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'We're not offensive' Opposition grows to UK expansion of Hooters restaurants
The Guardian
|February 08, 2025
The (in)famous orange signage is up. Work is carrying on apace to be open in a fortnight. Fifty "girls" are wanted and they are "hiring in all positions".
Hooters, the American "breastaurant", known for finger-licking chicken wings and buxom waitresses in skimpy shorts and tight vests, is launching in the centre of Newcastle, in what may be the decisive test of the brand's reach in Britain.
"For over 40 years, Hooters has built a reputation across the globe for making people happy, and we are excited to bring our one-of-a-kind guest experience to Newcastle in the iconic Bigg Market within the city centre, with an official opening expected this month," the company said in a statement to the Guardian.
"It's horrible," responded Jen Bagelman, 41, a professor of geography at Newcastle University who lives close by in the city centre. "We can do better than this."
The Newcastle franchise will be the UK's third, after Nottingham and Liverpool, and is an attempt to buck a trend, home and abroad.
This story is from the February 08, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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