I have heard for the last 20 years, well, my wife wouldn't let me go in there.
For years, Hooters has been operated by two different companies.
One owned by private equity that emphasizes the brand's sex appeal.
And the other, which includes the original founders, that says the restaurant is actually family-oriented, and always has been.
After filing for bankruptcy earlier this year, Hooters says it's trying to bring all its restaurants back to that purportedly more wholesome vision.
And this is the man leading that effort.
What do you think that does to the brand to have these two different operations, basically?
Well, so far, it's not done very well.
Neil Kiefer's group, which includes the restaurant's original founders, runs the stores in the chain's two most successful markets.
The rest of the locations have been run by private equity since 2019, and have been riddled with debt.
