Everybody who’s boned up on American pop culture should know what Hooters is: that bastion of scrumptious, mouthwatering deep-fried food and thirst-quenching beverages, topped off with a healthy dollop of, well, well-endowed and scantily-clad waitresses.
Business Wire reports that Hooters of America, LLC, the parent company behind the uberpopular restaurant chain, is looking into expanding its operations in Southeast Asia over the next six years, with new outlets in Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
Hooters already has a presence in Singapore, and has recently opened an outlet in Phuket, Thailand.
“The moment the doors opened to Hooters Phuket we realized the tremendous opportunity to greatly broaden our efforts to develop the Hooters brand across Asia,” said Gary Murray, CEO of Destination Resorts Co.
“We pride ourselves on introducing fresh, exciting concepts to our guests, and the unparalleled Hooters dining experience fits that profile.”
“Following the warm welcome of Hooters Phuket, we’re confident our esteemed franchise partner will realize continued success as we work together to spread Hooters wings in additional markets,” said Mark Whittle, senior vice president of global development for Hooters of America.
While that’s all well and good, we can already imagine the more conservative portions of Malaysian society (hi, ISMA!) having conniptions over the possibility of a Hooters – and a bevy of Hooters Girls – setting up shop on our shores.
Pass the popcorn shrimp, this should be a doozy.
