Brits furious as ‘horrible’ US chain makes its way to England

Hooters, the American sports bar synonymous with hot wings and its hotpant-wearing female waiting staff, is preparing for its British expansion.

The restaurant, which takes its name from a slang term for a woman’s breasts, was founded in Florida on April Fools Day in 1983 as part of a joke orchestrated by a group of six men – with no restaurant experience – who all believed their business would fail.

Hooters now has more than 400 branches across the US and 29 other countries, including two existing UK branches in Nottingham and Liverpool.

The chain is preparing for a launch in the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, with the experiment likely proving a litmus test to indicate the brand’s prospects in the UK. It will be located on the vacant ground floor of the large TJ Hughes store in the city's Bigg Market area, and is expected to open in late February.

“Coming soon” signs have been displayed in Newcastle’s city centre, while a job advert seeking “enthusiastic and dedicated individuals” has been advertised with a base pay of £11.44 per hour, according to jobs site Glass Door.

The boss of the new location has reportedly hired 45 of the 50 “girls” for the job, some being as young as 17.

Hooters servers – who are exclusively female – wear low-cut white vests and orange shorts as their uniform, with the “Hooters” printed across their chests.

Various attempts at opening franchises in different UK cities have failed in the UK in previous years, with opposition from locals and councils over the brand’s supposed “objectification of women”.

Newcastle city centre residents have similarly voiced their concerns about the forthcoming opening, with one local telling The Guardian: “It’s horrible. We can do better than this.”

However, Canadian businessman Johnny Goard, who is opening the Newcastle franchise with Julian Mills, has denied claims of objectification, saying: “Hooters isn’t what you think it is”.

“It’s a restaurant,” he told the publication. “We don’t want to be here as a bar. We do kids eat for free on Sundays. Hooters isn’t what you think it is, what you perceive it to be, until you come in the door.”

Hooters’ first attempt at breaking Britain was when the franchise arrived in Birmingham in 1998 to huge excitement, only to shut 18 months later. At the time, campaigners had accused the company of objectifying women and there was criticism from local war veterans who complained the restaurant was too close in proximity to the Hall of Memory memorial.

The franchise has attempted to open various locations in the UK in following years, but to no avail.

A Bristol branch was opened in 2010 and closed in 2012 after claims that staff had given a cake in the shape of naked breasts to a 12-year-old boy and his friends.

Liverpool’s Hooters opened in 2022 despite protest from local residents and the then mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, who claimed the chain had an “infamously sexually objectifying and misogynistic environment”.

Nottingham’s Hooters is the only successful launch of the franchise in the UK. It was opened in 1998 by Mills and Goard, who are both behind the forthcoming Newcastle launch.

More than a decade ago, Hooters submitted an application to open a franchise in the city centre but the proposal was rejected due to concerns over crime, public nuisance, safety and fears it would worsen social disorder from stag and hen nights.

Kruti Walsh, the policy director at the feminist charity FiLiA, has said that the organisation “firmly opposes” the franchise’s plans, since the business “treats women as objects to be served up alongside chicken wings and fries”.

However, Goard has rejected claims that the brand objectifies women.

“Have you looked outside on a Friday night?” he told The Guardian. “What else can I say about that? We raise millions and millions of dollars for [breast cancer] charities.”

Goard continued: “If you want to go to TGI Friday, some people are saying it’s offensive because they’re dressed with [braces]. We’re not offensive in any way. It’s been [going] 41 years, we have hundreds of restaurants in 17 or 18 countries. But everyone’s got an opinion, everyone is entitled to an opinion as well.”

A Newcastle city council spokesperson told the publication: “We are aware of residents’ concerns about this development. Our licensing officers will be engaging with the current licence holder to determine their intentions for the property. We will also establish if further permissions are required to ensure compliance with the authority’s licensing objectives.

“As a White Ribbon City, Newcastle stands against all harassment, abuse and violence against women and girls. All businesses in our city are encouraged to show their commitment to tackling these important issues and we will be raising it with the licence holder at these premises to ensure they understand our clear position.”