House of Blues!

House of Blues

The House of Blues is a chain of restaurants founded in 1992 by Dan Aykroyd and his friend (and Hard Rock Cafe founder) Isaac Tigrett. The charter restaurant, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has since closed. Jim Belushi is also closely associated with the enterprise, and is present at most openings. James Cafarelli designed and built all the House of Blues's except the most recent two.

Originally, the venture was promoted as a restaurant that featured music, but the concert to open was so popular that it was reconceived as a concert hall that featured food. It has also expanded into the casino business, working with Harrah's Entertainment to open a HOB-themed Poker room at the Showboat Hotel-Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The franchise has expanded to a number of major American cities. The location in the Los Angeles Sunset Strip is famous with being lined with tinfoil from the house where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil. All the unique decorations and design is credited to Cafarelli who is a restaurateur in New England and has designed and built over 250 different restaurants and clubs all across the country.

Current locations: Cleveland, Ohio, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, San Diego, California, Chicago, Illinois, New Orleans, Louisiana, Los Angeles, California, two venues on casino property including Las Vegas, Nevada (at Mandalay Bay), Atlantic City, New Jersey (at the Showboat Casino), two venues on Disney property, one at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and one at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. (Disney was at one time a partial shareholder, according to DisneyWar by James B. Stewart.) The Chicago location is adjacent to The House of Blues Hotel, which is managed by Gemstone resorts International, LLC

Plans for the immediate future call for locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (set to open in spring 2006) and Houston, Texas.

In his stand up comedy routine "You Are All Diseased," George Carlin comments that the House of Blues ought to be burned down by Black People in retaliation for white people burning down black churches.

The pop rock band, They Might be Giants has created about three songs for each House of Blues venue they have played, New Orleans, West Hollywood, and Anaheim, California. All songs can be heard on the Venue Songs CD. During The Cult's 1999 reunion tour, every time the band played at a House of Blues, the owners would change the sign on the marquee to read: House of Cult. The Cult played eight sold out nights in a row at the Los Angeles House of Blues, more than any band has ever done before or since.

On July 5, 2006, it was announced that Live Nation bought House of Blues. The deal should close by the end of the year.