How Many Hard Rock Cafe Restaurants Are Left In The US?

Hard Rock Cafe is certainly one of the most recognizable restaurant and entertainment brands in the United States. The chain was founded in 1971 by American duo Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton while the pair was living in London. The two wanted a burger that reminded them of home to go along with a rock-and-roll-themed restaurant. Tigrett and Morton opened the first Hard Rock Cafe with a six-month lease in a former Rolls Royce Dealership, and the rest is history.

Today, over 50 years after that first location opened, the Hard Rock Cafe now operates 31 locations in the United States and more than 170 locations around the world. With all the expansion, however, Hard Rock's journey in the U.S. has had its share of both success and failure.

12 years after the first Hard Rock Cafe opened in London, the chain expanded to the United States, with its first U.S. location opening in 1982. The brand slowly grew throughout the states, expanding beyond restaurants and into hotels, casinos, and resorts in the 1990s and 2000s. That said, despite its global success, Hard Rock's operations haven't always run smoothly. Since the first location opened in 1983, nearly 80 total locations have opened and closed in the U.S.

If you're interested in visiting a Hard Rock Cafe these days, you'll find most of its current 31 locations scattered around the East Coast. The only locations you'll find in the Western U.S. are San Francisco, Sacramento, Hollywood, and Las Vegas, as well as one location in Honolulu. While Hard Rock Cafe isn't a regional chain, it maintains seven locations in Florida, which is nearly a quarter of its total locations in the U.S. Other states with multiple locations include New York and Tennessee. 

Hard Rock Cafe tends to operate in busier, more tourist-focused locations, as well as near casinos. Examples include its Times Square location, which you can get married in, Atlantic City, and the Nashville restaurant located on Broadway.

Overall, Hard Rock Cafe isn't the force it once was, but we still ranked it as one of the best themed dining chains in the United States. The restaurant is still afloat in the U.S., even if it thrives more internationally, so you can get a taste of the chain's menu almost anywhere. If you're looking for a music-centric restaurant experience with a decent selection of food, you could do a lot worse than Hard Rock Cafe.