Business Week has an excellent story on Sammy Hagar taking a chance on starting the Cabo Wabo Cantina and the resulting tequila brand of the same name, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. In a nutshell, the Cabo Wabo Cantina was opened against the advice of his business manager – who quit over the idea – with investments by the rest of his band mates in Van Halen. When the going looked rough and his fellow investors wanted out (it was losing around $40k a year), Hagar took over sole ownership. Then the cruise ships made Cabo San Lucas a destination and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today, it is a $60 million entity with the #2 super-premium brand of tequila in the US and a second location in South Lake Tahoe.
I am most impressed with his thoughts on growth, “Hagar says he could have rolled out 80 Cabo Wabo Cantinas by now, he remains cautious about diluting the unique brand experience he has created”