5 facts you likely never knew about the restaurant…
“Hooters makes you happy” was a lyric to a jingle from a sequence of Nineties tv commercials about the (*5*)Florida-founded restaurant chain.
It’s one of the memorable catchphrases shared by once-loyal Hooters patrons during an period when the model was interesting to single males and households alike.
Now, amid chapter proceedings, the founding group — along with another franchisee — announced a plan earlier this yr to reclaim control of the model, which Hooters Inc. CEO Neil Kiefer told Fox News Digital strayed too far from the unique imaginative and prescient under Hooters of America management.
While the purchaser group awaits approval from a chapter court, right here’s a journey down reminiscence lane — that includes 5 facts about Hooters’ historical past that could come as a shock to some.
1. The identify is a play on phrases
During a sport of Parcheesi, six “semi-intellectual Clearwater businessmen” developed a sudden urge for Buffalo-style chicken wings, according to the web site for Hooters Inc., which still operates the unique Hooters location and almost two dozen others throughout the Tampa Bay and Chicagoland areas.
Hooters is a Florida-founded restaurant chain. Shutterstock / Little Vignettes Photo
Knowing they couldn’t agree on something as a group, the “Hooters Six,” as they got here to be recognized, “decided to embark upon a major undertaking” and “open a place in Clearwater where other people of their caliber could gather and quench their thirst for the finer things in life.”
But what would they call it?
“Simple — what else brings a gleam to men’s eyes everywhere besides beer and chicken wings and an occasional winning football season? Hence, the name Hooters.”
Hooters opened its flagship location in Oct. 1983.
The identify is a double entendre, referring to both a slang time period for ladies’s breasts, giving start to the “breastaurant” idea — and the brand, an owl recognized for its hooting calls.
Oh, and the owl mascot’s identify is Hootie.
2. Hooters comes home
Before younger Hooters waitresses had been widely welcomed into properties as bikini centerfolds in the annual Hooters calendar, they discovered fame on late-night tv.
Hooters women first hit the small screen in 1987, introducing and internet hosting a late-night film of the week called “Hooters Nite Owl Theater.”
Lynne Austin, the unique Hooters calendar woman who also appeared as the July 1986 Playboy Playmate, was the debut host.
Lynne Austin, the unique Hooters calendar woman. Hooters
The syndicated show was later renamed “Hooters Movie of the Weak.” And that’s not a typo.
Syndicated in 13 major markets, the show grew to become a hit with viewers for its comedy sketches and political skewers that bookended the film and aired between business breaks, soon rating No. 1 in its time slot, according to Hooters.
The show finally moved to the afternoon before being yanked in 1995, “victim of a legal skirmish between Hooters of America and Hooters Inc.”
Hooters exterior and brand. wolterke – stock.adobe.com
Hooters Dine In Restaurant Location in 2017. jetcityimage – stock.adobe.com
Hooters tried giving TV another shot in 2001 with “Who Wants to Date a Hooters Girl?”
The half-hour courting show was to pit six guys against each other who all needed a night time out with a Hooters waitress.
Broadcasting + Cable magazine reported that comic George Gray was set to host “Who Wants to Date a Hooters Girl?” — while Doug Schwartz, creator of the widespread Nineties sequence “Baywatch,” was connected as govt producer. The show never aired.
Hooters server Sofia Nizzo at the Fresh Meadows location in New York. Stephen Yang
3. Hooters takes the discipline
Hooters was more than just a restaurant chain. It was also a soccer workforce in the Nineties.
The Miami Hooters was the identify of an outdated Arena Football League workforce in Florida.
Under a advertising and marketing settlement with the restaurant chain, the workforce performed as the Hooters from 1993-95.
After a paltry 11-26 document over three seasons, the sponsorship was terminated and the workforce relocated to West Palm Beach, taking on a new identification as the Florida Bobcats.
4. Hooters reaches for the sky
Hooters women soared at 30,000 toes in the early 2000s.
The restaurant chain was flying high as a Hooters-branded airline launched in 2003.
A Hooters-branded airline launched in 2003 through a partnership with Pace Airlines. Getty Images
Hooters Air, through a partnership with Pace Airlines, operated a Boeing fleet that flew to 15 U.S. locations under a flat-fare model of $129 each manner, according to Forbes.
The airline was based by Robert Brooks, who was chairman of Hooters of America and had acquired Pace Airlines in 2002.
Two Hooters women rode along on each journey as in-flight leisure. Getty Images
Two Hooters women rode along on each journey, according to Forbes, principally as in-flight leisure since they weren’t licensed flight attendants.
A perk for passengers was complimentary meals for any flight with a length of more than an hour, according to Airways magazine.
Hooters Air didn’t last long, however; it shut down in 2006.
5. Hooters rolls the cube
Hooters also had its own resort and on line casino in Las Vegas.
The Hooters Casino Hotel opened in 2006. Getty Images
An indication of the Hooters Casino Hotel. Getty Images
The Hooters Casino Hotel opened in 2006 across from the MGM Grand off the Las Vegas Strip.
It had 696 rooms, a on line casino and 9 eating places and bars, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
Hooters women labored as front-of-house employees and on the on line casino flooring as waitresses, bartenders, cocktail servers and sellers, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The property was rebranded as the Oyo Hotel & Casino in 2019.
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