Post #414928 by moondog426 on Wed, Oct 22, 2008 6:16 PM

what next?

Recording artist-turned empire builder Jimmy Buffett is bringing a restaurant to the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber -- but it won't be called Margaritaville, as are his nine other restaurants.

There has been talk of him opening a Hawaii eatery for years.

The $15 million Jimmy Buffett's at the Beachcomber is to open in late 2008 with construction to start soon on the 22,000 square foot restaurant that will seat 400 customers.

The eatery and bar will be on Kalakaua Avenue above Macy's on the hotel's lobby level, replacing the Hibiscus Cafe and Don Ho and Blue Hawaii showrooms.

"Our partnership with Jimmy Buffett has made it possible to bring this unique new concept to Waikiki," said Dean Nakasone, general manager of Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber, in a statement.

Buffett, also in a statement, said he has "had a long love affair with Hawaii and her people."

"I have written many stories and songs inspired by my time in Hawaii and can't wait to see what the future holds in the land that is so far but yet so near," he said.

The restaurant's food, like that at his Margaritaville restaurants, will be inspired by the island themes in Buffett's songs including island-style seafood and burgers, which brings us to Cheeseburger in Paradise.

The Waikiki and Maui restaurants have no connection to Buffett except for a lawsuit he filed against the business years ago over its use of the name, taken from one of his songs.

The two eateries got to keep the name, but others have been named for their locations, such as Cheeseburger Waikiki.