Breastaurant

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Waitresses at Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill (Austin, 2010)

A breastaurant is a restaurant that requires female waiting staff to be skimpily-dressed. The term dates from the early 1990s, after restaurant chain Hooters opened in the United States.[1] The format has since been adopted by other restaurants, including Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery, Twin Peaks, Ojos Locos, Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill, The WingHouse Bar & Grill, Redneck Heaven and Bombshells Bar & Grill.[2][3][4]

These restaurants often use a sexual double-entendre brand name and may also have appropriate themes, both in decoration and menu. The restaurants may offer perks for customers, such as alcoholic drinks and flirty servers.[5]

History[edit]

A waitress at Twin Peaks washes a customer's car (Austin, 2012).
Hooters employees in Shanghai, China, 2007

Hooters is credited as the first breastaurant, having operated since 1983. Other companies soon adopted the format.[6] According to food industry research firm Technomic, the top three breastaurant chains in the United States after Hooters each had sales growth of 30% or more in 2011.[7]

In October 2012, Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill successfully registered the term "breastaurant" as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office; but as of May 24, 2019, the trademark lapsed under section 8, "Continued use not filed within Grace Period".[8] Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill had closed its last restaurant on December 23, 2018.[9]

Male variations[edit]

Restaurants staffed by males, with a similar focus on server appearance, include Tallywackers, featuring scantily clad men, which opened in Dallas, Texas, in May 2015 and closed in August 2016.[10][11] In Japan, there are pop-up establishments such as Macho Cafe[12] and Macho Meat Shop,[13] where brawny men serve food and drinks.

Criticism[edit]

Breastaurants have been criticized for sexually objectifying women.[14]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Mikin, Mark (June 27, 2011). "Hostess of the Week, 'Breastaurant' Edition". Esquire. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  2. ^ The Week's Editorial Staff (June 26, 2012). "The 'breastaurant' boom: Why Hooters knockoffs are thriving". Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  3. ^ "Breastaurant Boom: Hooters-style eateries experience a mini-boom". Fox News. March 25, 2015.
  4. ^ Edwards, Tanya (December 13, 2022). "11 Hooters Copycat Restaurants You Never Knew Existed". Eat This, Not That!.
  5. ^ Doctorow, Cory (June 8, 2011). ""Breastaurants" are Hooters 2.0". Boing Boing. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  6. ^ "'Breastaurants' with 'view' booming in struggling US dining industry". The Indian Express. June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  7. ^ Yglesias, Matthew (June 25, 2012). "The "Breastaurant" Business Is Booming (Sort of)". Slate. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "Breastaurant Trademark Information". Trademarkia. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  9. ^ Dinges, Gary (December 13, 2018). "'Breastaurant' chain Bikini's shuttering last remaining location, rolling out new concept". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  10. ^ "Tallywackers, Dallas' male Hooters, has closed | GuideLive". GuideLive. August 10, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  11. ^ Peter Holley (June 2, 2015). "There's finally a Hooters-style restaurant featuring men. It's called Tallywackers". Washington Post.
  12. ^ Brian Ashcraft (May 15, 2015). "Japan's Macho Cafe Is Like Hooters in Reverse". Kotaku. Gawker Media.
  13. ^ Brian Ashcraft (November 4, 2015). "Japan's Macho Restaurant Serves Up Real Beefcakes". Kotaku. Gawker Media.
  14. ^ Saxena, Jaya (June 19, 2018). "Is There a Place for Hooters in 2018?". GQ. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
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