemos, and Carrabba’s Italian Grill, with a location in Delta Township. Cheeseburger in Paradise opened in Delta Township in 2006.

Cheeseburger in Paradise was founded in August 2002 and is owned by Outback Steakhouse, under a license from Buffett. The “island fantasy” concept features colorful cocktails and live music as well as Key West-style architecture and decor that offer customers an escape from the daily grind.

In 2005, Jimmy Buffett sold his holdings of the chain to Outback Steakhouse, Inc., who previously held a 50% share in the chain. Outback pays a royalty of 4.5 percent of restaurant sales to Buffett.

To find locations and get other information, visit the official homepage of Cheeseburger In Paradise here.

UPDATE: York, PA and Greenville, SC locations closing too. Report other closures by leaving a comment to this post.

The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis awoke Wednesday morning to Buffett’s song “Oysters and Pearls.”

The crew began preparing for the spacewalk after waking up to Jimmy Buffett’s “Oysters and Pearls,” which opens with lyrics about Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic.

It was played for Atlantis’ pilot, Alan Poindexter, who will coordinate Wednesday’s spacewalk from inside the station.

“We’re looking forward to a great day on orbit and a great (spacewalk) and having Rex and Hans out the door here real soon,” Poindexter said.

It’s not the first time that the shuttle Atlantis has hosted Buffett’s music. On September 16th, 2006 the Atlantis crew awoke to Buffett’s “Twelve Volt Man.”

The three year old Cheeseburger In Paradise restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina has closed, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times:

“The closure is a prudent business decision for us at this time, but we would like to serve our loyal Asheville customers again at some point in the future,” Matt Wissman, joint venture partner of Cheeseburger in Paradise in the North Carolina area, said in a press release. “On behalf of all of us at the restaurant, we want to express our appreciation to the Asheville community for their patronage over the past years.”

Wissman said the company will work with employees “to re-locate them to one of the other company restaurants in the area.” Cheeseburger in Paradise is a subsidiary of OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC, which also owns Outback Steakhouses.

Buffett played a benefit show there on January 11th, 2005 to celebrate the grand opening. The event raised $96,000 for Eblen Charities, whose programs serve thousands of Western North Carolinians.

Cheeseburger in Paradise was founded in August 2002 and is owned by Outback Steakhouse, under a license from Buffett. The “island fantasy” concept features colorful cocktails and live music as well as Key West-style architecture and decor that offer customers an escape from the daily grind.

In 2005, Jimmy Buffett sold his holdings of the chain to Outback Steakhouse, Inc., who previously held a 50% share in the chain. Outback pays a royalty of 4.5 percent of restaurant sales to Buffett.

To find locations and get other information, visit the official homepage of Cheeseburger In Paradise here.