Margaritaville is coming to the Windy City. Jimmy Buffett will open a Margaritaville Cafe at the famed Navy Pier in downtown Chicago after beating out 10 other bidders:

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns and operates the pier, approved the lease Wednesday morning.

“So, we’ll have the Caribbean in February on Navy Pier,” said David Mosena, board chairman. The authority is hoping the restaurant and entertainment venue will serve as an attendance magnet year-round.

Buffett, in a prepared statement, expressed his excitement for the new venue, targeted to open next spring.

“From my earliest days in the city, playing the Quiet Knight on Belmont, to the pinnacle of live performances to me, singing in front of the ivy wall at Wrigley Field, I have had a long and wonderful history and affection for the people, the music, the art and the food of the Windy City. I have always thought of Chicago as a beach town, a pretty big one, but still a beach town.”

Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Read more about Jimmy’s Margaritaville Cafe empire here.

Update – The restaurant is expected to open next Spring in the space currently occupied by Charlie’s Ale House.

The new Margaritaville Nashville is hosting a job fair today and tomorrow in downtown Nashville at the Holiday Inn Express:

The first Margaritaville Cafe opened 25 years ago in Key West, and to celebrate they are offering not-so-secret specials that aren’t on the menu.

The “Not Too Particular, Not Too Precise” cheeseburger, a “1985” Margarita and 25% off the 25th Anniversary Tee are all available by request only at select locations. You won’t see these on the menu, so the only way to get these specials is to ask for them by name!

Not too Particular Not too Precise Cheeseburger
A special Cheeseburger in Paradise for sure. A handmade patty of 100% fresh ground chuck, cooked to order with Margaritaville Seasoning Salt topped with American cheese, red onion, lettuce and tomato (Heinz 57 available on the side) on a toasted bun. Served with French fried potatoes and big kosher pickle. A cold draft LandShark beer is optional, if you’re old enough!

1985 Margarita
A timeless classic! 12 oz. margarita made with Margaritaville Gold and Silver Tequila, Gran Gala, Cointreau, simple syrup, and fresh lime juice. Served with salted rim, and a lime.

You can also get a 25th anniversary t-shirt. Mention the 25th Anniversary Tee secret sale to get 25% off the 25th Anniversary Tee at participating venues. The black vintage concert tee features three Polaroid pictures of a concert crowd during “Fins” and has a list of Margaritaville restaurants with their corresponding opening year on back.

25th Anniversary specials are valid at these locations:

• Key West, FL
• New Orleans, LA
• Orlando, FL
• Las Vegas, NV
• Myrtle Beach, SC
• Glendale, AZ
• Panama City Beach, FL
• Mohegan Sun, CT
• Waikiki Beach, HI

The Margaritaville Cafe currently under construction in Nashville is looking for parrothead license plates to use as decorations.

Have an old Parrothead license plate laying around that would look great as a decoration in the new Margaritaville opening later this year in Nashville? Send it to us and be a part of Music City’s Margaritaville decór! License plates only please. Any plates mailed in become the property of Margaritaville and will not be returned.

Mail your parrothead license plates to:

Margaritaville
7272 Kingspointe Pkwy
Suite 650
Orlando, FL 32819

The Nashville Margaritaville is on pace to open before Christmas. Visit the official site at www.margaritavillenashville.com.

Jimmy Buffett’s latest Margaritaville Cafe is on schedule to open before Christmas:

A $10 million remodeling project on Lower Broadway to house Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Cafe continues on schedule so the beach-themed restaurant and live-music venue can open by Christmas, the building’s owners say.

Both floors of the century-old building at 322 Broadway are being prepared for a variety of bars, dining areas and performance stages. Interior framing was under way as the owners toured the site with the architects and general contractor late last week.

“A lot of people are excited this building is coming to life again,” said Mark Bloom, a principal in the Corner Partnership, which owns the building and is paying for the renovations.

Once a Planet Hollywood restaurant and bar, the Broadway location most recently housed the Global Cafe — an Internet cafe — but has been vacant for more than a year now.

The biggest challenge in completing the Buffett project is working inside a historic building, where crews have found surprises behind walls, under the floors and in the ceilings, said project architect Sara Atherton.

“Opening the walls, we’ve found all kinds of structural changes that have been made over the years,” she said.

That includes steel reinforcements for the original plaster walls, as well as ornate windows facing Broadway on the second floor that had been covered from the inside for years.

The two rows of windows have now been uncovered, and that allow lots of light into a room that had been “dark and dank” before, Atherton said.

At street level, there will be a restaurant, three bars and two areas for live music, including a small stage in the back. On the second floor will be two more bars, additional restaurant space, a small concert hall with seating for about 200, and a separate party room, Bloom said.

Visit the official site for the new location at http://www.margaritavillenashville.com.