Word: tigrett
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...course, Tigrett had been there, done that, sold the T shirt when he was heading the Hard Rock chain. His new venture would be, had to be, different. He had been studying Hinduism in India, but now he would find his inspiration in the music of the blues...
Blues music today is in some ways what rock used to be: outside the system, neglected by mainstream radio, but beloved by a small and growing group of loyal listeners. Tigrett, 47, has long been one of them. He grew up on a plantation outside Memphis, Tennessee, where he was surrounded by such music, and he sees himself as leading the crusade to bring blues into the mainstream. "I've been into the blues ever since I was a kid," he says. "The first music that I heard, the first storytelling I ever heard, the first culture that ever entered...
Once he settled on the idea of starting his blues chain, Tigrett wisely spread the financial risk by appealing to friends for the start-up money to fund his venture. Dan Aykroyd (who played one of the dark-suited Blues Brothers on TV and in films) chipped in, as did actor Jim Belushi (brother of the late John Belushi, Aykroyd's fellow Blues Brother). Even Harvard University pitched in $10 million because an investment fund it runs liked Tigrett's plan. In all, the resourceful--or at least very well-connected--Tigrett raised about $30 million in private cash...
Since then, Tigrett has moved quickly toward making the House of Blues as aggressively ubiquitous as the Hard Rock Cafe. There are HOBs in New Orleans and Los Angeles. A new franchise will open in Chicago later this year; a location is being scouted in New York City (already teeming with theme restaurants); and venues are being planned for Tokyo, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Berlin. Can Puttaparthi be far behind...
...from the Los Angeles and New Orleans HOBs totaled more than $35 million last year. "If you watch Isaac at work, he's a genius--he looks rock 'n' roll, but he thinks Madison Avenue," says John Sykes, president of the music video network vh1 and a friend of Tigrett's. "He is building a quality brand--you come and hear the blues, buy a burger and a T shirt on the way out. That's pure Isaac. He's not a quick-buck guy. He thinks long-term, and he puts together very solid franchises...