According to custom, a guitar smash recently was held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in honor of its new Hard Rock Café Hollywood and adjacent casino expansion—the first areas to be completed in the property’s $1.5 billion expansion. Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen said, “About two years ago we made a decision to really get into the day-to-day business of the café business, This is a second launch with a new commitment to the quality of food.”
The new 10,000 square foot, 250-guest cafe will be a model for the latest redesign of the Hard Rock brand. Like other Hard Rock Cafés a around the world, it’s decorated with pop-rock memorabilia. It features an open kitchen concept with state-of-the-art equipment, including a new 7-foot artisanal brick pizza oven. In addition, steak burgers will be prepared fresh throughout the day at Hard Rock Cafe’s new meat grinding room. Hard Rock International President of Café Operations Stephen K. Judge said a proprietary blend of spices is the key to the popularity of the burgers.
Other new additions include a triangular island bar, a central stage for live music on weekends and a redesigned Rock Shop where visitors can purchase souvenirs, said Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood President Auggie Cipollini.
The expansion is scheduled for completion in fall 2019. The 450-foot, 640-room guitar tower was topped off in July. Allen said about 45-50 percent of the glass exterior is finished. “I don’t want to jinx us but we’re actually a little bit ahead of schedule,” he said.
A Seminole Hard Rock spokeswoman said additional dining and retail will be announced in the coming months.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida operates 12 casinos, 27 hotels and 183 Hard Rock cafes in 74 countries worldwide under the Hard Rock International brand.
