Tap Handle #662: Hooters 83 Lager
Rarity: less than 10 seen
Mounting: internal 3/8" nut
Although this isn't the type of imagery people would normally associate with the Hooters restaurant chain, I admit that I do like the barrel. The Hooters owl mascot appears on a sign attached to the barrel, with "Hooters 83 Lager" appearing on the sign. The name of the beer also appears on the wooden shaft. The colors are bright and the slats of the barrel look like real wood, and several bands encircle the barrel. The front and back are identical to each other, so I have reduced the number of photos taken. I've only seen five other taps besides mine, and there are 3 different sizes: tall (12"), medium (8.5") and small (5.5'). These might have been promotional items; but then again, Hooters 83 Lager wasn't around very long.
Click through to read more about Hooters, their 83 Lager, and to see more photos of this tap...
Hooters, Inc. is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida. The Hooters name is a double entendre referring to both its owl logo, a bird known for its "hooting" calls, and an American slang term for human breasts popularized by comedian Steve Martin on the hit comedy series Saturday Night Live. Hooters, Inc. was incorporated in Clearwater, Florida, on April 1, 1983, by six Clearwater businessmen: Lynn D. Stewart, Gil DiGiannantonio, Ed Droste, Billy Ranieri, Ken Wimmer and Dennis Johnson. The date was an April Fools' Day joke because the original six owners believed that their prospect was going to fail. Their first Hooters restaurant was built on the site of a former rundown nightclub that had been purchased at a low price. So many businesses had folded in that particular location that the Hooters founders built a small "graveyard" at the front door for each that had come and gone before them. The first restaurant opened its doors on October 4, 1983, in Clearwater.
In 1984 Hugh Connerty bought the rights to Hooters from the Original Hooters 6. Robert H. Brooks and a group of Atlantan investors (operators of Hooters of America, Inc.) bought out Hugh Connerty. In 2002, Brooks bought majority control and became chairman. The Clearwater-based company retained control over restaurants in the Tampa Bay Area, Chicago metropolitan area, and one in Manhattan, New York, while all other locations were under the aegis of Hooters of America, which sold franchising rights to the rest of the United States and international locations. Under Brooks's leadership, the collective Hooters brand expanded to more than 425 stores worldwide. Brooks died on July 15, 2006, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, of a heart attack. Brooks's will gave most of Hooters of America Inc. to his son Coby Brooks and daughter Boni Belle Brooks.
The Hooters Casino Hotel was opened February 2, 2006, off the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. This hotel has 696 rooms with a 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) casino. The hotel is owned and operated by 155 East Tropicana, LLC. It is adjacent to the Tropicana, across the street from the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Hooters also had an airline, Hooters Air, with scantily clad female stewardess. The waiting staff at Hooters restaurants are primarily attractive young women, usually referred to simply as "Hooter Girls", whose revealing outfits and sex appeal are played up and are a primary component of the company's image. The company employs men and women as cooks, hosts (at some franchises), busboys, and managers. The menu includes hamburgers and other sandwiches, steaks, seafood entrees, appetizers, and the restaurant's specialty, chicken wings. Almost all Hooters restaurants hold alcoholic beverage licenses to sell beer and wine, and where local permits allow, a full liquor bar. Hooters T-shirts, sweatshirts, and various souvenirs and curios are also sold.
In 2011 Chanticleer Holdings LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina and others completed the purchase of Hooters of America Inc. from the Brooks family. In 2015 Hooters announced that it is planning to open more than 30 restaurants in Southeast Asia over the next six years. As of 2016 there were more than 430 Hooters locations and franchises around the world and Hooters of America LLC. owns 160 units. There are Hooters locations in 44 US states, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, and in 28 other countries.
Hooters 83 Lager refers to the year that Hooters was first incorporated. It was only available for a few years before it was discontinued. It was a house beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch, and some customers described it as similar in taste to Amber Bock. A current beer called Hooters Lager is not related to the 83 Lager.
Hooters information courtesy of Wikipedia
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