"Despite naming his chain with a heavy dose of innuendo, he and his partners intended it as a beachside dining spot for young people and families. "It started as a place five miles from the beach," Kiefer, now the CEO of Hooters Inc., told Fortune. "You came in from the beach, could throw some coveralls on, shorts...and it was a hangout." But recently, the restaurant chain known more for its scantily clad servers than perhaps its wings and beer, strayed too far from its roots,"
"He blamed the chain's private equity ownership, particularly over the last five or six years, though the company has passed through several hands over the past few decades. That included the likes of businessman Hugh Connerty, who bought the rights to Hooters from the owners a year after its founding with the hopes of national expansion, followed by Robert Brooks and a group of investors at what is now Hooters of America, Inc., who bought the company from Connerty."
"Neil Kiefer is the CEO of Hooters Inc., which just finalized a deal to acquire the private equity-backed Hooters of America. In March, Hooters for America, the private equity-controlled entity that controlled the restaurant chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, giving Kiefer, his co-founders, and franchises a way to buy back more than 100 locations. For about two years, Kiefer and his business partners at Hooters Inc. had galvanized his franchises' discontent with the company's direction under private equity ownership."
Neil Kiefer cofounded Hooters in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida, intending a beachside dining spot for young people and families despite a name heavy with innuendo. The concept began as a casual hangout five miles from the beach where patrons could come in from the sand and relax. The chain later drifted from those roots amid successive private equity owners and national expansion efforts. Kiefer blamed recent private equity control for steering the brand away from its original identity. Kiefer and his partners finalized a deal to acquire the private equity-backed Hooters of America after a Chapter 11 filing, enabling franchises to buy back locations and refocus the brand on a beach-theme rather than sexualization.
Read at Fortune
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