Cheeseburger in Paradise - Lahaina, Maui Island, HI - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

"Grilling up success with a cheeseburger

With no money, no restaurant experience and no clue of what they were about to embark upon, Laren Gartner and Edna Bayliff opened up Cheeseburger In Paradise at their favorite vacation spot on Maui.

Fifteen years later, the two women from California have grown their business and the Cheeseburger brand into a multimillion-dollar operation with four locations and ambitious plans to expand.

The road to paradise hasn't been smooth for Gartner, 59, and Bayliff, 49, partners for the past 26 years.

They were sued in 1997 by singer Jimmy Buffett, who claimed they illegally used the title of his 1978 hit "Cheeseburger In Paradise."

After a four-year legal battle, a settlement was reached that allowed Gartner and Bayliff to keep the moniker at their existing restaurants in Lahaina and Waikiki, but prevented them from using the name on any additional locations.

Buffett, partnered with Outback Steakhouse Inc., launched his own chain of Cheeseburger In Paradise restaurants in 2002. He already had cafes named "Margaritaville," after another hit song.

"Are there hard feelings? Let see, I've doubled the business and I'm close to tripling it since the settlement of the lawsuit," Gartner said. "Nah. I don't have any hard feelings.

"The lawsuit forced me to look outside the words 'in paradise' and discover what was in front of me all the time, which was the power of the word 'cheeseburger."'

Cheeseburger Restaurants Inc. had $20 million in sales last year and is expected to reach $30 million this year. The Portola, Calif.-based company is soon adding three new restaurants in Hawaii. Cheeseburger Waikiki is scheduled to open this summer.

Gartner said the company will announce plans next year for several "Cheeseburger Island Style" restaurants across the country."

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