Harvard Invests In Expansion By Blues Club

Harvard will be the lead investor in a bid by the House of Blues, an eight-month-old Harvard Square restaurant-club, to open for business in Los Angeles and New Orleans, a University investment official confirmed yesterday.

An announcement of the arrangement is expected later this week, said House of Blues officials and John M. Sallay, a partner in the Harvard Management Company's Aeneas Group.

Sallay said the University's endowment managers have immense faith in House of Blues founder Isaac Tigrett, who also was a co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe chain. Tigrett is known as brilliant if unconventional entrepreneur. A picture of Tigrett's Indian guru sits above the stage inside the House of Blues on Winthrop Street.

"We're very enthusiastic about our investment in the House of Blues and excited by the opportunity to work closely with Isaac Tigrett." Sallay said. "Isaac is both a creative genius and a successful businessman. We're certain this is just the beginning of a long and profitable relationship with Isaac and the House of Blues."

In an article on the negotiations between Harvard and the club earlier this month, The Boston Globe said Harvard would contribute $27 million to the project. That figure was discounted by one club official yesterday, and is believed to be closer to $25 million.

The money for the House of Blues will come from Harvard's endowment of more than $5.1 billion, which is invested by Sallay and other employees of the Harvard Management Company. The company's performance--and its employees' high salaries--have come in for strong criticism in recent years from some alumni.

Aeneas is known for its risky venture capital investments, unusual for University endowments, which once stuck to more traditional investments like stocks and bonds.

The House of Blues has acquired real estate and begun construction on sites in Los Angeles and New Orleans, and the club plans to open both sites on New Year's Eve. Club officials also talk of expanding into Chicago, New York City and London.

"This is the formula," said Jan C. Larsen '89, marketing manager for the club. "We're developing the formula for what we're going to apply around the country."

The House of Blues is multifaceted. Part live music revue, part restaurant, part retail clothing store, the club opened in November to rave reviews. Dan Ackroyd, who with John Belushi was one of the "Blues Brothers" in the film of the same name, is an investor in the club.

In addition, the club has an affiliated not-for-profit organization, the Massachusetts House of Blues Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting curricula emphasizing diversity and to teaching multiculturalism through art and music.

DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis Gates Jr., chair of the Afro-American Studies Department, serves as co-chair of the foundation's program committee

The House of Blues has acquired real estate and begun construction on sites in Los Angeles and New Orleans, and the club plans to open both sites on New Year's Eve. Club officials also talk of expanding into Chicago, New York City and London.

"This is the formula," said Jan C. Larsen '89, marketing manager for the club. "We're developing the formula for what we're going to apply around the country."

The House of Blues is multifaceted. Part live music revue, part restaurant, part retail clothing store, the club opened in November to rave reviews. Dan Ackroyd, who with John Belushi was one of the "Blues Brothers" in the film of the same name, is an investor in the club.

In addition, the club has an affiliated not-for-profit organization, the Massachusetts House of Blues Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting curricula emphasizing diversity and to teaching multiculturalism through art and music.

DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis Gates Jr., chair of the Afro-American Studies Department, serves as co-chair of the foundation's program committee