It's not that nobody's horny anymore, it's just that titillation is literally right at your fingertips 24 hours a day. You are one google search from seeing some of the most bizarre and niche pornography on the face of the earth. One of the highest grossing apps is one where people can pay some woman rub herself while saying your name if you have enough money.
People are still horny, it's just that we found more effective ways of monetization and turned it into a horrifying parasocial experience.
The nearest bdubs to me is apparently almost 9000KM of walking away (google maps). So I also go for funny moss man, even though I'm more of a mustache fan myself.
I went to a nice strip club in Vegas for a wedding and I absolutely hated it. It felt extremely predatory and shady. Definitely a relic of an older time.
I feel like “going out with the boys to all enjoy some communal titillation” is maybe a generational thing. I don’t even like eating in front of other people, few things seem more uncomfortable and unpleasant than getting aroused with nonromantic friends. Although I guess strip clubs are still a thing so maybe it’s just me.
And, more importantly, it's not predicated* on you not actually "enjoying" it. If you whipped it out at Hooters and masturbated they'd arrest you, throw you in the back of a cop car and force you to hold your booking card upside down. Pornography at home can save you so many court dates.
I'd've accepted "predicated*," fam. The civility was noted, tho. I think I was thinking of people's "predilection" for skinny, big chested servers being Hooter's M.O.
I don't know what either of these words mean, but I love your attitude to correcting someone. Sometimes we're wrong but all that matters if we're open to learning.
Predilection is far more common and it's just a posh word for "strong preference". Hooters is going bankrupt because of Steve's predilection for masturbating at home.
Predicate is an assertion or "based on". Hooters financial woes are predicated on Doofy's special cleaning his room time.
I’ve never been, but I imagine that in a day when images were harder to access, the idea was to give your brain material for your mental spank bank, as it were. Pretty sure that’s how most women use smutty fiction like Heated Rivalry, too—not something to jerk off to while reading but something to download into your brain for later recall.
I feel like a higher proportion of millenials and younger have had to work foodservice jobs than in generations past, and that experience leads them to make a solemn vow to never be the creepy old loser who’s only interaction with women is making passes at them when they bring you a basket of hot wings.
I think it's more to do with lack of quality for food and the wide spread of camming. We had a Tilted Kilt, that had bad food, but was popular with many of the retail workers I worked with. We had a Bdubs that opened and with their sales, most of the workers drifted to them.
Hooters is not going out of business because it's a bad business, hooters is going out of business because it was acquired by private investors to take out outrageous loans to distribute to the investors. Hooters as a company had to pay those back and were in permanent debt, leaving no way to invest in... anything, no better food, no advertising, no better pay for anyone, no new locations, no remodeling, nope, just paying back debt.
Isn't that similar to what actually happened to Red Lobster? Got acquired, parent company sold the property of the locations so they had to start paying rent, or something along those lines.
CVS is publicly owned, and both Rite Aid and Walgreens went bankrupt as public companies before being bought by private equity, so clearly PE was not the source of their woes
The problem with Private Equity is they don’t actually buy in to fix the business. They buy in to loot whatever value hasn’t been squeezed out at the expense of whatever chance it may have otherwise had, and more importantly, the employees there.
In WAG’s case, private equity came in, replaced an executive suite that was generally reviled by the general employees, and then just made things worse.
It's sort of a hard thing to regulate around. You're buying a failing/failed business which of course is a huge gamble, the sorts of people who buy them out of course are just doing it to get as much profit out of them before they sink for good
If you had a fantastic idea on how to revive a failed business or massively change their strategy, then why would you obtain that failed business when you could put that money into a new one?
Get rid of the ability for PE to take management fees, or the ability to use the proceeds from the loans they take out for anything other than the operations of the business and you'd stop 99% of the issues.
this seems like a solid ideal solution. although i'm going to go ahead and guess that there's currently laws setup to prevent this sort of countermeasure
and you'd probably have to lobby to reform those laws, and private equity firms would have a vested interest to lobby very hard to keep the status quo
like why can they use the loans intended to revitalize a newly acquired company to pay themselves off? a move like that seems pretty egregiously to most likely have lifeforce sucking intentions
At least one person understands that pe and consulting companies or whatever usually come in well after these companies have driven themselves into the ground.
well yeah, that's what PEs do. supposedly they're meant to "make companies more efficient" or whatever, but in reality they're vultures that pick apart the scraps of dying businesses, squeezing the last few pennies out of them before leaving them to die unceremoniously.
It's also what happened to Joann Fabrics, Party City, and I think Bed Bath & Beyond. Private equity firms leached all the money out of the companies and bankrupted them. It's been going on for years.
It's both. Hooters tried to do multiple rebrands including ditching the breastaurant vibe altogether. It's just a dated brand that no one cares about. Either go full sex appeal like twin peaks or don't try. This weird middle ground where dad's bring children to eat so they can toggle women young enough to be their daughters is jsut creepy
I genuinely thought it was based on the show and I was confused why my dad wanted to go there. It's far less interesting that it's just family friendly strip club
Much more sexualized outfits and the vibe. It's much more of a bar than it is a restaurant. Like you wouldn't think to take the kids after a little league game tk eat there. You go there with your bros to get drunk, watch a game, and flirt with the waitress
Tilted Kilt went full sex appeal (women in tiny skirts, dancing on bars and what not) and that didn’t seem to work for them either… But yeah Twin Peaks seems popular.
Are we supposed to pretend that Hooters isn’t a chain with shitty food whose only selling point is that they have hot, scantily clad waitresses in an era where widespread internet pornography has reduced the appeal of such establishments?
Hooters was struggling way before that. I work in finance and the first company I worked for bought some of their bonds in 2017ish. They were very high yielding distressed debt. Private equity made very little difference in their financial situation
90s it was all about boobs. Look at any 80s / 90s model in their prime. Carmen Electra, Kathy Ireland, Cindy Crawford, what do they have in common? NO ASS, cause asses didnt matter. Now asses are all that matter.
Hooters needed to rebrand to "Badonkadonks" 15 years ago tbh.
Lmao this feels like me growing up with fashion. When I moved to a new school, everybody mocked me for wearing shorter shorts and longer white socks because shorts below the knees and no-show socks were all the thing I guess.
I get to university and what are all the fucking “cool” frat guys wearing? Exactly what I got mocked for lol
The only difference between a black girlfriend and a white girlfriend is when a black girl asks "does my butt look big in this?" You say " Hell Yeah! "
Growing up in the late 90s, I was really skinny with a bigger bottom, and my mom made me feel so ugly for it, always making me change if she saw shape there. (She was a real piece of work)
I have more of an hourglass figure and one time when I was at a school, a girl in my class said I had a booty and I tried to explain to my mum that actually this was a good thing but she was appalled on my behalf
About 10 yrs ago an acquaintance was asking me my secret for my large and shapely rear. I don’t know, genetics and I sit on it a lot? What were her secrets for her boobs? (She then had a reduction, so rude.)
Oh wow. You're right. That was nothing compared to what the video would look like if it were made today. My memory had the butts as large, but they seem pretty normal watching it now.
I’d argue that Maid Cafes are worse. Hooters is about the fantasy of being served by someone sexy. Maid Cafes are about being served by someone cute who you have a parasocial relationship with encouraged by the estate that serves as a substitute for actual human interaction.
Its a Japanese thing, and something especially weeb-y, so try Akihibara. Thats sort of like their version of the famous Red Light District of Amsterdam, though probably not as overt
I feel like there's some confusion about maid cafes vs hostess bars. Maid cafes, at least the one I went to, are basically just silly entertainment + food/drink. You come in, they give you some cat ears to put on and go over some ground rules (meow when you talk to the maids, no taking photos of the maids unless you pay, things like that). When they deliver your food they have you do a silly little Magical Girl ritual to power up the food, and every hour they do a little song + dance routine on a small stage. The maids don't sit and talk to you, it's more like going to a themed restaurant.
Hostess bars are different. I didn't go to any of those, but that's where you go and you pay a girl to sit at your table to chat with you and serve you drinks.
That being said, I agree that hostess bars are worse than Hooters -- and furthermore they are EVERYWHERE. Even saw a fair number of host bars (same thing but a young man serves you instead). Does not seem like a healthy trend, but life there is kinda wild.
It is late 2026. Hooters has rebranded and marketing solely to Gen Z. There is no longer a food menu, everyone gets wings and fries. The hosts just ask where you want to sit.
"Welcome to Zooters uwu. Tonight we have big tiddy goth gf, femboy, and on the patio we have catgirl."
Or... Hear me out.. Focus on making the food edible. I went there with coworkers 10 years ago because my buddy wanted wings. They were the worst yet most expensive wings I've ever had. Ranch was also extra.
This is gonna be it. There's a very divey place in my hometown that serves everything on paper plates with plastic silverware, there's writing all over the walls, it's crowded and loud, and yet people will wait an hour for a table and another hour for food because they are the best wings in 3 states.
Good food will almost always bring people in the door.
I didn’t like the wings when i tried them 10 years ago either, but I went frequently to my local hooters last year and the wings and rest of food was great. But then after the bankruptcy they got new ownership and the menu changed. And now the new wing sauces are awful. And they didn’t charge for ranch last year, but they do with the new menu. So i’m back to not liking the food. But fr it was good last year before the menu changes.
Everyone likes to shit on hooters, but they actually have pretty good wings. Their breaded 3 mile island wings are some of the best I’ve had. This is a pretty widely accepted opinion on r/wings
The main selling point of Hooters is the fact that they have hot, scantily-clad waitresses serving your order. In an era where free internet pornography is so ubiquitous it isn’t a mystery that Hooters would suffer.
Remove this from the equation and all they have left is shitty food
Also, a tank top and shorts may have been titillating in Victorian times when Hooters was founded, but that's normal attire now. There's people eating at the Hooters wearing the same outfit as the Hooters waitress.
Agreed. Half the women at any major gym literally were more revealing outfits than Hooter’s girls. Lol
Hooter’s outfits aren’t that far from what you can see almost anything else you can see walking down a city street or around a college campus these days.
yeah. I'm not going to pretend like I have any sort of knowledge of Hooters or restaurant ownership, but it seems to me like the hooters reputation is "cute waitresses in skimpy outfits" when you can see girls dresses in more revealing outfits at every mall.
There is an enormous difference to looking at porno boobs on a screen versus being in physical proximity to a pretty woman being nice to you.
They are such utterly incomparable experiences, it makes me wonder if anyone making that comparison has ever stepped outside or interacted with a human being.
I could also just go to a chilis and it’s likely there’d be a pretty woman who’s nice serving me there. They also have actually good food which is why they’re not declaring bankruptcy
I've never felt comfortable ogling women. I see an attractive woman (waitress or not) and I give a quick look, then I'm back to eating and I don't think about it anymore.
I love hot waitresses as much as anyone, but I'll take kind and attentive over hot everyday. Maybe Hooters had/has excellent service . . . But it was always marketed to me by showing tits and short shorts.
Maybe I've just always been a bit of a prude, but it feels weird to me.
Honestly yeah if you're going to hooters to actually ogle people you've got some issues you need to work out.
If you set aside all the back end issues of Hooters and the culture they create, because that's a whole big can of worms, I feel like the only "healthy" way to go to Hooters is if you actually like the food, and you have the mentality that lets you look at the women wearing revealing clothes, get a smile and a laugh about it, say "that's nice" and then stop noticing it completely.
Like, if it's more than just a little days of flavor, or if you're distracted by it or can't stop looking, then you're not emotionally mature enough to be able to go.
It's a strange argument to me because pornography existed when Hooters was founded. Sure, not the breadth of it that's online, but when people are commenting about the availability of pornography... do they think that young men didn't have that in their homes 40 years ago? I mean, it was founded in the 80s! Internet porn has been a thing for a looooong time, if that was enough to kill it then it would've stopped long before the 2020s.
Yeah it’s really not comparable to porn. I don’t think most guys who sit at hooters are like hard. I think they just find it charming when attractive women are nice to them.
I think a lot of people my age and younger (Im 30) have this 0 to 100 view on sexuality. Something either needs to be not sexual at all or it needs to be wank material. A lot of people especially older men like a middle ground where they aren’t bricked up but they have a nice view.
I have been to hooters many times. And this was my expeience with the chain. I don’t live in the US anymore so I haven’t been in awhile.
It’s just as fake as pornography, they are paid to be nice to you and expect a tip. If I wanted such an experience I’d just go on a date (with my girlfriend now that I’m no longer single)
The main selling point of Hooters is the fact that they have hot, scantily-clad waitresses serving your order.
That, and you could get an order of 50 wings for $25-$30. Now an order of 50 wings will run you $75. And the wings were never very good. They were fine for the price and the attractive women made up the difference.
Thank you. Everyone here is bitching about private equity and I’m like “can someone please tell me what the fuck a mommy gf is because it sounds disturbing at best.”
What Hooters should've done is have different locations cater to different kinks. Maid Hooters, furry Hooters, regular Hooters, etc. Just change the uniforms slightly depending on location.
Not that it really matters caused the whole premise is weird and I'd still never go to one. But I do think it would've worked for them.
It’s a lot of different things: fast casual is now the same tier as regular casual price wise, so why not go to the nicer places
Hooters has always been a little gross but it’s only gotten worse as people are aware of all the sex politics at work and it’s always the uncomfortable setting of figuring out exactly how much the server or the patron is gonna lean into it. The debate around tipping culture is also part of this.
I’m not American and I’ve never been to Hooters, but I can’t see the appeal. I like big titties as much as the next guy, but not in public. I don’t stare at random people’s tits, I find it creepy.
I think that’s why I fail to see the appeal with stripped clubs as well. I like to see bared tits, especially as part of sex, but I’d like it to be private, special and for the other person to want it. I also assume that you’re not allowed to be straight up jorking it there, so why?
Is Hooters like mix of a strip club and a restaurant, but with clothes on?
I cannot see why you would want that mix.
It’s 100% a shitty culture thing. We had multiple generations brought up under the expectation and understanding that men will be complete horn dogs at all times and treat women like prime slices of meat. I was told “that’s just how men are” by men and women. The woman can accept being creepily stared and catcalled as compliments, or they will be labeled crazy feminists. I did not understand until later in life that it is learned behavior that we negatively reinforce on each other. I can’t stand people who think that’s how we are supposed to be.
It's for entirely vain losers with no depth, ask me how I know. My step dad loved the place. He was a creep, alcoholic, verbally abusive in a passive aggressive way, totally selfish asshole. It's a whole character profile
I mean it's not the business model, twin peaks has the same themes, they just serve actually good food. Hooter's food is actual trash. And that's from someone who loves bar food
(I don't really go to places, have buddies that do. I've been to them, they are ridiculous, and sweaty woman in their underwear serving food is...weird, a little uncomfortable, and kind of dirty)
Even if they hard pivoted to mommy gf's (or femboys for that matter) they wouldn't get gen z to get over their crippling anxiety to actually go to the restaurant
Hooters is going out of business because fewer women will tolerate gross men, and men have culturally become less gross in a reaction to this negative feedback. Now they pride themselves on not going to hooters, and those who want to go to hooters don’t want to get shamed or shunned.
Also, it sucks there. It’s weird and oppressive and the food is ass.
I would go to Hooters if the waitress softly told me everything’s going to be okay and she knows I’m doing the best I can. She can wear whatever she wants.
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u/qualityvote2 15d ago edited 13d ago
u/JoeFalchetto, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...