More than fifty years ago, in 1971, the first Hard Rock Cafe was opened in London. Eric Clapton was especially happy to stay in it and he decided to place his guitar just above ‘his’ bar stool and thus start an avalanche of fascinating donations that great musicians, written in musical history, gave to this legendary, world-famous brand located in every corner of the world.
In Dubrovnik as well. This Wednesday, with a memorabilia tour, music, food and drinks, this Dubrovnik paradise is opened for all lovers of good music. At the opening, Pablo Castrogiovanni, general manager, and Tanya Hugo, director of operations of Hard Rock Cafe, gave a little speech to the media, as well as mayor Mato Franković in front of the City of Dubrovnik. He emphasized that this is the first licensed Hard Rock Cafe in the Republic of Croatia, which is a great honor for our city.
‘This space, that has its historical value, has gained a new value. We know very well what Hard Rock as a brand means in the world. Our city had the honor of being the first city in Croatia to offer a Hard Rock Cafe. The intention is for this facility to work throughout the year, and I think that is another added value. Truly a rich space in which there is much to see, from examples of guitars and other equipment that the Hard Rock Cafe brought to the City. I believe that our fellow citizens will find here a nice place to hang out, especially on winter days’ Mayor Franković stated.
‘This is the most beautiful Hard Rock Cafe location in the world. There are very few such shops opened in such a unique building, so we have to thank the Clare Monastery for providing the space for this purpose. Thank you to everyone who helped us realize this project. Our goal is to organize gatherings for a large number of people, a total of 422 people in the summer season, but also to enable fresh food delivery, for example from the Dubrovnik Parish. We want to contribute to Dubrovnik achieving even greater value. The plan is to organize live music at least once a week. We will procure wines from the Pelješac peninsula, the island of Korčula and Istria. I am very excited about the opening of the Hard Rock Cafe in Dubrovnik and it will certainly be a success’, the general manager of Hard Rock Cafe Pablo Castrogiovanni.
Tanya Hugo gave the audience a brief history of the Hard Rock Cafe, since 1971.
‘Hard Rock Cafe is one of the brands not only in terms of music, but also excellent gastronomy, drinks and so on. Hard Rock Cafe is present in 70 countries, in 225 locations, be they coffee shops, restaurants, casinos… Just recently, we launched online gaming sites as part of the digital experience of our guests’, pointed out Tanya Hugo, and recalled the incident with Clapton and his ‘special spot’ in London’s Hard Rock Cafe.
‘There are an incredible 86 thousand memorabilia pieces in our collection. Personally, my favorite is the love letter that Amy Winehouse wrote to her boyfriend at the time. This is something that touched me personally, but isn’t the point of such collections to touch you emotionally?’, Hugo pointed out further. As the most valuable piece, she mentioned the handwritten words of the song – and not just any – but John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, which is kept in the closed collection of the Hard Rock Cafe. She also mentioned the most interesting Hard Rock ‘spots’, such as the hotel in the shape of a guitar in Florida, the cafe in Reykjavik and the Hard Rock Cafe Tromsø, one of the northernmost points on Earth. In the coming period, she emphasized, they are also planning a Hard Rock Cafe at the airport in Bali, Bangkok, Argentina, Sao Paulo…
Finally, let’s mention once again that Hard Rock Cafe Dubrovnik will be open all year round, and will offer, they point out, a lot – from good music to the entire rock’n’roll experience!
