Scandalous world of Hooters from bikini beauty contests to uniform disputes and famous staff

It’s the controversial chain known for its “three Bs”: beer, bar food and buxom waitresses.

But after Hooters closed 40 of its restaurants this week without warning, concerns are growing about the future of the US institution.

Famous for its waitresses, whose provocative uniforms highlight their sex appeal, Hooters has enjoyed overwhelming success over the past four decades, even leading the brand to launch its own airline.

In addition, the company holds in-house bikini competitions, with the winners taking home prizes of $30,000. A series of calendars has also been produced with 200 employees.

At the height of its power, Hooters had over 600 stores worldwide; today that number has dropped to 293.

Stores in Florida, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia remained closed over the weekend. The company cited rising food and rent prices as the reason for this.

However, a spokesman stressed that the company remains “extremely robust and relevant,” pointing to a new line of Hooters frozen foods sold in supermarkets across the United States.

A spokesperson told MailOnline: “Like many restaurants facing pressure due to current market conditions, Hooters has made the difficult decision to close a selected number of underperforming stores.

“We look forward to continuing to serve our guests at home, on the go and in our restaurants here in the U.S. and around the world.”

Over the years, Hooters has been controversial, criticized for its “regressive” philosophy, and faced lawsuits from the public and its own employees.

However, there was also praise from former employees – some of whom are now celebrities and Hollywood stars.

Here we look back at the highs and lows of its 41-year history.

The “Hooters Six”

The chicken chain was founded in 1983 by Gil DiGiannantonio, Edward C. Droste, Billy Ranieri, Ken Wimmer, Lynn D. Stewart and Dennis Johnson.

“We were six clueless idiots who called ourselves the Hooters Six,” Droste told USA Today.

“We wanted to open a beach-themed neighborhood bar that we couldn’t be kicked out of.”

The day they opened their first location in Clearwater, Florida, they had to ask a friend for help because they had no idea how to heat up the fryers.

My daughter might look at me and say, “Why work at Hooters, that’s not very feminist?”

Katharina R.

They also broke the law, as Ed revealed: “I paid two fake cops to arrest one of my partners because we didn’t even have our beer license yet.”

Nevertheless, “Breastaurant” was a success and inspired numerous imitators, including “Tilted Kilt” in 2002 and “Twin Peaks” in 2005.

At the height of its fame in 2003, Hooters even had its own airline, but it only took to the skies for three years.

When the series was cancelled, it had lost $40 million (£23.65 million).

Even play

The original owners came up with the name Hooters because it has a double meaning – slang for owls and women’s breasts.

To increase the sex appeal of the waitresses, it was decided that their uniform should consist of a tank top and tiny shorts.

Each waitress had to sign and agree to three statements, including accepting that the chain was based on sex appeal and that she had to entertain customers.

While the uniform has remained fairly similar since the first restaurant opened, the chain came under criticism for making the shorts even shorter in 2021.

The New York Post reported that employees who felt “uncomfortable” in the new, tiny shorts were told by Hooters to submit their resignation letters.

Nevertheless, many female employees criticize the change because it hardly covers anything anymore.

Hooters waitress Kristen Songer, 22, said on TikTok: “These shorts don’t cover anything anymore.

“That’s why all the Hooters girls are upset – because that’s not what I agreed to wear when I was hired a year ago.”

Famous waitresses

Over the years, several famous women have spoken about their experiences at the chain.

Katherine Ryan, 40, says she became a comedian because of her time working at Hooters in Ontario, Canada.

During her time at the restaurant, she took part in bikini competitions – winning the title of Miss Hooters Toronto – and even visited the Playboy Mansion.

The comedian told The Observer: “I wanted to exploit this reverence that is shown towards tender, innocent young people.”

When she hosted her store’s bikini contest, she made her customers laugh with questions like, “Where are the trash bags?”

Today, the comedian is well aware that her daughter might wonder why she ever worked at the chain.

She said: “Violet could look at me and say, ‘Why am I working at Hooters, that’s not very feminist?’ Well, I just lived in the world that I was in, and it was different. And we didn’t have smartphones, Violet, and that was still acceptable.

“It wasn’t that I behaved badly – that’s just the way the world was.”

The late “Glee” star Naya Rivera also worked at Hooters before she became famous.

“At 20, I knew I was cute. So I thought, ‘Cute + boobs = better tips,'” Rivera wrote in her autobiography Sorry Not Sorry.

But it didn’t work out as well as she had hoped.

“As it turns out, Hooters was a job for bimbos, but not a job for lazybones,” she said.

Other famous collaborators include Amy Adams, Chrissy Teigen, Playboy bunny Holly Madison and Anna Burns.

Legal problems

Hooters’ all-female wait staff has gotten the chain into trouble over the years – in part because wannabe waiters have filed lawsuits.

In 1997, three men sued the chain after they were denied employment at a store in Orland Park, Illinois, each of whom received $19,100.

Four other men filed a similar lawsuit in Maryland and each received $10,350.

For this reason, the brand has decided to make roles such as bartenders and hosts gender-neutral, but to continue to have exclusively female waitresses.

However, the problems were not over yet, as several waitresses took legal action against the company for even more disturbing reasons.

In 2000, Hooters paid former waitress Sara Steinhoff $275,000 following an order from a federal court jury.

The move was intended to compensate her for being the target of unwanted sexual advances, degrading behavior, and accusations from managers during her employment at the restaurant in the 1990s.

“I just hope this makes a difference,” Sara said after the verdict was announced.

“I am happy for the women who no longer have to be exposed to this kind of atmosphere.”

Despite the controversy, Hooters has been praised by former employees for the benefits it offers to long-time employees.

In an interview with Cosmopolitan, former waitress Courtney Dietz, now 30, said: “Hooters helps fund books and education, so that’s really great.”

“You have to work hard for it. If you stay there for a year or two, there are also scholarships. My superiors let me do homework in the office while I looked after my desks.”

She also claimed that she had no bad experiences during her four years working at Hooters in the 2010s.

Hooters gave me the self-esteem to own my body and my sexuality

Ashley Yonan, former Hooters girl

Courtney also revealed the clever method girls use to fend off suitors who don’t want to take no for an answer.

She told the magazine: “In fact, a lot of girls buy fake engagement rings. We go to Target or wherever and buy huge rings and wear them so that if someone scares us enough, we just raise our hand and say, ‘Sorry, I’m taken.'”

Ashley Yonan, now 33, also a former Hooters girl, claimed the skimpy outfits gave her more confidence.

She said, “I became curvier in my uniform, but I felt better because Hooters gave me the self-esteem to own my body and my sexuality.”

Ashley guessed that most of the guests who came in were quite respectful, aside from a few lewd comments.

She observed only one incident of inappropriate touching, and the man who did it was immediately removed from the restaurant.

She added: “All the girls I worked with, including myself, worked there because it was fun. I never felt humiliated, in fact, the opposite. I felt empowered while working there.”

“I was able to take control of my sexuality and my body and use it to be seen the way I wanted to be seen.