Hooters Could Be Yours for $250 Million

Interested in investing in a slightly used, but much loved national sports bar chain that specializes in wings served by busty waitresses in skimpy uniforms? Well, if you've got the money Hooters is looking for buyers. The Post reports today that after a few years of sinking sales and pricey, misguided ventures like the Hooters airline and the Hooters Hotel and Casino in Vegas, the Atlanta-based restaurant group is shopping its self around to private-equity firms. The estimated asking price is somewhere around $250 million.

Currently, the Hooters restaurant group has over 450 locations across the world, including branches in China and Australia. Although a lot of the decline in sales has had to do with the recession, the Hooters Casino and Hotel in Vegas is also apparently bleeding the company dry -- it's already racked up $144.5 million in debt for the group alone.

Both the Vegas venture and the short-lived airline project were initiated by the father of the current Hooters CEO Coby Brooks, who passed away in 2006. Recently, though, Brooks has been trying to boost the public image of the brand with charity fundraisers, and an appearance on a reality show. So, who knows-- maybe investing in the future of Hooters isn't such a bad idea after all?
·Hooters Seeks Chain Buyers [NYP]
·All Hooters Coverage on Eater [-EN-]