The waitresses are made to wear tiny and tight-fitting uniforms.
US restaurant chain Hooters have announced plans for a third restaurant in the UK, despite their previous two ventures on this side of the Atlantic proving unpopular.
The so-called ‘breastaurant’ is known for its scantily clad servers, chicken wings and sports screenings.
The chain was founded back in Florida on April Fools Day 1983 as a joke among a group of six men, with no restaurant experience. The name, of course, comes from a slang term for women’s breasts.
Fast forward more than 40 years and there are 400 branches in the USA – but just two in the UK, in Nottingham and Liverpool.
Last month, a new opening was announced in the city of Newcastle, with an advertisement posted online seeking fifty girls to don the infamous uniform of tight low-cut white vests, and teeny tiny orange shorts.
The experiment in the north-east of England may well prove to be the decisive test of the brand’s reach in Britain.
Hooters has long struggled to take off in the UK (probably something to do with abundant accusations of creepy customers, workplace bullying and harassment).
A Birmingham venue closed after just 18 months, while Cardiff and Bristol followed suit after less than 2 years.
The Nottingham Hooters, on the other hand, is a long-standing fixture of the city – remaining open since 1998 and presumably giving the business owners hope that similar success can come elsewhere in the UK.
The Newcastle restaurant is readying to open in the Brigg’s Market area of the city, with a date set for the end of February. It will have a capacity of 200 and a staff of at least 50 uniformed ‘Hooters Girls’.
However, they have already faced backlash from local residents and councillors before even turning the key in the door.
Kruti Walsh, the policy director at the feminist charity FiLiA, told The Guardian: “Violence against women and girls is an epidemic so we firmly oppose plans to expand a chain that treats women as objects to be served up alongside chicken wings and fries.”
A spokesperson for Newcastle city council said: “As a White Ribbon City, Newcastle stands against all harassment, abuse and violence against women and girls. All businesses in our city are encouraged to show their commitment to tackling these important issues and we will be raising it with the licence holder at these premises to ensure they understand our clear position.”
Franchise co-owner Johnny Goard, who owns five Hooters in Canada, insists people’s perception of the restaurants are all wrong.
He told The Guardian: “It’s a restaurant. We don’t want to be here as a bar.
“We do kids eat for free on Sundays. Hooters isn’t what you think it is, what you perceive it to be, until you come in the door.”
