Hooters’ history includes airline, Las Vegas casino and arena football team

“Horns Make You Happy” was a lyric from a series of television commercials in the 1990s about the company founded in Florida. Restaurant chain.

It’s one of the memorable phrases shared by once-loyal Hooters patrons during an era when the brand was attractive to single men and families alike.

Now, amid bankruptcy proceedings, the founding group — along with another franchisee — announced a plan earlier this year to regain control of the brand, which Hooters Inc. CEO Neil Kiefer told Fox News Digital deviated too far from the original vision under Hooters of America.

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While the group of buyers awaits bankruptcy court approval, here’s a trip down memory lane — offering five facts about Hooters’ history that may come as a surprise to some.

1. The name is a play on words

During one of Parcheesi’s games, six “semi-cultured Clearwater businessmen” developed a sudden desire for Buffalo style. chicken wings, According to the website of Hooters Inc., which still operates the original Hooters location and nearly two dozen other locations throughout the Tampa Bay and Chicagoland areas.

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Knowing they couldn’t agree on anything as a group, the “Six Trumpets,” as they became known, decided to “embark on a big mission” and “open a place in Clearwater where other people of their caliber could gather and quench their thirst for the finer things in life.”

But what will they call it?

“Simple – what brings a sparkle to the eyes of men everywhere Besides beer Chicken wings and the occasional winning football season? Hence the name trumpets.”

Hooters opened its flagship location in October 1983.

The original Hooters restaurant opened in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983. (Istock)

The name is a double entendre, referring to the slang term for a woman’s breasts, giving birth to the concept of “breastaurant” – and the logo, an owl known for its hoots.

Oh, and the owl mascot’s name is Hottie.

2. The horns are coming home

Before young Hooters waitresses were widely welcomed into homes as the bikini centerpiece of the annual Hooters calendar, they found fame on late-night television.

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The Hooters Girls made their small screen debut in 1987, presenting and hosting a late-night weeknight movie called “Hooters Nite Owl Theater.”

Lynn Austin, the original Hooters calendar girl who also appeared as a Playboy Playmate in July 1986, was the first hostess.

Lynne Austin, the original Hooters Calendar Girl, was the first host of “Hooters Nite Owl Theater,” later renamed “Hooters Movie of the Weak.” (trumpets)

The syndicated show was later renamed “Hooters Movie of the Weak”. This is not a typo.

Syndicated in 13 major markets, it was a hit with viewers for its comedic sketches and political skewers that bookended the film and aired between commercial breaks, quickly ranking No. 1 in its time slot, according to Hooters.

The show eventually moved to the afternoon slot before being snatched in 1995, “the victim of a legal skirmish between Hooters of America and Hooters Inc.”

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Hooters tried to give television another shot in 2001 with the song “Who Wants to Date a Hooters Girl?”

The half-hour dating show was to pit six men against each other who all wanted a night out with a Hooters waitress.

Hooters have found their way into people’s homes every week thanks to the popular TV show. (Karsten Reeder/Image Alliance via Getty Images)

Broadcasting + Cable reported that comedian George Gray was set to host “Who Wants to Date a Hooters Girl?” – While Doug Schwartz, creator of the famous “Baywatch” series in the 1990s, has been attached as executive producer. The show was never broadcast.

3. Trumpets take the field

Hooters was more than just a restaurant chain. It was also a football team in the 1990s.

The Miami Hooters was the name of the old Arena Football League team in Florida.

The poster shows the inaugural season of the Arena Football League’s Miami Hooters. Photo on display at a Hooters restaurant in Boca Raton. (Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)

Under a marketing agreement with the restaurant chain, the team played the Horns from 1993 to 1995.

After achieving a paltry 11-26 record over three seasons, the sponsorship was terminated and the team moved to West Palm Beach, taking on a new identity as the Florida Bobcats.

4. Trumpets reach heaven

Hooters rose to 30,000 feet in the early 2000s.

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The restaurant chain was flying high with the launch of a Hooters-branded airline in 2003.

Hooters Air was launched in 2003. (St. Petersburg Times/ZUMAPRESS.com)

Hooters Air, through a partnership with Pace Airlines, operated a fleet of Boeing planes that flew to 15 U.S. destinations under a flat-fare model of $129 each way, according to Forbes.

The airline was founded by Robert Brooks, who was president of Hooters of America and acquired Pace Airlines in 2002.

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Two Hooters girls rode on each flight, according to Forbes, mostly for in-flight entertainment since they were not certified flight attendants.

It was an advantage for passengers Free meals For any flight lasting more than an hour, according to Airline Magazine.

Hopper girls accompanied passengers on Hooters flights. (Eric S. Lesser/Getty Images)

But Hooters Air was short-lived. It was closed in 2006.

5. Trumpets throws the dice

The horns had it too Private hotel And a casino in Las Vegas.

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The Hooters Casino Hotel opened in 2006 across from the MGM Grand off the Las Vegas Strip.

The Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas opened in 2006. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

It had 696 rooms, a casino, and nine restaurants and bars, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

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Hooters girls worked as house clerks and on the casino floor as waitresses, Bartenders and cocktail servers The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Hooters girls were waitresses, bartenders, cocktail servers and dealers at the Hooters Casino Hotel. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The venue was rebranded as Oyo Hotel and Casino in 2019.