The Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) was founded in 1971 by two Americans,
Issac Tigrett and Peter Morton. The first Hard Rock Cafe opened near Hyde Park Corner in London. Now, there are over 143 cafes
in 36 countries.
Hard Rock Cafe began to expand globally when Tigrett and Morton decided
to develop their own cafes world-wide. The Rank Group eventually bought them both out.
Within the past few years, Hard Rock has opened Hotels and Casinos
in Florida, Tampa, Biloxi, Las Vegas, and London. Hard Rock Park, the newest experiment, will open in Spring, 2008.
This will be a 140-acre theme park located in South Carolina.
Hard Rock Cafe is most well known for its shirts and pins. In the 1980's,
it was common for travelers to visit as many locations and possible and and collect a Hard Rock t-shirt (see our
merchandise page). Now pin collecting is the current rage.
