When the original founders of Hooters took back control of the iconic restaurant chain last year after its corporate bankruptcy, they promised to return it to its roots.That meant dialing back what founding member and Hooters Inc.CEO Neil Kiefer described as an oversexualized image, reemphasizing the food and hospitality, and broadening the brand's appeal to families and younger customers after years in which some corporate locations had become, in his words, "little boys' club stores."But at the South Florida Hooters locations, which have always been operated by the original ownership group, the servers who greet customers every day say they've been appealing to families and children all along.HISTORY OF HOOTERS: 5 FACTS YOU LIKELY NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE RESTAURANT CHAIN"Here in South Florida, nothing is changing for us," Gracie Williams, who has worked for Hooters for nearly six years, told Fox News Digital."We are the same Hooters girls that we have been from the start," said the 24-year-old waitress and bartender who also happens to grace the July cover of this year's Hooters calendar.Gracie Williams, a Hooters waitress and bartender in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is "Miss May" in the 2026 Hooters calendar.
(Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)Micayla Williams, 21, who has worked for Hooters for about two years, echoed that sentiment.HOOTERS DITCHING BIKINI NIGHTS FOR OVER-60 CROWD AND FAMILIES"Nothing's really changed for our locations," she said."We get families.
We get elderly people.We get teenagers, even kids."Their perspective offers a regional counterpoint to the national conversation surrounding Hooters.
As Hooters works to reshape public perception, employees at its two Fort Lauderdale locations say they've long served a broader customer base than the brand's reputation might suggest.Gracie Williams and Micayla Williams said their South Florida Hooters locations have always attracted children and families.(Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)Kiefer said restoring tha...