Amid protests, Hooters opens in Waco to long lines
WACO - Hundreds of patrons - mostly men - munched on chicken wings and hamburgers served by waitresses in low-cut tank tops and tight shorts Tuesday at Hooters’ grand opening, months after about 60 ministers tried to stop the restaurant’s construction.
You know that the Apocalypse is truly upon us when Hooters, that shameless purveyor of cleavage, tight buttshorts, and mediocre bar food, is finally able to open a location in Waco. Man, I can almost hear the weeping and gnashing of teeth from here as Baptists throw themselves off freeway overpasses.
Of course, if you were to listen to the local Baptist quasi-militia, it would seem the the anti-Christ has indeed taken up residence in Pleasantville Waco. Before you know it, patrons will be looking for the mark of the Beast on their waitress’ forehead. Oh, the humanity.
Look, Hooters is a gimmick. The food is fair to middling at best, the waitresses are there to be ogled (and they know it). No one is being hoodwinked here. The concept is designed to appeal to males, but it’s like anything else. If you don’t like it, don’t go. I will tell you one thing, though. The Seabrook Hooters on NASA Road 1 is easily the busiest restaurant in town. Hey, whodathunkit?? Misogyny sells!!
The Rev. Greg Brumit, who disapproved of the increased traffic in the neighborhood as well as the skimpy outfits, said no more protests were planned.
“We’ve done all we can do. We’ll just leave the rest to the Lord,” said Brumit, pastor of Kendrick Lane Baptist Church. “They’re welcome to come down the street to our church.”
Something tells me that if the Lord wanted chicken wings, He knows damn well He can do better than Hooters….
Last fall, Brumit was among dozens of ministers who wrote a letter to city and county officials, saying Hooters should not come to Waco.
“It is the one restaurant chain of national scope that bases its marketing campaign almost exclusively on sexual innuendo and exploitation of women,” pastors said.
After the opposition was publicized, the McLennan County Sheriff’s Department and East Texas Medical Center Emergency Medical Services said they would ask employees not to eat at Hooters in uniform.
Of course, this is still a free country, and people are still free to eat where they choose. Yep, there is nothing like freedom of choice, eh? Unless it’s giving into to the narrow-minded Baptists who would do well to realize that if Hooters is the biggest problem they face, they lead a charmed existence.
OK, y’all…let’s get something straight here. Hooters is a restaurant. It’s not the business arm of the anti-Christ, nor is it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Satan, Inc. If you don’t want to patronize a generic formula restaurant, then don’t. It’s your choice. But leave the high-and-mighty judgementalism at home, willya? You could always just order a pizza and watch the “700 Club”. The cheap, feigned self-rigtheous indignation just sounds tired, and it makes y’all look pathetic and intolerant…and Lord knows you’ve got enough of that to deal with as it is.
