The first Margaritaville Cafe in Canada will open in late spring or early summer in Niagara Falls, Ontario:

Margaritaville Canada Ltd. has signed a lease with the owners of the Skylon Tower to open the 14,000-square-foot, two-story restaurant on Fallsview Avenue, across from the Niagara Fallsview Casino and Resort.

Margaritaville is scheduled to open by late spring or early summer, said George Davidson, Margaritaville Canada president and chief executive officer.

The restaurant is moving into the site of the former Wolfgang Puck’s Cafe, which closed last summer.

Margaritaville Canada is investing “several million” into the Niagara Falls project, Davidson said. The restaurant is the first of several the Calgary-based company has planned for Canada. The company has the exclusive Margaritaville rights for Canada.

“The (Niagara Falls) location is just spectacular,” Davidson said. “You couldn’t find a better site between all the activity and overlooking the falls.”

Davidson said the restaurant site is currently being expanded. Part of the renovations call for a second-story outdoor patio that will offer dramatic views of Niagara Falls.

Margaritaville will have a 350-person seating capacity, an increase over Wolfgang Puck’s capacity by more than 175 seats.

The restaurant, during the peak summer season, is expected to employ at least 250 people on a full- and part-time basis.

Davidson confirmed plans are in the works for other Margaritaville’s across Canada. One will anchor the revamped Calgary Stampede grounds and complex.

“You can probably guess what other cities might end up with one,” Davidson said.

He said locations in Toronto and Vancouver are being considered.

As for the restaurant’s namesake, might Buffett be making an appearance in Niagara Falls.

“You never know,” Davidson said. “He has been known to stop in his other restaurants from time-to-time.”

The Calgary location is under construction and there are reports that a location will open in Edmonton. And last month we told you about the possibility of a Nashville location.

See where the other Margaritaville Cafes are located here.

According to Poker News Daily, Jimmy Buffett will be in attendance at Sunday’s NFC Championship game in New Orleans when the Saints host Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings:

Among those in attendance will be 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon.

Moon will be seated in a luxury box in the Louisiana Superdome, home of the Saints, alongside several top-tier names. Headlining the list is singer Jimmy Buffet. Kenny Chesney will also be seated in the same suite as Moon, according to Saints officials.

Jimmy has a close relationship with the Saints and their coach Sean Payton. In 2006 Jimmy sang the national anthem at one of their games. He is partners with Payton and several others in Last Mango Stables, a horse-racing owners group (Saints quarterback Drew Brees is also a partner). Buffett is also an honorary chair of Payton’s Play It Forward Foundation. And when Payton coached the NFC in the 2007 Pro Bowl, he ran a play designed by Jimmy that resulted in an interception.

The naming rights to the Miami Dolphins’ home field have been sold again. The team is expected on Wednesday to announce a five-year deal with Canadian-based Sun Life Financial that will give the stadium its second name change in as many years.

The move was not unexpected. When the deal with Land Shark Lager, a Jimmy Buffett branded beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch, was signed last May, the parties made clear it was a one-year deal that would end at the conclusion of the Orange Bowl.

The deal with Sun Life is reportedly worth $7.5 million per year.

In May, Jimmy performed at a press event announcing the deal. He also played a show outside the stadium before the Monday Night game on September 21st when the Dolphins hosted the Colts.

C.F. Martin & Co. has introduced another Jimmy Buffett guitar, this one a “beach guitar.” The Martin LX Jimmy Buffett guitar fills a niche that Jimmy says was missing:

Jimmy Buffett has played Martin guitars for decades – and it’s been some party. C.F. Martin & Co. has acknowledged his loyalty twice: in 1998 with the Martin HD-18JB Jimmy Buffett Signature Edition, a classic stage/studio guitar offered in an edition of 424 that sold out immediately, and in 2003 with the Martin 000-JBS Jimmy Buffett Shellback and 000-JBP Jimmy Buffett Pollywog Signature Editions, “off-shore” (as in sailboat-ready) guitars that totaled 168 and 305, respectively.

As Buffett recently pointed out, the one namesake guitar Martin hadn’t yet built for him was a “beach” guitar; a small, sturdy guitar to play at beach with friends and one that would bring that fun, carefree “beach” spirit wherever it went. So under Jimmy’s guidance – Martin Guitar is pleased to introduce the LX Jimmy Buffett.

The Martin LX Jimmy Buffett guitar features the same “go everywhere” design and materials as the popular and fine sounding LXM “Little Martin;” a modified 0 14-fret shape and short 23-inch scale, with an HPL body matched to Sitka spruce top bracing, a modified low oval Stratabond neck, tropical hardwood fingerboard, and Micarta belly bridge.

Delivered in a fitted gig bag, each Martin LX Jimmy Buffett guitar bears an interior label with Jimmy Buffett’s facsimile signature. A left-handed version of the LX Jimmy Buffett is available at no additional charge.

The LX Jimmy Buffett lists for $649 but is available for pre-order at Musicians Friend for $499 with free shipping.

Read more at Music Radar.

It’s the big day… tickets go on sale this morning for the first Jimmy Buffett shows of 2010.

Below are your show details with the direct links for purchasing tickets.

Jacksonville, FL
Saturday, February 20th
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Prices: $36 – $136
TicketMaster Link

Columbia, SC
Tuesday, February 23rd
Colonial Life Arena
Prices: $38, $78 and $128
TWCTix Link
There will be a lottery for those purchasing tickets at the Arena box office. Get the details here

Orlando, FL
Thursday, February 25th
Amway Arena
Prices: $35 – $135
TicketMaster Link

Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Saturday, February 27th
BankAtlantic Center
Prices: $36 – $136
TicketMaster Link

Tickets often sell out within minutes. Take a look at our advice on the Tickets Buying Tips page to ensure sure you have the best chance at getting the tickets you want.

If you do get shut out, you can try our Fun Ticket Transfer or reseller sites like Stubhub, TicketsNow, or TicketNetwork.