Hard Rock Cafe Tampa | First Look

Ladies and Gentlemen, Rockers and Rockettes, the time has finally come to introduce the turning point that is sure to be the social epitome of Tampa Bay's rock & roll scene. This is the time for the Hard Rock Cafe, and this is the time to be legitimately blown away. This particular Hard Rock Cafe has been dreamt, designed and created as one of the only HRC's in the entire world to offer an entertaining technology based theme. Let us delve straight into all the amenities to be experienced come December 21st.

Picture it... you enter the casino's main entrance and stroll past the many slot machines, only to be welcomed by a stunning view of the newly built Hard Rock Cafe. Upon entry, you will find yourself at a host stand built from a multitude of microphones that surround the many amazing personalities that make up the host staff. Just beyond the host stand, your breath is taken away by the brilliant bar which displays gaming machines on the bar itself, a dome wrapped in Hard Rock insignia lights, and cocktail tables that include a multi-user interface to be entertained with. In layman's terms: a table that is a computer. This 'table computer' not only allows multiple users, but also knows which direction each user is facing so that everything the user selects is facing them. Brilliance simply does not define the experience. Imagine bringing up the globe, very similar to google earth, and zooming into any Hard Rock Hotel in the world, viewing their memorabilia, such as a letter from Elvis Presley, and zooming into his signature. "You have literally just gone from looking at the entire world to zooming into a signature on a letter." - Joe Tenczar (Sr. Director of Technology).

Thus far, you have visited the host stand and experienced the bar, but imagine you requested a table. One of the hostesses will now guide you around the bar either to be seated or to wait. The beauty of this is that the team at Hard Rock thought up a way to make this potential 'wait' that much more entertaining; after all, isn't that what the Hard Rock is about? The creators provide this entertainment with an 18 foot wide interactive wall. That's right, imagine an 18 foot wide iPad! Originally inspired by Las Vegas' HRC, they have created the "highest resolution interactive wall in the world." (Joe Tenczar). This 'wall' provides multiple users to view a magical array of memorabilia that Hard Rock Hotels offer world-wide. When you see a piece you like, you simply touch it and it zooms into the center of the screen, also displaying a description of what the piece is as well as where it is in the world. You are sure to be pulled away from the wall before you even realize your table is ready.

Imagine now that you are headed to your table and upon sitting down you see what seems to be a television mounted on the side of your booth. This 'television' is actually another interactive tool to keep you entertained with memorabilia, as the 'wall' did, but also let you scroll through the different musical artists to select a song to play over the speakers for the entire Cafe to hear. How this works is a system of voting. Users pick a song and in turn vote on songs to play. The most popular will be played in cue, thus delighting the majority of the guests at all times. Sheer and utter brilliance.

Depending on the time and day you are rocking out at the cafe, you can enjoy the live music that will be played such as Sister Hazel on New Year's Eve. The creative dynamic that was brought to Tampa's HRC is that they offer live music Fridays and Saturdays until about midnight to 1 a.m. to be followed by DJ Chris Craze from 1 a.m. until whenever the party decides to wind down!

I had to leave the most intriguing and undoubtedly differentiating factor of this HRC to last, the gamer's room. The first Hard Rock Cafe to offer its' own room of Black Jack that features some of the most prominent female musical artists to date such as, Cher and Shakira. This room allows patrons to a game of blackjack while being entertained by none other than go-go dancers of a beautiful descent.

There are simply not enough words to describe every intricate detail of this cafe, including the chandeliers being made from speakers. Only first-hand experience can truly give you the spectacular atmosphere and entertainment that this team has worked so hard to offer. Be one of the first to experience one of the first. By that, meaning this HRC is the testing ground for the technological-based HRC's across the world. Treat yourself to rocking service, food, drinks, music, gaming and ultimately a night sure to bring memories for a lifetime.

In closing, the Tampa Bay Area should recognize that this project created 400 construction jobs and 175 internal positions. According to John Fontana, President of Hard Rock in Tampa, they will be offering comedy nights, live music, and night club environments. He spoke to the questions about whether or not there would be a cover charge but simply stated that "it is still up in the air, although almost likely."

Special thanks to: John P. Fontana (President), Matthew Sadowski (Head Chef), Donny Crawley (HRC Manager), and Joe Tenczar (CIO), for the interviews, tours and information making this article possible. Stay tuned for more information on the food in the cafe and event dates.