The story of Margaritaville didn’t begin with a six string guitar. It didn’t begin in a blender or with the search for a missing salt shaker. It actually began with a Mexican restaurant chain named Chi-Chi’s in 1983.
Of course, we’re not talking about the genre creating escapist anthem penned by Jimmy Buffett a few years earlier. And we’re not talking about that Margaritaville we all have inside our heads that we find ourselves wasting away to from time to time. No, today we’re talking about the materialized concept. The physical place you can go, sit, eat, drink, and allow yourself, even for a moment or an afternoon, to escape into a world of palm trees, beaches, lighthouses, seaplanes, islands and most of all - music. We’re talking about Margaritaville bars and restaurants.
If you’ve been following Pod Tiki for any amount of time you are well aware of my affinity for Jimmy Buffett. Sure, I like him in the cheesy way most folks do. The fun songs, and tailgating, and t-shirts with our favorite lyrics relating to some part of our own personality. But before Buffett became synonymous with island themed hotels and frozen drink machines he was a prolific songwriter. His clever poetic lyrics embodied the culture and soul of the Caribbean and southeast U.S. in the same way Dylan did for Greenwich Village and the folk scene. Indeed, Jimmy Buffett was and is at heart a folk artist.
As an author, a playwright, a pilot, sailor, trodder of Earth and genre defining raconteur he created a lifestyle. And as a business man he created a lifestyle brand.
Following in the footsteps of Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic Jimmy created the space he saw in his head from years of traveling and gathering stories. He’s explored this crazy life from every angle and he wants to show us what he saw.
A while ago a listener, Peter Schmidt on instagram, hit me up suggesting it may be fun to do episodes on old school world famous Tiki bars. Although Margaritaville isn’t a Tiki bar persay, I felt it was the perfect place to start this endeavor as I am a Florida boy, Margaritas are my first love and favorite tropical drink, and May is a good month to feature Margaritaville due to its association with Mexico and Cinco de Mayo as well as May being my birthday month and I’m a huge fan. Of both Buffett and my birthday.
Margaritaville may not be a Tiki bar, though some locations do have Tiki leanings, but it shares the same world building authentic inauthenticity of our beloved faux paradise temples. Buffett may not have been the first escapism artist, but he certainly took it to levels unimagined by his predecessors.
Now, we can’t very well learn all about Margaritaville without a beverage accompaniment. So, before we get started - Let’s make a drink! In honor of my favorite Margaritaville drink I’m gonna make a nod to the Last Mango In Paris Margarita. A drink that’s no longer on the menu, having been replaced by a more straightforward mango flavored mix margarita. The original utilized Mango Tequila, Cointreau, house Margarita mix and cranberry juice. My favorite part though was the little chunks of mango floating through the drink that eventually sunk to the bottom and got stuck in the straw so every once in an unexpected while you got a little mango treat right to the back of your throat. Seriously, it was pretty delicious and I have been known to waste away on them at more than a few locations.
This recipe is more of a traditional mango margarita but using real mango rather than a flavored tequila or mix.
Take a large slice of mango, leave the skin on, and place skin side down in a shaker. Muddle that till the pulp becomes a mushy liquid. Pour on
1 oz of fresh lime juice
¾ oz Triple Sec
¼ oz Agave Nectar
2 oz Tequila Blanco
Add enough ice to cover the liquid and shake your little heart out. One chorus of Margaritaville should be long enough. Now pour the contents, mango and all, into a rocks glass and garnish with a lime wheel.
Okay, now we’re ready.
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I consider myself an educated connoisseur of very few things, but when it comes to Mexican restaurants I am a bit of a salt rimmed savant. I love a super gimmicky Mexican joint. One of my fav pastimes is just chilling at Mexican cantina bars munching on chips salsa and drinking giant mugs of Modelo. Seriously, Germans are known for their large steins, but they got nothing on the 32 oz of beer you get at a Mexican restaurant. I can’t even drink a whole one before the last quarter of beer is warm.
The thing about Mexican restaurants, though? Ironically, not known for the best Margaritas. I’m not talking shit about Mexican bartenders. I’ve been to Mexico and had most of the best margaritas in my life there. Don’t believe me? Well, next time you leave the salubrious confines of your Carnival cruise how about you mosey right on by Senor Frogs and hop a cab into town. I promise you there are real Mexican restaurants, and bars, and shops. It’s not like as soon as you step outside the dock there’s a bandolero with a machete waiting to stab you. In fact, Mexican bartenders are quite proud and knowledgeable about their tequilas and Margaritas.
Problem is, those guys and gals aren’t working at your neighborhood chain restaurant. Thus, we get a waiter or line cook throwing together a pitcher of high fructose hangover fuel. That’s precisely why the Mexican chain Chi-Chi’s needed a gimmick. Taco Tuesday is a time tested staple, but they thought they would up the ante on their version by offering margarita specials and dubbing Tuesday night’s at Chi-Chi’s “margaritaville”, capitalizing off the popularity of the recently released Jimmy Buffett hit.
As you might imagine Buffett’s lawyers saw dollar signs, but it wasn’t that simple. Chi-Chi’s had some money too. What ensued was a legal battle between restaurant and recording artist based on the claim from Chi-Chi’s that recording publishing rights did not transcend legal boundaries into restaurants. Remember, Jimmy Buffett had not yet become the cultural phenom we associate with his name today. In fact, this litigation would go on for three years.
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Meanwhile, Michael LaTona was selling t-shirts out of the back of his car in Florida when he approached Jim Mazzotta with an idea to create shirt designs based on his favorite Buffett songs. Mazzotta was a newspaper illustrator at the time known for his ability to bring vivid color and life to the otherwise demur pages of black and white news. It took Mazzotta awhile to come around on the idea eventually drawing up some of the iconic designs we now associate with the brand. A blown out flip-flop, sail boat, and of course, giant margaritas. The two managed to procure a meeting with Jimmy in Orlando who actually fell in love with the idea giving birth to the first Buffett inspired clothing line - Caribbean Soul.
It was here we get the first glimpse of the community forming around the idea of margaritaville as a concept. You see, over time Mazzotta realized that fans didn’t like it when Buffett himself, or any people at all, appeared in the shirt designs. The notion of Margaritaville, the fictional escape destination, was that it could be anyone; that it could be you laying in that hammock under a palm tree. So, Mazzotta came up with what will later become the mascot for the whole brand. Something tropically anthropomorphic without being too distinct, or exclusive. Something relatable that can be cleverly placed in any situation while maintaining a tongue-in-cheek air of levity. How about a parrot holding a margarita glass! The very same that can still be found perched atop the franchise logo today.
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How does one go about getting their hands on this coveted merch? The first licensed store opened as J.B.’s Margaritaville in 1984 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Guests could shop for t-shirts while sipping margaritas loudly whirling in blenders all night, under a tiki torch lit ceiling which was painted like a blue sky with white clouds. Buffett even stopped in and played a few times.
It was a valiant effort by the future business mogul, but sadly, after a series of hurricanes in 1985 decimated the area J.B.’s was never able to rebuild its clientele and resume business.
But, alas! The maestro of margs didn’t waste time shortly after opening a Margaritaville store in Lands End Village on Captiva island Florida. It was run by a couple of Jimmy’s friends. Donna Kay Smith, whose namesake is he borrowed for a character in A Salty Piece of Land, and Cindy Thompson, who as of 2017, remains on the payroll. Mind you the lawsuit with Chi-Chi’s still languished along.
Jimmy was back living in Key West at this time putting the finishing touches on new records and the style that would soon become his brand. His various haunts, like Captain Tony’s, not only influenced his songwriting, but also the brand designs. Song lyrics began adorning the shirts with just enough anonymity to be applied to day to day escapists.
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It was after the release of the album Last Mango In Paris that crowds began in earnest developing the lifestyle that it would become. Ex-Eagles bassist Timothy B Schmit who had joined the Coral Reefer band for a stint recalls seeing a sea of concert goers wearing foam parrot hats and hawaiian shirts drinking margaritas. He told Buffett, “these are like your own dead heads.” To which Jimmy frankly replied, “No. They’re parrot heads.” It had Begun.
The movement was solidified when in 1986 Jimmy Buffett finally won the lawsuit against Chi-Chi’s avowing to, “associate the term ‘Margaraitaville’ with the public persona of Jimmy Buffett”. A collective sigh of relief was followed by the sound of thousands of concoction filled blenders whirling to life in bombinating unison across the tropics.
In 1987 the Margaritaville Cafe and store officially found its home along Duval St. in Key West, FL. Complete with an office around the corner to run the company. This first real Margaritaville was inspired by JImmy’s time in Nashville. A long venue with a bar along one side and a little stage in the back. I had the opportunity to go to this one and it truly was just a little wooden beach shack with hanging sign above the door and plenty of libations to hold while perusing the locally branded merchandise.
Decreed by JImmy’s wishes it catered to a middle of the road crowd. Not too exclusive, but just lofty enough to dissuade the sloppy drunks from stumbling in off Mallory Square. Kevin Boucher, a former New York club owner, was tasked with running the joint and it was actually his recipe that made up the first Cheeseburger in Paradise offered on the menu. A blend of beef and brisket. Fans flooded the place and the entirety of the Keys become synonymous with the Jimmy Buffett lifestyle. Margaritaville - a place where anyone can escape to Jimmy’s world, if even for just a few beers.
The fan base grew. Those fans indoctrinating their kids into the lifestyle and the next generation of parrot heads continues that same tradition to this day. It was indeed my father’s copy of Songs You Know By Heart that was my first introduction to Buffett. And Jimmy, always with the mantra of give-the-fans-what-they-want, began branding everything from more clothing options to Margaritaville frozen concoction makers to glassware, home decor, and yep - even little salt shakers. (Better buy two in case you lose one.)
The venue also expanded, opening up a location in Buffett’s other home away from home, New Orleans. This location focused on the live music aspect featuring local jazz acts and the such. While back in Key West a new age of singer/songwriters took the stage coming in from as far as Nashville and beyond. Many eventually being signed to Buffett’s label.
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Still, the story does not end here. As Jimmy’s fan base grew, so did their wallets. This potential did not go unnoticed by the Seagrams Company who showed interest in opening a Margaritaville franchise in Orlando. See, they had recently purchased Universal Studios and MCA records. Meaning it essentially owned Jimmy Buffett’s record label and the places Jimmy Buffett fans go to vacation. Insert match made in Heaven analogy.
Buffett toyed with the offer from Universal claiming it needed to be high quality, clever, and fun. At the same time hotel mogul Steve Wynn showed interest in a Las Vegas location. Buffett called upon old Florida friend and wall street executive John Cohlan to be partner in Margaritaville Holdings. And so it came to pass that in 1999 the first large scale Margaritaville was opened in Orlando, Florida at Universal City Walk.
Complete with a large nautical themed dining area, two bars, one featuring prize fish hanging from the ceiling, the other with a large volcano behind the bar that erupts on the hour and flows green margarita lava, a vast patio dubbed The Porch of Indecision, and of course, a stage. Video monitors play round the clock live Buffett concerts and shots of tailgating fans exhibiting libation fueled antics in only the way true parrot heads can. There’s even an outdoor “tiki” bar across the path where folks can escape alongside the water while gazing upon Jimmy’s sea plane the actual Hemisphere Dancer which is permanently docked there.
I remember when it opened. I was a year out of high school and already a burgeoning Buffett buff. In fact, I was the only kid I knew of bumpin’ Banana Wind out of pioneer 12’s in the trunk of a drop-top ‘66 Impala with 10 switches. That’s right, I was taking corners in 3-wheel motion while Jimmy was telling me not to be a Cultural Infidel or make a Jamaica Mistaica. I recall the vibe of it being cool because it was at Universal. City Walk broke the stereotypical family-only feel of the other local theme parks. It boasted a Hard Rock Live, Pat O’Brian’s, Bob Marley’s reggae themed restaurant, The Red Coconut Club, Latin Quarter, Cigarz, and now a Margaritaville!
In my twenties I spent lots of days in the parks riding Dueling Dragons and Hulk coaster, and many, many, nights in Cigarz and the Red Coconut Club. But that inner Florida in me always felt a pull towards the relaxing escapist revelry Margaritavillle had to offer. In fact, I’ve spent most of my life making that a reality so I didn’t have to escape anymore. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way seeing as how Margaritaville Orlando did $18 million in their first year.
In author Ryan’s Whites words, “Everyone who was around before marks Orlando as the after.” From rickety local t-shirt shop to world-wide brand, huge theme restaurant franchise, Hotel chain in addition to vast vacation resorts, Landshark beer, record labels, JWB Steakhouse, airport lounges, live music venues and a prodigious merchandise line that ranges the gamut from home tiki bars to cigar lighters. The thoughts and experiences of one man have sparked a multi-generational cultural movement.
One of my favorite things about Margaritaville’s is how they theme each location to the area. Orlando has a fun vacation vibe. In Montego bay the rooftop becomes a local dance club at night. Ocho Rios’s open air lounge and swim up bar backs up to a small private beach cove. Destin boasts a 2 story lighthouse theme overlooking the marina while the tide rigging sings. In Nashville there’s an upstairs Cowboy in the Jungle bar. While vegas offers a Margaritaville casino. All of which provoke a particular mood of thought by the lyrics scribbled on the wall. Like the hotel here in Nashville which reminds you as soon as you pull in the parking loop to, “Live happily ever after, every now and then.”
Of course, we can’t round out a discussion of Margaritaville without comparing how many we’ve been to. And I wanna hear all about your experiences on Pod Tiki’s social media. I’ll start. Orlando, Destin, Hollywood FL, Key West, Las Vegas, Pigeon Forge, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, Nashville, Cozumel, 2 locations in Ft Lauderdale airport, and 1 in Montego Bay airport. I would love to hear about where ya’ll have been and where you’d like to visit. On my list is the Cayman Islands Location. I’ve been to the Bahamas, but before the resort was there. So, that’s on my list as well.
I acknowledge that like theme parks, music, and sushi, Jimmy Buffett can be quite divisive. But I contend that no one can attest that a little Buffett in the background doesn’t add to the situation. Because much like our beloved Tiki temples Margaritavillle is both real and imagined.
It may be escapism, but it’s not fake. A visit to Margaritaville may be an afternoon, evening, or weekend for you, but for Jimmy - it’s his life.
Sources: Jimmy Buffet: A Good Life All The Way - by Ryan White. And my own life experience.