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“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 popular 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 also positioned as the two “O”’s of its name,
much like the real Hooters brand’s owl logo. |
