Goodbye Hooters: The end of ‘Bikini Nights’ and more changes to America’s ‘breastaurant’

The so-called ‘breastaurant’, Hooters, has been struggling to regain its footing since the covid-19 pandemic. Like several other restaurant chains in recent years, it was forced to close a number of underperforming locations “under pressure from current market conditions.”

The infamous “original American wing joint,” known for its scantily clad waitresses, is currently facing bankruptcy according to Bloomberg. A plan is forming for the businessmen who established Hooters in Clearwater, Florida to take back the brand from the private equity company that purchased it in 2019. They plan to tone down the sexuality and improve the dining experience to save Hooters.

Goodbye ‘Bikini Nights’ at Hooters

“You go to some parts of the country and people say, ‘Oh, I could never go to Hooters, my wife would kill me,‘” Neil Kiefer, CEO of HMC Hospitality Group told Bloomberg. “That’s depressing to us. We want to change that.”

While he knows that it’s the skimpy outfits, bright orange hot pants and tight cleavage-bearing tops, and what they reveal is the main draw for most of Hooters clientele, he thinks there are some steps that can be taken to make the restaurants more PG. Specifically, getting rid of ‘Bikini Nights’, the one night a week where waitresses while serving tables don two-piece swimsuits, leaving even less to the imagination.

Part of what he has dubbed a “re-Hooterization” of the 42-year-old chain also includes improving the dining experience. This will involve revamping the recipes to include fresher ingredients.

Additionally, they want to work improve the service, making it faster and ensuring that all the waitresses are properly trained. This includes attending tables within 60 seconds of a party sitting down, and making sure that the women in the party are greeted first.

It will be a matter of time to see whether or not the family-friendly makeover will pull Hooters out of the clutches of bankruptcy. However, Kiefer is convinced that in the hands of its founders they can successfully pull off the image overhaul and keep the brand alive.

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