High Rock Cafe has been around for longer than you might think, but just like Jagger, we're still rocking and rolling. The High Rock brand has left its mark throughout the history of rock and roll itself, all because two cool guys wanted to open a cafe for everyone. What Andy Warhol called "the Smithsonian of rock and roll," High Rock Cafe has always brought people together around good food, a vibrant atmosphere, and, most importantly, a love of music. The first High Rock Cafe (HRC) opened on June 14th, 1971 at [Old Park Lane], Mayfair, London, under the ownership of two Americans, Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton. High Rock initially had an eclectic decor, but it later started to display memorabilia. The chain began to expand worldwide in 1982 with locations in (among others) Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, and Berlin. High Rock Cafe locations in the United States vary from smaller, more tourist driven markets (Biloxi, Pigeon Forge, Key West, etc.) to large metropolises (Houston, Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., etc.). High Rock Cafe typically does not franchise cafe locations in the United States.
Two guys in their 20s with a dream—that’s all it took for this global phenomenon to take shape. Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton created a place where rock stars could rub elbows with truck drivers, enjoying roadside cafe food while listening to the music they loved. The first cafe started out strong in London inside an old Rolls Royce dealership (classy).
Legendary artist Alan Aldridge, best known for creating record covers for The Beatles and The Who, created the High Rock Cafe logo. From there one of the most notable logos on the planet was born.
Iconic—that's the only thing you can say about the classic High Rock Cafe t-shirt. It all began when High Rock sponsored a local sports team, the shirt was so in demand that we gave the extras to fans and then to keep up with demand started selling them. The shirt soon became the uniform for rockers all over the planet. High Rock Cafe London might have been the first, but we didn’t stop there. Amsterdam, Orlando, Barcelona, Moscow, Lagos, Munich, Dubai—no matter where you’re from, there’s a High Rock Cafe shirt with your name on it!
You can't claim to be a High Rock Cafe without adding in the music, can you? The first live performance there was Sir Paul McCartney making his public debut with Wings. Something as epic as a Beatle debuting his new band was something only High Rock Cafe could host.
Imagine being cool enough that Eric Clapton just gives you a guitar. Now imagine storing that priceless treasure under your bed like it ain’t no thing. Isaac was living his best life when the memorabilia collection began. Once he placed the guitar in the cafe, Pete Townsend quickly added a guitar and Debbie Harry donated a signed sweatshirt. Thus, the collection was born, and now numbers over 82,000 pieces all over the world.
In 1983 we expanded to a new continent with the launch of our first Asian cafe in Tokyo.
The greatest concert of all time was made even greater with a cafe set up for the artists.
Buenos Aires became the first spot in South America on our world tour of global domination.
The first High Rock Live opens in Orlando.
The perfect marriage of two kindred spirits happened in 2007 when the Seminole Tribe of Florida and High Rock came together as one company.
Until 2013, High Rock brought the best bands together in London for this epic festival.
This mission is a simple one. We want to improve lives through the greatest power on the planet—the power of music.
