Hooters
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Hooters.jpg
- This page is about the restaurant; for the band, see The Hooters.
Hooters is the trade name of two restaurant chains, Hooters of America, Inc based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and Hooters, Inc, based in Clearwater, Florida. Between company owned locations, and franchisees, there are now over 350 Hooters restaurants, in 43 US states, plus 13 other countries. The chain began in October 4 1983 with a restaurant in Clearwater, Florida, and is still privately held.
Hooters targets male customers with a mostly female staff, and sports shown on big-screen TVs. The menu includes burgers, other sandwiches, and seafood. It specializes in buffalo wings.
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Hooters Girl
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A Hooters Girl is a female waitress employed by the Hooters restaurant chain. It is generally thought that Hooters Girls are chosen for their breast size, but in fact are usually chosen for all-around good looks and if small-chested may be asked to pad their bras. They are typically clad in tight-fitting tank tops that vary in color; usually white with a camouflage theme on Monday ("Military Mondays"), black on Friday ("Formal Fridays"), and white the other days. In addition, they wear very short track shorts, that can be orange, black, or camouflage green in color, shiny suntan pantyhose and white tennis shoes, often of the Skechers brand name.
The uniform includes the logo, which consists of the word "Hooters" with a cartoon owl positioned so that the pupils of the owl's eyes are framed by the two O's. Many see this as representing a woman's breasts.
Controversy
The chain is controversial on two counts.
- The uniform is considered to be unabashed objectification of women. The general environment of the restaurant is seen by feminists as sexist and demeaning of women.
- The restaurant hires only women as servers, and refers to them as "Hooters Girls." Several discrimination lawsuits have brought against the chain but have been settled out of court or dropped by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The restaurant's corporate web site "acknowledges that many consider 'Hooters' a slang term for a portion of the female anatomy." But it adds, "Hooters Girls have the same right to use their natural female sex appeal to earn a living as do super models 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."
Hooters Air
In 2003, Hooters launched an airline, Hooters Air, headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
See also
- Raisins (South Park episode), a Hooters parody
- There is a Hooters parody, Knockers, in the Simpsons episode, "Don't Fear the Roofer".
External links
- About Hooters (http://www.hooters.com/company/about_hooters/) - the Atlanta-based chain's information page
- Hooters Air (http://www.hootersair.com/)
- Original Hooters (http://www.originalhooters.com) - the non-Atlanta-based founders sub-chain
- Transfer of "Hooters" brand from Clearwater to Atlanta (http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2001/03/19/daily46.html)