Jimmy Buffett's Burgers
Jimmy Buffett just loves to sing about food. There is the fabled shaker of salt, the cheeseburger in paradise, and, of course, the margarita. "Yeah, I'm livin' on things that excite me," he croons in one tune, "be they pastry or lobster or looooove." It would have been an offense to capitalism if the musician had not opened his chain of Margaritaville restaurants in tourist-heavy locales like Waikiki and Myrtle Beach. The casual dining spots, backed by Buffett's privately held Margaritaville Holdings LLC (a subsidiary of Cheeseburger Holding Co.) serve up comfort-style seafood dishes and hawk Buffett swag to Parrotheads (the affectionate name for his tropic-loving band of fans). And people like to taste away there: the Margaritaville on the Las Vegas strip is among the highest grossing restaurants in the nation. Meanwhile, Buffett is associated with the popular chain of island-themed Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurants, where "Jimmy Buffett's famous song comes to life," according to the corporate website. Which all just goes to show that the right singer can easily turn melodies about beef into actual cash cows.