New stage for Hard Rock

Tar Singh, an engineer from Malaysia in New York on business, took a side trip to the Hard Rock store in Times Square yesterday to buy a T-shirt for his teenage daughter. It didn't much matter that the cavernous restaurant in the old Paramount Theater wasn't opening until today -- he was happy to have an American souvenir to add to a collection born in the chain's Hong Kong, London and Paris locations.

After 21 years on West 57th Street, the Hard Rock Cafe, the granddaddy of theme restaurants, is moving to tourist central, to an historic space where the Beatles and Frank Sinatra performed, where Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" movie premiered, and where it will host live concerts.

The new location is "where quests expect us to be," said director of operations David Miller, largely because of the address that plays to the tourist trade but also because of the theater milieu.

For Hard Rock International, which has expanded into hotels and casinos, merchandise sales constitute a large chunk of the company's $426-million annual revenues. The 1,800-square-foot Times Square store opened July 1. About 70 percent of its visitors are out-of-towners.

External Source - For the complete article click here

Source - Newsday


Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Reader Comments:

Be the first to leave a comment for this article

Tweet