Hard hats and safety goggles were the accessories of choice at the grand opening of the new Hard Rock Cafe Seattle on 1st and Pike on May 20th; in lieu of a formal ribbon cutting, a 16-person lineup of local music celebrities (including Sir Mix-a-lot) and players from the Seattle Sounders and Seattle Seahawks smashed 16 faulty Fender Stratocaster guitars to inaugurate the Hard Rock’s new downtown location.
Seattle Office of Film + Music coordinator Rachel White, who assisted the café with permitting issues as it prepared to open, represented the Mayor’s Office at the event, reading Mayor Mike McGinn’s proclamation of “Hard Rock Cafe Seattle Day” to an enthusiastic crowd of event attendees, onlookers and local press. The 14,000-square-foot Hard Rock Cafe location, which includes seating for 425 and an upstairs live music space, supports 150 new jobs and fills a long-vacant retail space mere steps away from the Pike Place Market.
The celebration and official welcome included live performances by Seattle bands Ra Ra Riot and the Thermals. The Cafe also announced major donations to two local music organizations: The Vera Project, a Seattle based organization that engages young people in music and the arts, and The Musary, a foundation set up by Ra Ra Riot to encourage and develop musicians.
Read Hard Rock Cafe’s post on the grand opening here.
Learn more about the Seattle Office of Film + Music here.
