Information AboutHooters |
Hooters is the trade name of two privately held , Canada , England , Mexico , Paraguay , Peru , Chile , Australia , Panama , Costa Rica , China , South Korea , Greece , Venezuela , Switzerland , and Singapore — its first overseas location to open. Hooters plans to open its first branch in 2007 ''1 and in Dubai later this year. Hooters to open in Dubai Gulf News Hooters targets male customers with a serving staff comprising only waitresses, although Hooters does employ males as cooks, hosts (at some franchises), Busboy s and managers. The menu includes Hamburger s and other Sandwich es, steaks, chicken, as well as seafood entrees and appetizers. It also specializes in Buffalo Wings . Almost all Hooters restaurants hold alcoholic beverage licenses to sell beer and wine, and where local permits allow, many offer a full liquor bar. Ancillary offerings for sale include T-shirts and various souvenirs and curios. HISTORY Hooters, Inc. began operations on October 4 , 1983 with a restaurant in Clearwater, Florida, out of a building that allegedly was previously a walk-in dumpster called Fernando's Dumpster, Inc. (Although this reference appears in the Hooters menu, it is false. The Original Hooters took the place of a failed seafood restaurant. In fact, so many businesses had failed in that particular location that Hooters's founders built a small "graveyard" at the front door for each of the businesses that had come before them.) In 1984, Robert H. Brooks and a group of Atlanta investors (operators of Hooters of America, Inc.) bought expansion and franchise rights for the Hooters chain. Brooks eventually bought majority control and became chairman. Under Brooks's leadership, the collective Hooters brand expanded from one restaurant to more than 425 stores worldwide. Brooks died in July 2006 of a heart attack. The Hooters Casino Hotel was opened February 2, 2006 in Las Vegas , Nevada . This hotel has 696 rooms with a 35,000 square foot casino. The hotel is owned and operated by 155 East Tropicana, LLC (Florida Hooters, LLC 66.67% & EW Common, LLC 33.33%). It is located off of the Las Vegas Strip next to the Tropicana and across the street from the MGM Grand Las Vegas . HOOTERS GIRLS A Hooters Girl is a waitress employed by the Hooters restaurant chain. They are instantly recognizable by their uniform of a white tank top with the Hooters owl logo and the location name on the front paired with the famously short orange runner's shorts. Originally, the shirts were white cotton, pulled tight and knotted in the back to emphasize the breasts. For years, this knot tying was a Hooters ritual before opening. Later, Hooters changed to a tight white spandex shirt that eliminated the knot-tying. Waitresses also have a choice of shirts that are more suitable for cold weather. The company also began using other colors and designs for their tops such as a camouflage theme on Monday ("Military Mondays"), black on Friday ("Formal Fridays"), and the football uniforms of a local NFL team during the NFL season. The remainder of the Hooters Girls's uniform consists of glossy ultra sheer suntan pantyhose, white socks, and white athletic shoes. Men who work at Hooters wear shirts with long pants, Bermuda shorts, or attire more suitable for cooking. EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK REQUIREMENTS .]] The Smoking Gun website obtained a copy of the Hooters Employee Handbook2 which notes that: Customers can go to many places for wings and beer, but it is our Hooters' Girls who make our concept unique. Hooters offers its customers the look of the "All American Cheerleader, Surfer, Girl Next Door." Female employees are required to sign that they "acknowledge and affirm" the following: # My job duties require I wear the designated Hooters Girl uniform. # My job duties require that I interact with and entertain the customers. # The Hooters concept is based on female Sex Appeal and the work environment is one in which joking and Sexual Innuendo based on female sex appeal is commonplace. # I do not find my job duties, uniform requirements, or work environment to be offensive, intimidating, hostile, or unwelcome. PUBLIC PERCEPTION Controversy The chain is controversial on two counts: # The uniform is considered by some to be an Objectification of women. The general environment of the restaurant is seen by many people as sexist and demeaning to women. # The restaurant hires only women as servers, and refers to them as "Hooters Girls." Several discrimination lawsuits brought against the chain have been settled out of court or dropped by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC ), some after an advertising campaign featuring St. Petersburg, Florida Hooters's kitchen manager Vince Gigliotti dressed in a Hooters Girl server's uniform. Men do find employment at Hooters as cooks, dishwashers and managers, where most wear Bermuda Shorts , Hawaiian Shirt s, and similar garb. The company's website acknowledges that "many consider 'Hooters' a slang term for a portion of the female anatomy," it but adds, "Hooters Girls have the same right to use their natural female sex appeal to earn a living as do supermodels Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell ." The chain sees itself this way: "Hooters characterizes itself as a neighborhood place, not a family restaurant. Seventy percent of all customers are male, most between the ages of 25-54. Hooters does not market itself to families." Galvaston.com Hooters However, Hooters has a kids menu, and often gives out balloons to toddler visitors; indeed in Australia, Hooters promotes itself as having a "fun family atmosphere" and "Kids Eat Free Tuesday" on its radio advertisements. Public relations Hooters has an extensive public relations campaign and has actively supported charities through its Hooters Community Endowment Fund, also known as '''HooCEF''', a pun on UNICEF . It has provided money and/or volunteers to charities such as Habitat For Humanity , Make-A-Wish Foundation , Special Olympics , and Muscular Dystrophy Association .3 Local restaurants will often select their own local charities. Hooters also launched what it calls "Operation Let Freedom Wing," which involves sending its celebrities, such as Hooters Calendar Girl, UC3 and singer Angela Lanza , to visit U.S. troops overseas, including to Afghanistan . Athletics & promotions Hooters is very involved in the sports world. Previous sponsorships include the Miami Hooters , (a defunct Arena Football League team.) Hooters currently sponsors the USAR Hooters Pro Cup , an automobile racing series and the NGA Hooters Tour , a minor league golf tour. Hooters has also licensed its name for the '' Hooters Road Trip '' PlayStation racing game. Professional golfer John Daly is sponsored by Hooters on the PGA Tour . He also serves as a corporate spokesperson. Since 1996, Hooters has held Miss Hooters International . REFERENCES IN POPULAR CULTURE Former Hooters girls
Motion picture and television references
SEE ALSO
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|