CABO-WABO- Cabo San Lucas, Los Cabos, Mexico

  Cantina - Restaurant - Bar - Tequila - Concert Hall - Clothing Line

Who better to tell the story of the Cabo Wabo Cantina than Mr. Cabo Wabo himself, Sammy Hagar. And we quote:

The Cabo Wabo Cantina has generated enormous curiosity from the day it opened. At first, it was because of the time and place.

In 1990, Cabo San Lucas was pretty small for such an elaborate nightclub. Later, when this town at the tip of Baja California grew into the prominent vacation destination that it is today, it seemed as if I had looked into a crystal ball.

The truth is that the concept was evolutionary and the reality of what it has become is based on small steps, a lot of mistakes, a few good people and tons of luck.



Jorge regarded me with the politeness that Latinos reserve for dreamers. But I persisted and only convinced him that I was serious after I brought him to the United States and had him as my guest at a concert in San Diego.
By then, I was already in Van Halen and had written the song "Cabo Wabo" with Eddie Van Halen. But the Cantina was always my project and not the band’s.

 

 Jorge and I then started shopping for properties. When we had the property we wanted, we held a contest among local architects in Cabo San Lucas. The winner was Marco Monroy. I was happy that it was Marco, because he and I had already become friends. When Marco brought his design to me in Los Angeles, I was impressed, but didn't notice that his measurements were in square meters and not square feet!



During construction, Van Halen was on tour and Jorge was in charge of the details. So by the time I first saw the Cantina it was almost completed. ‘I can't believe it's this big,’ I told Marco. ‘This is way too big for Cabo San Lucas. But, I like it.’

Of course, I wanted a monster opening that included MTV coverage. Since Van Halen was going to participate on my behalf to make the grand opening a major event, I felt a sense of camaraderie. It seemed appropriate to offer the other members of the band financial participation in the project. They accepted.

At first, because the cantina was a novelty and had received worldwide press coverage, business was good and everyone made money. But management was shaky and the club soon became a white elephant. Then it began costing the band big money. When it did, the other members of Van Halen no longer wanted any part of it.

But it was my baby and I wanted it even if it was a white elephant. I believed in the project. It just needed proper attention and better management.

When I assumed total control of the Cabo Wabo Cantina, Marco asked if he could come in as my partner because he believed in the project.