Pretty much everyone has heard of, if not visited, a Hooters restaurant. While they’re known for their wings, the Atlanta-based chain’s big claim to fame, of course, is the skimpy costumes the exclusively female servers wear and their delicious chicken wings. Between the tiny orange shorts and the tight white tank tops—with the chain’s name emblazoned across the chest—there’s no mistaking Hooters for anything other than what it is; a “Breastaurant.”
Breastaurant is a term coined by Doug Guller, CEO of ATX Brands LLC, which owns Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill, and was actually trademarked, according to ABC News. Essentially, it means any restaurant where the focus is less on the food and more on the server’s appearance. Regardless of how you feel about this (it’s a little weird), these restaurants are all over the US, and remain popular as the day Hooters was founded, back in 1983. Read on to learn about the Hooters copycat restaurants, so you can visit—or avoid—them.
Probably one of the better known of these chains, the Tilted Kilt is a Scottish-Irish-themed sports pub serving burgers, wings, pretzels – all your pub basics. The “Kilt Girls” are said to be “mad for plaid” and wear some variation of a short plaid shirt, bikini top, and knee-high socks.
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This Dallas, Texas-based chain offers “Eats, Drinks and Scenic views” according to their website, and the locations scattered across the US are themed to look like a wilderness lodge, with mounted animal trophies, stonework, lots of TVs, and a staff of young women wearing cropped plaid shirts and khaki or denim booty shorts. The menu is upmarket burgers, tacos, and sandwiches. In a profile in Bloomberg in 2014, co-founder and CEO Randy DeWitt said he created the restaurant because “Hooters just wasn’t racy enough.” Noted.
While this much-loved BBQ spot didn’t set out to be a breastaurant, they opened with a bevy of skimpily dressed servers in red, tied-up shorts and black booty shorts. However, according to Crave, in 2017 the restaurant retooled the uniforms to be more family-friendly. That said, you’ll still see servers dressed up in referee outfits on game days.
Missouri is the “show me” state, and that’s where this Midwest chain plucked its name, a not-so-subtle double entendre. The staff’s outfits seem to vary a bit by location but think tight shorts, tight tank tops, and big smiles, and you’ve got the basic idea. Like Hooters, this breastaurant is known for pretty awesome wings.
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Yet another Texas-based breastaurant, with 12 locations in the state, Bombshells promises an “exciting atmosphere, great food and live entertainment,” with servers sporting pin-up style cropped military jersey-style tops and black shirts (some wear an ammo belt). With loads of televisions, you won’t miss a minute of the big game while munching on chips and queso, nachos, and more.
Based in Vegas, this hospital-themed restaurant is probably a little more famous for their horrifyingly huge “bypass burgers” and extremely not okay jokes about eating disorders in their marketing materials. However, the servers, who are called “nurses,” don revealing nurse outfits as they serve up gluttonous fare on Fremont Street.
This small Texas chain of four restaurants definitely pushed the boundaries of good taste (and the law) when they launched their ABC Nights—anything but clothes,” meaning the servers wore body paint and very little else. The restaurant was also featured in the 2013 MTV reality show Big Tips Tips Texas, but closed its final location in 2018.
A self-described “Latin sports cantina” this breastaurant serves up a pretty tasty-looking selection of tacos and other south of the border fare, in their Texas, New Mexico and Arizona locations. The servers sport bare midriffs, short shorts as they bring you cerveza and margaritas.
This sports bar, which featured servers wearing bikini tops and short-shorts, first opened in 2006 in Austin. It expanded with 14 locations throughout Texas, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, but those all eventually closed. The last location, in Austin, Texas, went bust in 2018, reported Eater at the time.
Yes, you read the name right. This “Hooters but with guys” restaurant opened in Dallas in 2015, with the focus strictly on male servers in very little clothing—tight short shorts, tank tops—bringing you “abb-itizers” and “cock-tails,” as well as the S&M Burger (Swiss and mushroom, naturally). Sadly, the restaurant didn’t penetrate the market as expected, and closed a year later.
A previous version of this article was originally published Apr 11. 2022.
Tanya Edwards
Tanya Edwards is a seasoned food and health journalist, who has held roles at Yahoo Health as Managing Editor and at Food Network as Programming Director. Read more about Tanya
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