For Tommy Bahama, restaurants and retail are a potent pairing
The clothing company has carved out a unique niche in casual dining with its combination of retail stores and restaurants.
May 28, 2026
When most people think of Tommy Bahama, they probably picture Hawaiian-print shirts, Panama hats and polos with the little marlin logo.
But the island-chic clothing brand also runs restaurants at some of its 160 retail stores, where customers can take a break from shopping to dig into coconut shrimp, mahi mahi tacos and cocktails like the Permanent Vacation.
And those restaurants have quietly done quite well.
Sales at Tommy Bahama’s 29 restaurants and bars rose 9.4% last year, according to Technomic Top 500 data, to $118.7 million, extending a 13-year streak of sales growth, minus 2020.
Seattle-based Tommy Bahama has been operating restaurants for almost as long as it’s been selling clothes, but the unusual combination happened more or less by accident.
Founded in 1993 as a wholesaler to department stores, the company opened its first retail shop in 1996 in Naples, Florida, in hopes of bringing its endless-summer vibes directly to consumers. The space next door, a former restaurant, was also available. Founders Tony Margolis and Bob Emfield knew nothing about restaurants, but, being entrepreneurs, they decided to give it a go.
“They brought some friends in that did know about restaurants and launched it, and it was wildly successful right from the get go,” said Rob Goldberg, EVP of resorts, restaurants and bars for Tommy Bahama Group.
After that, the first five Tommy Bahama stores opened in the ’90s had restaurants attached.
Tommy Bahama considers itself a lifestyle brand, offering not only clothing but also home goods, luggage, fragrances, resorts and even gazebos, all geared toward relaxation, preferably with sun and sand nearby.
The restaurants play a key role in this extended universe, helping to bring Tommy Bahama to life through food, drinks and atmosphere. Servers wear Tommy Bahama apparel, and there is often live music of the singer-songwriter variety to set the mood.
“It's so much easier to translate the brand when [customers] can see it and touch it and feel it,” Goldberg said. “It's very much shorthand for the brand.”
Restaurants help bring the brand to life.
Having both restaurants and retail under one roof has given Tommy Bahama some unique advantages. When the store launches a new spring line, it can throw a party with apps. And if a server accidentally spills on a customer’s shirt, “We’ll go into our store and bring them another shirt,” Goldberg said.
The two sides work together as customer funnels, too. On busy weekends, people waiting for a table might pop into the shop with wine in hand (“Chardonnay is definitely a shopping lubricant,” Goldberg said). And during the holidays, visitors to its mall locations often decide to grab a bite to eat before getting back to their shopping.
“Other restaurants just don't have those kinds of tools at their disposal,” Goldberg said.
The fortunes of both businesses tend to go in lockstep, though there are markets and seasons where the restaurant side does better, and vice-versa. In times like this one, when many consumers are watching their spending, the restaurants are typically stable while the retail side slows.
“People don't generally stop drinking and eating. But they might not go by a sweater or a shirt,” Goldberg said.
Customers can shop while they wait for a table.
The Tommy Bahama restaurant experience can also stand on its own, outside of its usual habitat of malls and tourist destinations. The company was initially a bit intimidated about planting a flag in restaurant-rich New York City, for instance. But Tommy Bahama’s laid-back atmosphere turned out to be exactly what locals were looking for. The restaurant on 5th Avenue in Manhattan doesn’t serve many tourists, but has become an unlikely power lunch spot for nearby office workers.
“It is a place where New Yorkers feel like, ‘This is a place that's just different … like I’m on vacation,’” Goldberg said.
Tommy Bahama has been opportunistic about opening new locations, including three in 2024 and two in 2025, with one each planned for this year and next. But not all of its retail outlets make sense for a restaurant, and it does not have ambitions to become a giant restaurant company, Goldberg said.
“We aspire to take our guests someplace great, and so there's only so many spots that we think are great,” he said. Tommy Bahama will keep growing, but gradually, so that it can maintain the experience and quality it’s known for.
Over the years, the restaurants have evolved. They now lean more coastal than tropical, and are less theme-y and a bit more refined. During the pandemic, its outdoor Marlin Bars were a huge hit, but more recently, customers have shown a desire to move back into the dining room for more of a traditional full-service experience. Tommy Bahama has followed along.
“The fickle consumer is always gonna be moving, and so are we,” Goldberg said.
The brand is also lucky to have a lot of loyal customers, the type who will travel from location to location as if to fill up their Tommy Bahama passport, dining and drinking and adding to their wardrobe. It helps that many of its stores are in appealing locales, like Palm Springs and Hawaii.
“It's a very highly engaged community that really loves the whole lifestyle,” Goldberg said. “It's really fun to be able to express that.”
About the Author
Joe Guszkowski
Senior editor, Restaurant Business
Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains.
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