Original Hooters gets makeover

Hooters Management Corp. is seeing business soar on the back of its chicken wings, which made it a difficult choice to temporarily close its flagship restaurant for remodeling.

Neil Kiefer, president and CEO of Hooters Management, tells Coffee Talk the 28-year-old Clearwater restaurant is being remodeled to improve efficiency. “It was just time,” he says. But he insists the restaurant will keep its “delightfully tacky” charm with the 2,300-square-foot expansion.

This charm will be preserved in a Hooters museum of sorts. Curious customers waiting to be seated can browse through a collection of Hooters memorabilia and learn about the restaurant's history.

Kiefer says the 12-week expansion is necessary, but also laments closing the location. “Business has been so good it was hard to close it temporarily,” he says.

Shrinking personal income has forced consumers to be more cash-conscious. But Hooters captures business from consumers who want to save money but still want a sit-down dinner out.

Hooters Management opened two new locations in the Tampa Bay area in 2011, signaling that in a down economy, wings are king.