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Breastaurant

A breastaurant is a restaurant that requires female waiting staff to be dressed skimpily. 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 be themed. The restaurants may offer perks for customers, such as alcoholic drinks and flirty servers.[5]

History

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

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

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

Gallery

See also

References

  1. Mikin, Mark. Hostess of the Week, 'Breastaurant' Edition Esquire, 2011-06-27, retrieved 2012-06-28^
  2. The Week's Editorial Staff. The 'breastaurant' boom: Why Hooters knockoffs are thriving 2012-06-26, retrieved 2012-06-28^
  3. Breastaurant Boom: Hooters-style eateries experience a mini-boom Fox News, March 25, 2015^
  4. Tanya Edwards. 11 Hooters Copycat Restaurants You Never Knew Existed Eat This, Not That!, 13 December 2022^
  5. Doctorow, Cory. "Breastaurants" are Hooters 2.0 Boing Boing, 2011-06-08, retrieved 2012-06-28^
  6. 'Breastaurants' with 'view' booming in struggling US dining industry The Indian Express, June 27, 2012, retrieved June 27, 2019^
  7. Matthew Yglesias. The "Breastaurant" Business Is Booming (Sort of) Slate, June 25, 2012, retrieved March 6, 2022^
  8. Breastaurant Trademark Information Trademarkia, retrieved June 27, 2019^
  9. Gary Dinges. 'Breastaurant' chain Bikini's shuttering last remaining location, rolling out new concept Austin American-Statesman, December 13, 2018, retrieved June 27, 2019^
  10. Tallywackers, Dallas' male Hooters, has closed GuideLive, 2016-08-10, retrieved 2017-05-13^
  11. Peter Holley. There's finally a Hooters-style restaurant featuring men. It's called Tallywackers. Washington Post, 2 June 2015^
  12. Brian Ashcraft. Japan's Macho Cafe Is Like Hooters in Reverse Kotaku, Gawker Media, May 15, 2015^
  13. Brian Ashcraft. Japan's Macho Restaurant Serves Up Real Beefcakes Kotaku, Gawker Media, November 4, 2015^
  14. Jaya Saxena. Is There a Place for Hooters in 2018? GQ, 19 June 2018, retrieved 18 September 2018^