Hooters gives a Hoot
Many casual chains have cycled through attempts to condense their concepts into a fast-casual format—only to learn a changeover is tougher than it looks on paper. But with limited-service competitors like Wingstop finding success, Hooters is giving it a try, announcing this week that it will spin off a fast-casual variation called Hoots.
The brand is also seizing the opportunity to get away from another signature, an all-female wait staff, often clad in T-shirts and short shorts. Men as well as women will run orders to customers’ tables, Hooters disclosed, and none will show as much skin as what customers are likely to spy in a full-fledged Hooters.
The menu will be scaled down, with the focus squarely on wings.
New York magazine called the new venture a “restaurant for a man who loves wings but hates objectifying women.”
It will also be easier to develop because of a smaller footprint and presumably less resistance from neighborhood groups who have objected to the breastaurant’s full-service formula.
The prototype is expected to fire up its fryers later this month.