Photograph by Katherine Bish
He’s the suntanned, guitar-playing, island-shirt–wearing, sexagenarian rock star and restaurateur whose success in both businesses is somewhat attributable to the margarita…and no, it’s not Jimmy Buffett. He’s the creator of Cabo Wabo tequila and the proprietor of several beachy-themed cafés, including the newly opened Sammy’s Beach Bar and Grill inside Harrah’s casino: the Red Rocker himself, Sammy Hagar. And fortunately for St. Louis, Sammy gets it—and gives it. With the dizzying success of Cabo Wabo, he decided to count his blessings and donate profits from his three restaurants—100 percent of the profits—to local children’s charities, potentially half a mil a year locally to Blessings in a Backpack, a provider of weekend meals to schoolchildren. Should you find yourself in Maryland Heights with a few dollars to uh, invest, might we suggest an amped-up chicken sandwich, perhaps some nachos topped with lump crabmeat, or a quesadilla bulging with lobster, with a Wabo’rita on the side? Welcome to Hagar’s version of Margaritaville. Regardless of whether you like his music, you gotta like his style.
Harrah’s St. Louis, 777 Casino Center
Maryland Heights
314-770-8100
Lunch and dinner Wed–Sun; bar open weekends till 3 a.m.
