I am a BIG Hard Rock Cafe fan. After all, it started in London, and I'm a Anglophile to the bone. When I learned back in the 80's that Dallas was getting a HRC, I was so excited, I made my boyfriend at the time drive me to the construction site at 3 am, climbed the fence, and snuck in. (I wanted to be the first one in the new place!). At that time Dallas felt so behind the rest of the world in cool big city amenities. Getting a Hard Rock felt glamourous. And I still seek out the local HRC in every place I visit. It's still fun to me.
I'll even admit to shedding a few tears earlier this year when I finally got up the nerve to drive by the now empty corner of McKinney and Routh, where they not only razed the building to the ground, but a level below - to the basement. I'm easily bored and thrive on change, but having lived here my whole live, I DO have an emotional attachment to a few places (including the Granada Theater - God bless Mike Schroder for loving the place as much as me! He is one of my heroes for taking such good care of her) and the Dallas Hard Rock Cafe was one of those. I had so much fun there over the years. I once kissed John Waite in the lobby, and played on the stage many times with 5 different bands, sharing many a plate of nachos with my awesomely cool niece Amanda, not to mention celebrating plenty of my birthdays there, attending Guitar Show parties and seeing some great bands. The HRC partnered with KNON on several occasions, including a Thursday night blues series I hosted several years back. I was enraged at the closing - that a city our size, with the surrounding teeming Metroplex, couldn't keep it open. I really blamed the city for taking the focus off UpTown as a destination for tourists, and sending them instead to the bland lets-pretend-we're-Times-Square Victory Plaza outside the AAC.
So I was thrilled to read the following article this morning. All is not lost. Hey, you can take the girl out of rock (and give her the blues), but you can't take the rock out of the girl.
And I'm betting they'll resume their relationship with the local Blues scene, unlike that other big chain restaurant/concert place that recently came to town, that refuses to even acknowledge KNON or Southwest Blues......
So, Yes, a New Hard Rock Cafe's Coming to Dallas. Hard Rock Hotel Too.
Thu Jun 19, 2008 at 08:47:29 AM
Gone, but absolutely not forgotten.
A very curious note this morning, courtesy The Miami Herald. Because in its story about the Seminole Tribe striking a deal to put a Hard Rock Cafe inside the new $1.3-billion Yankee Stadium, along with an eatery called NYY Steak, there was this reference to the tribe's plans for expanding the chain: "In total, the tribe owns 127 Hard Rock Cafes, not including the new one to be built in Yankee Stadium plus two others planned in Seattle and Dallas." Pardon?
After the jump, the official word.
Of course, the old McKinney Avenue location's was razed in January. And we've heard rumblings about a Hard Rock Hotel: That was, in fact, the original plan for the St. Regis Hotel site in Uptown, says its developer; and there have been rumors swirling for more than a year that it might yet wind up in Victory Park.
New York-based publicist Marissa Mastellone, who handles PR for the Hard Rock's hotels and casinos, tells Unfair Park this morning that there are "no plans for a Hard Rock Hotel Dallas," at least in the next two years. "But I have a call already in to my development team based at the Hard Rock Corp. headquarters in Orlando to give me info on if they are at least 'looking'," she says, and promises to get back with more later.
As for a new Hard Rock Cafe here, Florida-based John Gogarty, who handles that side of the chain's publicity, is in transit from New York and has been unavailable for comment. We've left messages at his office and on his cell, and we'll update when he calls back.
Update: Gogarty has called back, but he's not sure "whether [the Miami] reference was a line from a press conference or something else." He too has said he will "check to see what's cooking" and get back later today with an official statement. But he does not that "Dallas is obviously a very important location to Hard Rock, and unfortunately it didn't work out there the first time." Which doesn't mean there won't be a second.
Update to the Update: At 9:25 a.m., Amanda Early, another publicist for Hard Rock, sends the official word: It's a go. Dunno where, dunno when. But Hard Rock returns. As in:
Below please find the statement released on behalf of Hard Rock International regarding plans for Hard Rock Cafe Dallas.
We believe that Dallas, and surrounding areas, are important markets for Hard Rock International.
We are actively exploring other opportunities in the area, including a Hard Rock Hotel/entertainment complex and more strategic locations for a Hard Rock Cafe in this market. A number of locations are currently under consideration.
We expect to return to the Dallas market, at the right time in the right location.So, indeed: a hotel and a cafe. Overpriced burgers for everyone! --Robert Wilonsky
