Tommy Bahama is more than a clothing brand. No wonder the Legacy West location graciously hosted Local Profile’s women’s issue cover party on Sept. 27, 2023. Upon arrival, guests were given festive leis and prompted to enjoy the variety of island-inspired food and drink that perfectly matched the Tommy Bahama vibe.
"I say to people all the time: Tommy Bahama should be a Harvard business case," Tommy Bahama CEO Doug Wood previously told Local Profile. "It is a remarkable story of an apparel company that became a lifestyle company."
In 1993, Tommy Bahama was established and the silk camp shirts became an iconic staple, filling a distinctive niche in the fashion industry. By 1996, when the brand was seeking to open its inaugural physical store in Naples, Florida, it was unexpectedly presented with a significantly larger retail space. In response to this opportunity, the founders decided to venture into the restaurant business.
The successful clothing brand then rolled out its own fragrance and furniture lines as well as 22 restaurants and bars with more to open this year — and if you've ever been to the Legacy West location, you know their food and drinks are very, very good.
Local Profile’s VIP clients, those featured in our women's issue and sponsors of the summit dove into the perfectly crafted Mai Tais and build-your-own mojitos, all while networking and catching up with old friends.
On the menu was a delicious spread of mini coconut-crusted crab cakes, world-famous coconut shrimp, mini blackened mahi tacos, cuban sliders and mini macadamia nut-crusted goat cheese. But we can’t forget dessert — Tommy Bahama provided piña colada bites, key lime tartlets and malted chocolate pie bites.
"We are restaurant people," Wood said. He's right. Tommy Bahama is the only apparel manufacturer to own and operate its restaurants in-house, as a division of the company. "It really has differentiated us from other brands who are like, we should try to get into the restaurant business to try to sell stuff — that's not what we do," says Wood. "We are in the hospitality business. That has allowed us to become a real lifestyle brand." And that lifestyle continues to grow.
Later this year, Tommy Bahama is making its biggest expansion yet: its first branded resort. Tommy Bahama is teaming up with Lowe, a hospitality real estate investor and operator and developer of hotel and resort properties, for the Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California. The 35,000-square-foot resort will have 215 custom-appointed rooms, including 23 suites, three resort-style pools and a 12,000-square-foot spa.