From Indian ashram, HRC vet Tigrett seeks Bozo's sale

Nation's Restaurant News,  Nov 5, 2007  by Lisa Jennings

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SAI BABA ASHRAM, INDIA -- If Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the world-renowned Hard Rock Care and House of Blues chains, achieved an "eatertainment" trifecta with the creation of a third high-profile brand, would you want to run it?

Because he did, and you can.

Nearly a decade after exiting the restaurant world, Tigrett has developed a new venture called Bozo's Hot Pit Bar-B-Q. Reached by phone at the vast Indian ashram where the foodservice pioneer moved after developing the chain model, Tigrett described Bozo's as yet another high-volume, Americana-inspired restaurant-entertainment-merchandise concept, one that potentially could become a national barbecue brand.

Only, he doesn't want to launch it. Tigrett's version of Bozo's--whose inspiration was an 84-yearold barbecue landmark about 50 miles north of Memphis, Tenn.--is for sale.

After spending roughly $750,000 to license the Bozo's name, design a prototype restaurant, identify potential merchandise, make financial projections and establish copyrights, trademarks and logos under the company name Roadside Attractions Ltd., Tigrett said his life took a more spiritual turn.

He moved to the ashram of his guru, Sathya Sai Baba, and is now working on the development of a spiritual retreat there. Meanwhile, Tigrett hired Fame Farm, a licensing agency based in Henderson, Nev., to find a buyer for the Bozo's brand.

Last month, Fame Farm began quietly marketing Tigrett's version of Bozo's as a "just-add-water" operation ripe for launch in a major market like Las Vegas or Los Angeles. A $10 million initial investment would get the potential chain started, said Michael Feder, Fame Farm's chief executive.

Meanwhile, the owner of the original Bozo's Hot Pit Bar-B-Q in Mason, Tenn., said the clock is ticking on Tigrett's agreed-upon use of the restaurant's name.

Hayne Ozier, who bought the circa-1923 barbecue joint from the grandson of founder Thomas Jefferson "Bozo" Williams in 1999, said he has extended the agreement with Tigrett several times. Ozier, who would receive a fixed fee for every new Bozo's that finally opens under his pact with Tigrett, said the entrepreneur has paid him less than $100,000 so far.

Ozier is a fan of Tigrett's new-and-improved Bozo's concept.

"It's magnificent," Ozier said. "He's a genius."

Still, Ozier said he wasn't sure he'd hear from Tigrett again after learning of his move to India. Ozier, who is not interested in franchising, said he is open to the idea of selling the restaurant, along with the name, though "that would cost much more than what [Tigrett] has paid so far."

Tigrett's attraction to the Tennessee operation wasn't the first time outsiders had shown interest in Bozo's name. The founding family spent nearly 10 years battling a trademark challenge by performer Larry Harmon, better known in his TV and personal-appearance guise as Bozo the Clown, in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The restaurant's right to the trademark was upheld.

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Tigrett felt the Bozo's name and barbecue pedigree were ideal for his concept.

In the phone interview from the ashram, Tigrett said he is looking for a "pro" to take on the brand.

"This is not something you take on as a learning curve," he said while still expressing confidence that the time is right for a potentially national barbecue chain.

"Brand building is my thing," said Tigrett, who has offered to stay on as a consultant to a buyer. "I've made every mistake there is a thousand times. I know how to do this."

Tigrett opened the first Hard Rock Cafe in London in 1971 with partner Peter Morton, but the two parted ways in 1981, with Tigrett taking ownership of the London unit and eventually dividing worldwide rights to the HRC concept with Morton. The two grew their respective factions separately, with Morton launching the first U.S. Hard Rock in 1982 in Los Angeles. Tigrett took his Hard Rock group public in England in 1983, selling 25 percent of it for $1 million. He launched the New York Hard Rock a year later. In 1987 his company sold notes representing 23 percent of its equity for $54 million. In 1988, with a total of seven Tigrett-run Hard Rocks operating internationally, he sold the 54 percent he controlled for $108 million, personally pocketing some $30 million. The buyer, London-based Rank Group PLC, later consolidated the chain by buying Morton's group, and last year Rank sold the Hard Rock system to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for $965 million, including ownership or licensing rights for 124 cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels and two Hard Rock Casino Hotels.

Tigrett founded the House of Blues chain in Cambridge, Mass., in 1992, though he left the company in 1998 after selling his interests to West Hollywood, Calif.-based HOB Entertainment Inc. Last year, concert promoter Live Nation Inc. paid $350 million to acquire HOB Entertainment, which now has 11 House of Blues restaurant-nightclubs and numerous other concert venues.