Holy Hooters - Restaurant chain Hooters is heading for Holy Land
Pastor Dale Morgan
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Tuesday March 20, 8:03 PM Reuters
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Holy Hooters - Restaurant chain Hooters is heading for Holy Land*
By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. restaurant chain Hooters, known for
waitresses in short shorts and tight tops, will open its first branch in
Israel this summer, in the Mediterranean seaside city of Tel Aviv.
"I strongly believe that the Hooters concept is something that Israelis
are looking for," Ofer Ahiraz, who bought the Hooters franchise for
Israel, told Reuters on Monday. "Hooters can suit the Israeli
entertainment culture."
At Hooters, scantily clad waitresses the company calls Hooters Girls
serve spicy chicken wings, sandwiches, seafood and drinks.
Ahiraz said a specific location in Tel Aviv, Israel's most cosmopolitan
city, had yet to be chosen, but he said it would not open restaurants
near large religious populations, and they would not be kosher.
He said his plan was to open as many as five Hooters restaurants in the
next few years, including one in the southern resort city of Eilat.
The Tel Aviv version of Hooters is expected to mimic most of the chain's
other 430 restaurants in the United States and in 23 countries including
China, Switzerland, Australia and Brazil.
Ahiraz said, however, he expected some minor modifications to meet
Israeli tastes since U.S. chains have had a mixed response in Israel.
Food chains such as Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Hard Rock Cafe failed,
Kentucky Fried Chicken closed many locations, while others such as
Burger King and McDonalds have thrived by altering their offerings to
suit the Israeli market.
"It shows that if you are flexible and listen to your customers you can
be a success story," Ahiraz said.
The opening of Hooters in Israel is part of the chain's global
expansion. Privately held Hooters said it planned to open 17 restaurants
in Colombia, Dubai, Guam, New Zealand and India in the next two years.
"International expansion is a major focus for our company, and we are
very excited to add Israel to our family," John Weber, executive vice
president of franchise operations for Hooters of America, said in a
statement.