Hooters of Liverpool: Chicken Wings, Sport, and Very Short Shorts

There was a time when it felt as if almost every town across the United States of America had a Hooters, the chain of restaurants that became famous thanks to the attractive waitresses that used to work there.

For a time, the only one in England was in Nottingham, located not far from the River Trent and able to cater to supporters of both Notts County and Nottingham Forest football clubs, as well as visitors to the cricket ground nearby.

Then another one opened on Water Street in Liverpool, giving the city yet another sports-centric venue for people to head to when they want.

About Hooters

Anyone with even half a brain will no doubt be aware of the fact that ‘Hooters’ is a slang term for a woman’s breasts. In many ways, that about sums up the theme of the franchise. Founded in the city of Clearwater in Florida back in the April of 1983, they built their first one on the site of a run-down nightclub that the six founders had been able to buy for a cut-down price.

In fact, there had been that many failed businesses on the same site that they built a small graveyard in front of the restaurant for those that had gone before. It began serving customers on the fourth of October.

@hootersliverpool Pre shift activies #hootersofliverpool #hootersgirls #fyp #hooters #passthephone #hootersgirlchallenge ♬ original sound – Hooters Liverpool

This time, however, the business was not a failure and the success allowed them to open new restaurants in different areas around the States. The ownership of the company has changed hands numerous times since the foundation of the Hooters brand, but all of them have stuck to the original remit that saw the majority of waitresses being young women, referred to as ‘Hooters Girls’.

The ‘uniform’ of the restaurant is bright orange hot pants as well as a tight white top that features the Hooters Owl, with the two Os being in the place of the owl’s eyes on the shirt.

The Liverpool Venue

With franchises operating in the likes of Bangkok, Colombia and Australia, Hooters is a globally recognised brand. The Liverpool branch of Hooters opened in 2022, in spite of protests from the then-Mayor of the city, Joanne Anderson. She said that the company had ‘an infamously sexually objectifying and misogynistic environment’, but her fears were ignored as a licence for it to operate was granted.

As a city heavy with the likes of stag dos and hen parties, Liverpool seemed like the ideal place for Hooters to operate and a company called Beauvoir Developments Ltd took on the franchise.

Today my brother, noticing the Hooters a few streets down from us in Liverpool, suggested we go see if John Daly (+13, missed cut) was inside.

And he was. #theopenchampionship

— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub.bsky.social) Jul 21, 2023 at 23:31

It didn’t take long before the restaurant began ruffling a few feathers in the city. Large orange signs were installed outside New Zealand House, in which Hooters of Liverpool is located, which caused objections from the local authority. They claimed that the signs had been put up without permission, with city centre councillor Nick Small declaring that they were ‘unlawful’.

Beauvoir Developments Ltd went into liquidation in January, yet they were still fined for the signs and the former licensee holder had to pay £1,500, as well as a victim surcharge of £1,200 when the case went to court.

What it’s Actually Like

The licence for the venue was taken over by a new firm called New Zealand Leisure Ltd, who have looked to continue along the same vein as Hooters’ wider business. That means that if you head along to the venue on Water Street, then you will still see women wearing short shorts as well as be able to enjoy the company’s famous chicken wings.

You can buy jugs of lager and other alcoholic drinks, as well as all of the usual soft drink offerings, plus a full menu of different food offerings. The venue is pretty much dominated by the large screens behind the bar showing live sport when possible.

That is because the family-friendly restaurant puts the likes of live sport close to the top of the agenda in order to ensure that it can appeal to its main target audience. That is, of course, men, who tend to take up the majority of seats inside the location. If you enjoy your time there, then you can buy a wealth of different merchandise, which includes the famous hot pants, as well as t-shirts and hoodies.

You can even buy a Hooters baby grow or a toy duck with a Hooters top and Scouse brow. If you want to, you can look to hire the venue for a private function for you and your friends and family.