Is Hooters Rebranding? CEO Says Chain Wants to Be ‘More Friendly' to Families

Hooters has been on a mission to change its image, or at least remind customers what the brand originally intended to be.

In a Thursday, May 21 interview with PEOPLE, Hooters CEO Neil Kiefer said the restaurant chain is working to become "more friendly" to families as the company attempts to move away from the more heavily sexualized image it developed over the last two decades.

"It's a neighborhood place that many families frequent, and singles and couples," Kiefer told the outlet, describing Hooters as "a beach-themed place centered around the Hooters Girls, good food, [and being an] easy place to relax."

Kiefer, who has been involved with the company since its launch in 1983 and became CEO in 1992, recently helped the chain's original founders regain control of the brand after Hooters of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025.

According to Kiefer, the restaurant slowly drifted away from its original identity after private equity firms took over portions of the business in the early 2000s. He claimed certain locations moved further away from the chain's original beach-bar concept and leaned too heavily into a more provocative image.

"The second thing was they had changed the uniforms of the girls and put them in almost what appeared to be a thong," Kiefer said, per the outlet. "And that was never the intention when this concept started."

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In November 2025, the company started bringing back older uniform styles, including the chain's more modest vintage orange shorts. Executives have reportedly referred to the company's current revival efforts as a "re-Hooterization," which includes simplifying menus, upgrading ingredients, and trying to restore what they describe as a more approachable atmosphere.

"Just trying to make it more friendly to everybody. No one's going to be insulted," Kiefer explained.

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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 5:07 PM.