Fort Lauderdale Hooters girls say chain has always been family friendly

When the original founders of Hooters took back control of the iconic restaurant chain last year after its corporate bankruptcy, they promised to return it to its roots.

That meant dialing back what founding member and Hooters Inc. CEO Neil Kiefer described as an oversexualized image, reemphasizing the food and hospitality, and broadening the brand’s appeal to families and younger customers after years in which some corporate locations had become, in his words, “little boys’ club stores.”

But at the South Florida Hooters locations, which have always been operated by the original ownership group, the servers who greet customers every day say they’ve been appealing to families and children all along.

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“Here in South Florida, nothing is changing for us,” Gracie Williams, who has worked for Hooters for nearly six years, told Digital.

“We are the same Hooters girls that we have been from the start,” said the 24-year-old waitress and bartender who also happens to grace the July cover of this year’s Hooters calendar.

Micayla Williams, 21, who has worked for Hooters for about two years, echoed that sentiment.

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“Nothing’s really changed for our locations,” she said. “We get families. We get elderly people. We get teenagers, even kids.”

Their perspective offers a regional counterpoint to the national conversation surrounding Hooters. As Hooters works to reshape public perception, employees at its two Fort Lauderdale locations say they’ve long served a broader customer base than the brand’s reputation might suggest.

Gracie Williams and Micayla Williams said their South Florida Hooters locations have always attracted children and families. (Peter Burke/ Digital)

Kiefer said restoring that broader appeal consistently throughout all remaining restaurants is central to the company’s strategy.

“We’re starting to build that broad base of consumer appeal again, like we have in the original Hooters,” Kiefer told Digital last year.

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The emphasis is on hospitality, food and community involvement, Kiefer said, while moving away from what he described as “renegade stores” that had become “oversexualized.”

“We’re always building an oasis for others to come. Good food, hot wings, cold beer and, of course, pretty girls.”

In South Florida, community involvement has always been the formula, the Hooters girls told Digital.

A Hooters executive described the corporate-owned restaurants as “renegade stores” that had become “oversexualized.” Hooters is looking to shed that image as the original founders have regained control of the brand. (Torin Halsey/Times Record News/USA TODAY NETWORK)

But Gracie Williams doesn’t ignore the element that has defined the brand for decades.

“We’re always building an oasis for others to come,” she said. “Good food, hot wings, cold beer and, of course, pretty girls.”

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Both women pointed to the restaurant’s customer mix as evidence that the perception of Hooters often differs from reality.

During the day, Micayla Williams said, families make up a significant portion of the crowd, particularly at beach locations.

Chicken wings and curly fries are a popular menu choice at Hooters locations in South Florida. (Peter Burke/ Digital)

“Obviously, we get more families during the day,” but there are also plenty of date nights at her location, she said, “which is pretty neat to see.”

Gracie Williams said the oceanfront location attracts parents and children spending the day at the beach.

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“The parents come and hang, and the kids are out on the beach,” she said. “And then when the kids come up, there’s a bunch of food for all the kids.”

Gracie Williams also pointed to the company’s fundraising events, which donate a portion of sales to local charities and youth sports organizations.

Gracie Williams said when she’s not pouring beers, she is helping Hooters to raise money for South Florida charities and youth sports. (Peter Burke/ Digital)

She recalled hosting dozens of rugby players and multiple teams at one recent fundraiser, saying those events reinforce the restaurant’s role in the community.

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“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, regulars are a man or someone that just gives you a lot of money,'” she said. “But here at Hooters, regulars aren’t necessarily that. Regulars are our family.”

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As Hooters works to convince a new generation of customers that it’s more than its decades-old stereotype, the women working at its South Florida restaurants insist it’s just business as usual.