Hooters to lengthen signature orange shorts as part of brand relaunch

Hooters' new leadership said it will revise the restaurant chain's iconic orange shorts to a less revealing, more "athletic" style as part of a wider effort to restore the brand's original image and broaden its customer base.

Neil Kiefer, CEO of the founder-led Hooters Inc., said the change is intended to dial back a more sexualized presentation that developed under the previous corporate operator and return to a look rooted in the 1980s, when the shorts were conceived as dolphin-style athletic apparel. "You don't want to have a butt cheek in your plate," Kiefer said in an interview earlier this year. "They're supposed to be athletic, not so much sexual."

Kiefer's group, together with another franchisee, has said it will take over the remaining corporate locations that were operated by Atlanta-based Hooters of America, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year amid abrupt restaurant closures in multiple states. The handoff marks a pivotal moment for the Clearwater, Florida-based company that founded the Hooters concept in 1983 and seeks to reclaim stewardship of the chain's image and operations.

The uniform adjustment is part of a broader repositioning aimed at appealing to a wider cross-section of customers, including families, women and older diners. "I can guarantee you there's a bunch of senior citizens there, male and female, at 2 in the afternoon," Kiefer said, pointing to recent openings such as the new Hooters in The Villages, Florida, an age-restricted community where patrons lined up for the restaurant's grand opening in May.

At some franchise locations that remain independently operated, employees said the uniform change will feel familiar. Alli Lamb, 21, a waitress and bartender at a Boca Raton Hooters run by the chain's original franchisee, said trying on the uniform was part of orientation. "They make sure everything's good and that you're comfortable in it," she said. "This is kind of what I expected."

Lamb said she has heard criticisms of the Hooters dress code — which includes limits on colorful fingernails and visible tattoos at some locations — but that enforcing a uniform standard can make the concept feel more professional and approachable. She appears on the back cover of the 2025 Hooters swimsuit calendar and noted that, in her experience, "Everything's covered. Nothing's out that doesn't need to be out." Kiefer emphasized the company is not seeking a drastic or sudden overhaul. "There may be those still out there that are upset that the shorts aren't going to be as short, but that's just not what the brand is," he said.

The shorts' evolution mirrors the chain's broader commercial shifts. Originally designed as sporty dolphin shorts popular in the 1980s, the garments gradually became shorter and more revealing in some locations over the years. Kiefer and the founder-led ownership argue that returning to an athletic silhouette will preserve the chain's nostalgic identity while reducing elements that may alienate potential customers.

The swap in corporate control follows operational and financial strains at Hooters of America. The Chapter 11 filing and related closures prompted a restructuring that left franchisees and the original company negotiating the future of remaining corporate stores. Kiefer's group has characterized its approach as restoring authenticity to the concept rather than abandoning its distinctive, "delightfully tacky" persona.

Company officials have not released a comprehensive, systemwide timeline for when revised uniforms will be rolled out or how requirements will be standardized across corporate and franchise locations. For now, Kiefer and franchise partners are moving to assume control of the remaining corporate units and to set policy around uniforms, marketing and customer experience as part of a planned rebirth.

As the chain navigates the transition, the uniform change is a visible signal of the broader repositioning. Management frames it as a way to balance nostalgia with broader commercial appeal: preserving Hooters' origins while making the dining room welcoming to a wider range of patrons who come for wings, beer and conversation as much as the atmosphere.