Wesley Chapel to get its first Hooters restaurant next summer

WESLEY CHAPEL — Harleys and Hooters seem like a perfect fit.

The HMC Hospitality Group, the founders of the Hooters concept, announced that it has signed a lease for a new Hooters location at 25245 Wesley Chapel Blvd., next to the Wesley Chapel Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership.

The Hooters location will be a 4,500-square-foot restaurant with an outdoor patio.

The opening of the Wesley Chapel location is planned for the summer of 2025.

Wesley Chapel Harley-Davidson opened a little over two years ago, with plans to eventually add a restaurant concept.

"We are excited for our growth and expansion and look forward to becoming a go-to spot for the Wesley Chapel community," said HMC Hospitality Group CEO Neil Kiefer.

HMC Hospitality Group owns and operates 22 Hooters restaurants in Tampa Bay and Chicago and three Hoots (a fast-casual spinoff) locations in Chicago.

Hooters' specialty is chicken wings, grouper sandwiches and cold beer, although it has a full menu featuring other typical bar fare. It is most known, however, for its scantily clad and iconic Hooters Girls serving up food and drink in white tank tops and orange shorts, which has made it a target of critics although it maintains a loyal fanbase.

The restaurant has a deep history in Florida, starting in 1983 when it opened its original location in Clearwater before growing to more than 400 locations in almost 30 countries. Its wings were lauded, while some of the waitresses, or Hooters Girls, became mini celebrities.

The new Hooters will be the third Pasco County location, joining others in Port Richey and Odessa. The restaurant expects to hire around 60 employees for the new location.

On its website, it says it has been deeply involved in the communities where it has restaurants and has raised more than $4 million to benefit the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. It has also established a Breast Cancer Research Grant in the name of Kelly Jo Dowd, a 1998 Hooters Calendar Cover Girl who battled breast cancer, and has an endowment fund that contributes to charities like the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, among others.