11/11/2023 0 Comments New york times newsletters![]() “If it’s isolation that ails us-our suburban remove, our reliance on cars, our dwindling circles of friends, our lack of congregation and integration and mutual understanding, of the kind described by Robert Putnam in ‘Bowling Alone,’” Paumgarten writes, “then the solution, especially for those tilting into their lonelier elderly years, would seem to be fellowship, activity, fun. ![]() Paumgarten notes the sense of belonging that Latitude Margaritaville provides its older residents-even if it comes with a heavy dose of hedonism. Jimmy Buffett even created literal Margaritaville communities: Last year, Nick Paumgarten wrote a long dispatch in The New Yorker recounting his time visiting Latitude Margaritaville, a “55 and better” active-living community in Florida. ![]() Buffett is still the lone occupant in the Venn diagram of People Who Outearn Bruce Springsteen and People Who Are Mistaken for Men of Leisure.” Though a 23andMe test reportedly confirmed that Jimmy was not related to Warren Buffett, the two men became friends, and the latter offered business advice to the former Jimmy called him “Uncle Warren.” (The Oracle of Omaha is also an investor in Margaritaville Enterprises through subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway.) As Taffy Brodesser-Akner wrote in The New York Times Magazine in 2018, “Mr. Though Margaritaville Resort Times Square recently began Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, Margaritaville Enterprises is reportedly still investing in new properties.įor a man who made his name on visions of relaxation, Buffett got things done. The New York Times reported that Margaritaville Enterprises, a corporation with ties to more than 100 restaurants and hotels, brought in $2.2 billion in gross annual revenue last year, largely through licensing and branding deals. Margaritaville sold frozen shrimp, blenders, margarita mixes, and a lifestyle. He first became known as a musician, with his beach hit “Margaritaville” in 1977 and, the next year, his cheeky “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” He was also an author: Starting in 1989, both his fiction and nonfiction books topped the New York Times best-seller lists (a distinction he shares with an elite smattering of writers, including Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and Dr. And though it has become de rigueur for celebrities to peddle branded products, be it skin care or tequila, Buffett has been translating pop-culture recognition into product sales for decades.īuffett was a multi-hyphenate before it was cool. ![]() Buffett was an early master of this art: He was selling goods and services, but he was also offering a sense of belonging. If people feel connected to a brand, the thinking goes, they will buy more stuff. Tech start-ups in particular have glommed on to it as a marketing buzzword. In recent years, a variety of brands have become obsessed with building community. Beyond the Parrot Heads, he also reached hungry and thirsty visitors of all stripes: Some 20 million people visit Margaritaville-branded establishments annually. He was beloved by his many fans, known as Parrot Heads, and he leveraged that fan base into a loyal community of customers. Buffett also parlayed his name recognition into a business empire that, starting with the first Margaritaville in Key West, Florida, swelled to include resorts, restaurants, food, and merchandise Buffett became a billionaire later in life. Jimmy Buffett, the troubadour and celebrant of a good-times lifestyle, deserves to be remembered for more than just his music (fun though it may be). But above all, when you’re there, you don’t forget for one second that you are in a Margaritaville. Some elements of Margaritaville are kitschy, and some are charming. Should you choose to ascend, a long elevator ride delivers you to the top-floor bar, which features turquoise furniture, tequila drinks on offer, and a beautiful view of Manhattan. A massive replica of the Statue of Liberty holding a margarita glass pokes through the floor of the restaurant. ![]() If you have never spent a lunch hour in Times Square at the Margaritaville restaurant, or a cocktail hour at the 5 o’Clock Somewhere bar upstairs, allow me to paint a picture: An enormous shiny flip-flop greets you at the door of the restaurant cum bar cum resort tower.
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