Hooters says it wants to rebrand into a family friendly restaurant.
Longtime CEO Neil Kiefer says the restaurant chain initially started as a beach-themed, family style restaurant, and now he will make sure the famous servers wear the original uniform instead of the now iconic short shorts.
He says some locations under different ownership implemented clothing that was more revealing and too sexualized.
Kiefer also says some restaurant locations used the wrong wing sauce, and he promises to go back to the original recipe.
Kiefer, who started as an attorney for the chain in 1983, became CEO in 1992.
RELATED STORY | Wendy’s debuts blue-themed restaurants in ‘Project Fresh’ push
The brand sold its rights to private equity in 2001, which took over management of some locations as Hooters of America. The chain experienced some financial struggles through 2008 and the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
Hooters of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025. Kiefer and other original co-owners reacquired the rights and announced plans to return more than 100 locations to the brand's original roots.
