Van Halen Opens a Baja Margaritaville

Celebrities just can’t resist opening a restaurant.

Whether it was Don Drysdale’s Dugout in Van Nuys, Alan Hale’s Lobster Barrel in West Hollywood or Dino’s Lodge on the Sunset Strip, Los Angeles always has been jammed with Hollywood name-brand eateries.

Now one of rock’s superstar attractions, Van Halen, is getting into the act, but not in overcrowded L.A. Instead, the band is opening a sprawling new restaurant tonight in its favorite vacation spot, Cabo San Lucas on the tip of Baja California. Called Cabo Wabo (after a Van Halen song of the same name), the nightspot will seat up to 250 patrons inside (and 750 in an outdoor patio). In keeping with the group’s raucous image, the bar offers dozens of varieties of tequila and beer, including the band’s own Cabo Wabo brand.

The band is christening the joint tonight by putting on its first live performance in 18 months. “We’ve been rehearsing for a month because we’re starting to work on a new album,” said Sammy Hagar, the driving force behind the eatery. “It’s going to be a fun, no-pressure event. We’ll do an all-guitar set and bring a bunch of people up to play--everyone from Kip Winger to Elton John.”

After the opening fete, the band plans to leave most of its instruments--and a full PA system--at the club to encourage future jam sessions. “You might walk in some night and see me playing with Hank Williams Jr. or Neil Young,” Hagar said. “And there’ll never be a cover charge. So if someone wants to play a slow blues song for three days, who can complain?”

Hagar said whenever he’d get a few days off from touring, he’d head for Cabo San Lucas. “I always had this fantasy about building a cantina where the guys could hang out and play.”

Though Hagar has been overseeing most of the construction details, working with Mexican architect Marcos Monroy Jr., all four Van Halen members--and manager Ed Leffler--are equal partners, along with Mexican partner, Jorge Viana, who has run several clubs in the area.

Hagar said he originally intended spending $150,000--and the group has gone “far beyond” that. “We’re not doing this expecting to make money,” he said. “So if we do, it’ll be a bonus.”

Cabo Wabo will serve--in Hagar’s words--”only the best” native tequilas and mescals, made from fermented cactus juice by a government-licensed Mexican family brewery. However, only half of Van Halen can actually enjoy them. Both guitarist Eddie Van Halen and his brother Alex, the band’s drummer, are on the “Just Say No” bandwagon, having quit drinking after years of booze and drug problems. According to Hagar, Alex has been sober for three years, Eddie for about four months.

“That’s the only drawback about this, because I don’t want people to think we’re promoting drinking,” said Hagar. “Some people can handle it. Others can’t. So I have virgin margaritas all ready for Eddie and Alex. I’m so crazy about Eddie, and I know how much hell he went through, that we want to be real supportive and keep him on the wagon.”

Since everyone else will probably ask the same question at tonight’s opening, we needled Hagar--when will the new Van Halen album be ready? “Who knows?” he said cheerfully. “The last two records were rushed because we had to meet a timetable. This time we don’t want to have any regrets. So we’re gonna do it till we think it’s right, regardless of what everyone else thinks!”