Happy Anniversary!… oh wait, not so much.

Sad news to report, the Cardiff HRC has suddenly closed, just 1 day shy of its 7th anniversary. 

I always think HRC doesn’t make the most out of these sudden closures.  I mean, celebrate the 7th anniversary anyway – advertise the hell out of it as a wrap party and go out rocker style!   Give thanks to the staff (let them get some  “you’ll soon be out of a job pity tips”) and let the HRC fans and collectors have a final night out at their HR cafe.  Believe me, if there was any merchandise on the shelf yesterday, a lot of it would have been sold at the ba bye party.  But maybe that’s just me.   Hwyl fawr Cardiff! 

In happier news, according to the hardrockcafe.com website, Sydney is getting another try at a cafe, which will open sometime in 2011.  Tampa will also get a cafe to go along with the Casino and Hotel.  St. Maarten has swung open its doors – the Rock Shop anyway! – the cafe will open sometime by the end of the year.

Cheers!

Denise

HRC Seattle!

This is a new section that I’m going to promote to all you HR Cafe hoppers out there – write something about your local cafe, send it to me and I’ll post it right here under a new category – My HR Cafe!  So to get things started, I’ll be the first to write an entry:

My local cafe is Seattle!  It finally opened it’s doors on February 10, 2010 and I am so thrilled to have a cafe to call my own again.

Mustang Guitar - bow to Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix!

HRC Seattle is ideally located a block up from the Pike Place Market – famous for the fish market (you know, the one where the staff throw your order across the floor to each other before packing it) and the original Starbucks location!  The 15-foot marquee Fender Mustang guitar is a sort of tribute to Kurt Cobain, although some may argue that Hendrix also played a Mustang early in his career… but let’s face it, why can’t it be a tribute to both?!  The Cafe is a different design from other HR locations in that it is a LEED certified building; meaning between construction with recycled materials, energy efficient air conditioners, heaters, appliances and lighting, the cafe hopes to reduce its carbon footprint by 25 metric tons per year!!  To top it off, the design is also beautiful and has an earthy feel to it (brick and timber), which fits right into the “granola” attitude around here.

Brick and Timber Earthy Look

HRH Tulsa

The rebranding of the Cherokee Casino to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino took two years but officially opened in Tulsa (Catoosa) on August 3, 2009:

HRH Tulsa entrance sign

The seventh hotel and casino in the Hard Rock family features 125,000 square feet of gaming space, several nightclubs and more than $2 million in rock music memorabilia.  There’s a bit of memorabilia for everyone, from Elvis, to Prince, to Toby Keith, to Madonna along with a dash of the Spice Girls.

Speaking of Toby, his “I Love This Bar and Grill” is one of the good eats you can visit while at the Casino. 

It also has 35,000 square feet of convention space, 350 luxury hotel rooms, and a 170-acre golf course!  What it didn’t get was a Hard Rock Cafe, which was not negotiated with the Hotel licensing agreement.

But don’t feel sad, little shot collector.  The Tulsa HRH has put out 2 shots so far.  A limited edition grand opening winged guitar on a purple glass and a new take on the Flame logo (similar to the Las Vegas HRH but with more color).

Check out www.hrcshots.com for images of the shot glasses.

Cheers!

Denise

HRC Dallas reopens!

Dallas Hard Rock Cafe re0pened it’s doors just over 2 years since it closed in March 2007.   Originally located in a fantastic old Baptist church, the building was unfortunately demolished on January 20, 2008.

HRC Dallas (old)

 

HRC Dallas demolished

 The new location resembles something like a parkade but it’s back and that’s what matters! 

HRC Dallas

Reopened July 15 2009!

For all you shot collectors – the new Red Circle and City 2009 shots are now available.