Hooters in Manila

The ‘real’ Hooters opens at Mall of Asia
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
Special to BusinessMirror

“THE owl is landing at the Mall of Asia on April 28.”

Kaz Endo, managing director and partner of Paradise Wings LLP, a Guam-based company that owns the Hooters franchise for Guam and Asia, including the Philippines, was referring to the owl logo of the popular US restaurant chain. The Hooters logo is known worldwide as it is printed on the tight-fitting, white, spandex, sleeveless shirts of the restaurant’s buxomy wait staff.

“We are currently finishing up our plans for the grand opening, and let me just say it’ll be a blast! [There will be] live bands, free giveaways and, of course, everyone will finally be able to try our world-famous Hooters chicken wings and burgers,” said Endo in an e-mail to the BusinessMirror.

A “special VIP party” will also be held on April 26, with only select guests invited, according to the restaurant executive.

He said about $1 million will be invested to open the first outlet of Hooters right outside the Mall of Asia (MOA), reputed to be the largest mall in Asia which is owned and operated by the SM Group of Filipino-Chinese taipan Henry Sy. “Our restaurant is part of the restaurant row at San Miguel by the Bay. We are located at Building ‘D’ and have plenty of parking space in front of us, so our guests will find it very convenient to come for lunch and dinner.”

He said the originally-planned location for the restaurant at The Fort Entertainment Strip ran into some snags so the company decided to push forward with the MOA site. “We hit some delays with The Fort that was unfortunate, but we have since resolved them. When MOA became a green light, we proceeded with our plans to open it first. In hindsight, the delay at The Fort was fortunate as we have since changed our design ideas for the interiors.” The restaurant at The Fort was supposed to have opened in February. (See “Coming soon at The Fort: Hooters,” BusinessMirror, November 6, 2007.)

Hooters at the MOA is approximately 350 square meters, “but if you add the outdoor area, it becomes about 100 sqm larger,” Endo said. He said the entire area has a total seating capacity for 250 people.

Over 100 staff will be employed at the MOA site, including at least 50 female waitstaff. “We worked with MTV recently to do a ‘recruitment’ party and we will continue to work with local marketers to cast our Hooters girls,” he said.

Since news of Hooters opening in Manila was published in this paper, Filipino bloggers have been spreading the word about the restaurant’s opening. Some also wondered if the restaurant will also come out with a Hooters calendar like its US outlets.

Endo said the company is “considering” publishing a calendar and a magazine for its Filipino customers by 2009.

He added that Hooters Girls from the US will be flying into town during the first three weeks of operation at the MOA, “as they will be here as guests to help train and observe our local talent.”

Meanwhile, Endo said the company is aware of the fake Hooters restaurant along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City, which calls itself “Hooters Sports Bar and Restaurant”. He said: “Without going into detail at this time, I will just say that Hooters of America and the principles of that specific operation are currently in a legal dispute over trademark and concept infringment. Meanwhile, as the only authorized official franchisee of the Hooters brand, I encourage all customers who are curious about our restaurant concept to visit us soon! Hooters is a family-friendly environment with great food, casual atmosphere, and of course, Manila’s coldest beers!”

The fake Hooters sports bar uses a tarsier as its logo, but its large eyes are also positioned as the two “O”’s of its name, much like the real Hooters brand’s owl logo.

The boys will just love this!

MY story on the opening of Hooters at The Fort, as published in the BusinessMirror, Nov. 6, 2007.

Dang you boys are lucky! When are we girls going to get any fun restaurants like this? I'm in the mood for some gorgeous half-naked hunky male servers!

EXCLUSIVE:
Coming soon at The Fort: Hooters

HOOTERS, the American restaurant made famous by its buxomy beautiful babes, will be opening its first outlet in the Philippines at The Fort entertainment strip in Taguig City.

This was confirmed by Kaz Endo, managing director and partner of Paradise Wings LLC., a Guam-based company which owns the Hooters franchise for Guam and Asia, including the Philippines.

In an e-mail to BusinessMirror, Endo said construction is ongoing at the restaurant, which will open its doors to the public by February 2008. “The Philippines, in particular Metro Manila, is a multinational city. Quality brands from around the world can be found here. Hooters, an American casual-dining themed restaurant, has many fans around the world, and with its expansion around the globe [e.g. China, Japan, South Korea, Dubai, Tel Aviv, etc.], it was only natural that this solid brand of over 30 years eventually found its way into the Philippines market.”

While he didn’t say how much his group is investing in the first outlet, Endo noted that the Atlanta-based parent firm and franchisor, Hooters of America Inc., requires a minimum of $1 million (roughly P43.7 million) of available funding per store. “The first store opening has taken about two years to plan and put together. We took our time because we wanted to enter the market correctly—not just bulldoze our way in. An aggressive expansion will be determined greatly by the [positive] response of the market. With this said, we intend on opening at a minimum two to three restaurants in and around select major city areas.”

Endo’s other partners in Paradise Wings are Guam-based businessmen Brian Y. Suhr and Michael S. Hahm, president/chief executive officer, and executive vice president, respectively of South Pacific Petroleum Corp.; and a Los Angeles-based lawyer named Charles Isgar. There is also a reported Asian partner, but for the Philippines, Endo did not name the group’s local partner.

The restaurant at The Fort will approximately measure 400 square meters, with a 150-seating capacity. It will also employ about 30 to 40 part-time and full-time staff. “This number exponentially grows as we expand. So in short, with the success of Hooters, so comes more job opportunities for managers, cooks and of course servers!” Endo said.

While the restaurant is most famous for its Hooters Girls, immortalized in a number of American films, TV shows, magazines, and calendars, Endo said their group is not hiring waitstaff based on looks alone. “No doubt, the Hooters Girls are the restaurant’s ambassador of goodwill and service. As pretty as they are, these are hardworking waitresses who make sure that customers of all gender and age are happy with our service. With an average of 70 percent of all sales coming from food sales—Hooters is still a restaurant, not a bar! We are being very selective with choosing who gets to be a Hooters Girl. They have to have a great personality, smarts as well as beauty. . . . all within a ‘girl-next-door’ package.”

He said Hooters at The Fort will look like any Hooters outlet in the U.S. and around the world, with the interiors dressed in pinewood to give a log cabin feel. It will also have on display products of American nostalgia and sports gear, aside from the usual gigantic TV sets strategically placed throughout the restaurant, “making it a perfect place to watch live sports (soccer, basketball, etc). It’s a casual dining atmosphere, so basically it’s a no-nonsense place where everyone is welcome.”

It will also carry the same menu as the U.S. and international including the restaurant’s famous chicken wings. “But for those looking for lighter fare, Hooters offers great appetizers, salads, soups and sandwiches. For something more hearty, [guests can] try our great burgers, chili or pasta dishes. Of course [we also have] Alaskan King crabs, grouper fish sandwich, and fresh oysters which are always great alternatives during the Lenten season or when you crave seafood,” Endo added.

While no particular market is being targeted by his group, Endo said Hooters normally attracts a young crowd, both male and female, followed by families and older adults. “Statistically, men tend to make up 55 percent of our customer base, followed by 35-percent female, and 10-percent family. An average [meal tab] will be approximately P500. A, B and upper C markets can afford our menu, and in particular those who like American concepts, we hope will give us a try.”

According to Endo, Paradise Wings will be opening the other Hooters restaurants itself instead of franchising these out to other interested parties. But the company will probably seek “investment partnerships” when aggressive demand for the restaurants picks up. “Hooters, as simple as the concept appears, is a very controlled environment; therefore, any operator/partner will have to go through extensive service-quality training and will be carefully selected,” he explained.

The company is also considering other locations in Asia such as Thailand, Bali and Vietnam.

The first Hooters opened on October 4, 1983 in Clearwater, Florida. According to its web site, the privately held Hooters of America Inc. operates and is franchisor of 435 Hooters restaurants in 44 states and 23 international locations such as Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, England, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Venezuela.

Requirements for a Hooters franchisee include the ability to develop three to five restaurants within one’s territory, a restaurant location with at least 100,000-150,000 people within a five mile radius, $2 million in liquid assets, at least five years as a multiunit restaurant owner/operator.

A franchisee has to pay a franchise fee of $75,000 per location and an “option fee” of $15,000 for each additional restaurant option within a territory. Initial investment is between $800,000 and $1.5 million for each restaurant.

(Photo of Hooters Girl from HOA web site.)