Once upon a time, themed restaurant chains ruled America's dining scene. Planet Hollywood gave us a taste of fame, Harley Davidson Cafe let us live on the wild side, and Rainforest Cafe took us on a tropical adventure. But today, as minimalism dominates restaurant design, the dining experience often feels nearly identical from one chain to the next. Just look at one of the country's most popular old-fashioned franchises, Cracker Barrel, nearly unrecognizable after modernizing its iconic look.
From Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville to the Wahlburgers chain, it's easy to assume that a boldface name attached to a restaurant equals instant success. Whether a restaurant boasts its celebrity owner on its sign or it's one of the many bars where VIPs are quieter investors, surely there's a certain momentum celebrities bring to their hospitality ventures, right? Wrong, if the demise of one particular restaurant chain is any clue.
A good restaurant ensures that the food offers a stellar dining experience, but Rainforest Cafe offered a one-of-a-kind enchanting (and often overstimulating) extravaganza. The name alone conjures up images of dining amongst lush greenery, and that's certainly what the chain strived for. As soon as you reached the doors, thick vegetation making up a "forest" greeted you, along with an animated red-eyed tree frog and his gang of jungle pals.
Launched in 1990 by a local businessman, Megatron was an ambitious undertaking. The disc-shaped interior had sleek white tables encircling what appeared to be a mock up of a space ship's communications station. Visually, it melded together the bridges of the USS Enterprise and the Death Star (albeit low-budget versions). Lasers lit up the room at regular intervals, while customers punched in their own order via touchscreen - a technological wonder 35 years ago.