Jimmy Buffett Fought Mexican Restaurant Chi-Chi’s for the Margaritaville Trademark so He Could Start His Own Business

Jimmy Buffett is an American institution, a singer/songwriter who embodies the laid-back beach lifestyle. His hit songs “Margaritaville,” “Come Monday,” and “A Pirate Looks at Forty” are widely considered to be some of the greatest songs ever written. Even at 75, Buffett is still going strong, touring the world and performing his music for his legions of dedicated fans, referred to as “Parrotheads.” While Buffett is best known for his music, he’s also a hugely successful businessman, with his Margaritaville brand of restaurants and resorts attracting thousands of visitors every month. However, claiming the Margaritaville brand name wasn’t easy for Buffet.

Jimmy Buffett rose to fame in the 1970s

Born in 1946, Jimmy Buffett developed an early love for music and the Gulf Coast lifestyle. He learned to sail and play the guitar, skills that would influence his life in a big way. According to Biography, Buffett eventually moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a country singer. By the early 1970s, Buffett started releasing music, impressing critics with his unique sound and lyrical abilities.

In 1977, Buffett released the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, an album widely considered his breakthrough to the big time. The album featured the song “Margaritaville,” a tune that introduced his particular brand of beach rock to fans all around the world. He became known as a popular concert draw, and over the years that followed, Buffett built a massive fan base. 

Jimmy Buffett developed the Margaritaville brand in the late 1980s

By the late 1980s, Jimmy Buffett was a superstar. Many fans were eager to replicate what they saw as his enviable, laid-back lifestyle – and slowly, a merchandising empire was born. According to a profile by Inc., Buffett first started noticing that people were wearing merchandise with his name on it in the late 1980s, but none of it was merchandise that he was producing. Buffett decided to build his own store, dubbed Margaritaville, but he ran into issues immediately.

“I had to reach a settlement with Chi-Chi’s to use the name of a song I’d written!” said Buffett, describing how the restaurant chain had trademarked the name “Margaritaville” to name a drink on their menu. After Buffett won his suit, he set about branding as many items and businesses as possible, including cafes and restaurants. Eventually, he started opening hotels and resorts, all under the Margaritaville umbrella.

How is Buffett’s Margaritaville brand doing these days?

As reported by Inc., Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville empire is still strong, with over 30 hotels and resorts worldwide and more than 150 restaurants, bars, and cafes. Buffett has also launched beer lines, frozen food products, and a wide variety of accessories and merchandise. Buffett also recently launched a Margaritaville cruise, designed to give fans the full resort experience on the water. These days, Buffett’s net worth is around $600 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, and with more ventures and more tours on the horizon, his wealth is only likely to grow. 

As for Buffett, he isn’t upset that he doesn’t actually live the beach bum lifestyle. “I’m not about to apologize for being a good businessman. Too many people in music have ruined their lives because they weren’t,” the beloved singer admitted. “I’m not a great singer, and I’m only a so-so guitar player. I started running the band years ago because nobody else could, and I turned out to be good at this stuff.”