The long-rumored opening of a Margaritaville restaurant at Destiny USA in Syracuse, New York was finally officially announced on Thursday.

The mall officially confirmed this morning what regular readers here have known for months. The entertainment and dining venue is heading to a spot on the third floor of Destiny’s expansion section across from Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill.

“There’s only a handful of Margaritavilles across the entire U.S.,” said Rob Schoeneck, Destiny general manager. “It brings our entertainment venues to just a whole new level.”

Aja, a nightclub, was previously headed to the Margaritaville spot, but those plans fell through. It was a combination of Aja pulling back and Destiny deciding to go in a different direction with the space, Schoeneck said.

The Margaritaville will include 12,000 square feet of entertainment and dining space, a 5 o’clock Somewhere Bar with a live performance stage, multiple dining areas with total seating for 330 people and a 700-square-foot Margaritaville store.

It’ll feature the chain’s signature margaritas and coastal-style food.

Got your tickets to a fall Buffett show yet? View tour dates now!

It was announced nearly two months ago that Jimmy Buffett’s restaurant in Waikiki would close, but a new operator has stepped in and will run the place under a license from Jimmy.

The operators of Hawaii chef and restaurateur Peter Merriman’s Monkeypod Kitchen will take over the Jimmy Buffet’s at the Beachcomber restaurant, which closes at the end of this month, Outrigger Enterprises Group said Tuesday.

Outrigger, which manages the Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort, said Tuesday that Handcrafted Restaurants LLC, will continue to operate the restaurant under the Jimmy Bufett’s brand following a one-week closure from Sept. 1-7 while the space in the upper lobby level of the hotel undergoes a renovation.

“We are honored to carry on Jimmy Buffett’s great operation in Waikiki and look forward to expanding on its popularity with a few changes to the facilities and new additions to the menu that highlight Hawaii local flavors,” Bill Terry, partner at Handcrafted Restaurants, said in a statement. “The interview process is currently underway with restaurant management and staff and we expect a quick and easy transition.”

Handcrafted Restaurants, a partnership between Merriman and Terry, also operates Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman’s two locations in Ko Olina Resort in West Oahu and Wailea on Maui.

Jimmy Buffet’s, which opened in 2009, is part of the Margaritaville’s restaurant group that has 21 locations in the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean, according to its website.

It’s been a year and a half since we told you about the possibility of Margaritaville opening in Syracuse, New York, and it appears headed to fruition, according to Syracuse.com.

Assemblyman Al Stirpe, D-Cicero, confirmed that a bill he co-sponsored involving a major new tenant for the mall referred to Margaritaville. The bill, which would allow the bar and restaurant to open at Destiny, has passed the Senate and Assembly.

The mall hasn’t officially announced Margaritaville yet.

The chain appears to be heading for the vacant space across the hall from Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill on Destiny’s entertainment-focused third floor.

Destiny USA, previously known as the Carousel Center from 1990-2012, is a six-story super-regional shopping and entertainment complex on the shore of Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York. It is the sixth largest shopping center in the nation.

Jimmy Buffett’s latest Margaritaville restaurant opens next Monday (June 16th) in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Officials will celebrate the opening of the beach-themed restaurant, inspired by Buffett’s famous song, with a ribbon cutting on June 16 at 9:30 am. The festivities are open to the public, and the restaurant will open for business after the ceremony.

A Margaritaville Island Hotel is set to open as well, but not until October. They’re taking reservations now at margaritavilleislandhotel.com.

View a sneak peek of the restaurant at pigeonforgetnguide.com.

Jimmy Buffett’s latest Margaritaville restaurant opened for business on Monday in Destin, Florida.

from The Destin Log:

With the cut of a ribbon, over-the-top margaritas and enough fanfare to make Mickey Mouse jealous, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville is ready to “let the fin begin” after Monday’s grand opening.

“I can’t begin to tell you how excited we are to be here,” said Flavio Yepo, the restaurant’s general manager.

The 27,000-square foot, harbor front restaurant is the newest edition to HarborWalk Village. The Buffett-inspired eatery was packed to the gills with hungry residents, news media and Parrot Heads.

With both indoor and outdoor seating, Margaritaville sits in the former home of Lucky Snapper along the harbor, and features enough seating for more than 400 guests.

Margaritaville has already hired and trained more than 200 employees to work in its Destin location.

As for whether the famed singer will make an appearance? You’ll just have to keep an eye and ear open as Buffett is known to play impromptu shows at his various restaurants nationwide.

View more photos from the opening here.