Las Vegas Weekly

June 10, 2009 · 10:42 AM

Inside the Strip’s new three-story, 41,000-square-foot Hard Rock Cafe

By Robin Leach

Sketches of the planned Hard Rock Cafe remodel.

Photo: Hard Rock Hotel

One giant rock and roll party is headed to the Strip thanks to the Seminole Indians of Florida. Hard Rock International, owned by the tribe, is set to open a massive 41,000-square-foot, three-story flagship Hard Rock Cafe the first weekend in September. It will dominate the new Showcase Mall development next door to the MGM Grand. (The existing Hard Rock Cafe owned by the Seminole Indians in front of the Hard Rock Hotel -- not owned by them -- will continue to operate there, too.)

“The new location can best be compared to New York when we moved from 57th Street to Times Square, where we have tripled sales, and Boston, where we recently relocated to the Faneuil Hall area and enjoyed incredible success,” said Hamish Dodds, president and CEO of Hard Rock International. “Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, and there is no better location than our new home on the Strip.”

As one of the largest entertainment complexes in the world, it will join 123 high-energy Hard Rock Cafes and eight hotels and casinos in 46 countries. The new Hard Rock Cafe will include a 700-seat restaurant, a bar and a 1,642-square-foot outdoor dining deck overlooking the Strip. Up top on the third floor, there will be a 1,000-seat concert venue with a bar.

It also will have the largest Rock Shop in the world with music memorabilia from the Hard Rock’s unmatched collection. You can’t miss the building on the Strip because of the larger than life guitar that’ll run the height of the building’s exterior. There’ll be interactive Microsoft Surface tables for customers to play games or connect to the high-speed Internet.

Vegas DeLuxe will report on all the continuing developments at the music mecca, and thanks to our good friend Chief Joe Osceola, we’ll be there reporting live on opening weekend.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter HERE.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter HERE.

Share This