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Hooters Dubai plans in Middle East NOT deflated after all
FLORIDA, 6 Aug. 2007, (Arabisto.com): Atlanta Ga.-based Hooters of America Inc. will be opening up a location in Dubai after all.
According to Harry Grindrod, director of Hooters European Franchising, the company still intends to open a Dubai location in the Middle East.
"We are still planning on it," Grindrod said in an email to Arabisto.com. "The problem is that the present contractor can't give us a good timeline for completion."
It's unclear how many branches are being planned or where the locations will be. Grindrod declined to comment further and didn't respond to subsequent emails.
According to published reports and some blogs in the region earlier this month, Hooter's backed off their original three planned branches in Dubai because of public opposition.
Not so says Grindrod. Plans are full speed ahead for the burgeoning expatriate community in Dubai.
This marks company's first expansion into the Arabic peninsula. Expansion plans in Israel are still underway according to the company's Web site.
One of my fave Arabisto.com bloggers Ramzi Khoury, was one of the first to report on Hooters expansion plans in Israel way back on March 20.
This all stems from a story that ran on June 26 from the Gulf News, which reported that Hooter's Dubai plans had been shot down. That was followed up by an AFP story that ran in several international papers like the Sydney Morning Herald on June 28.
But if you look closely at the company's press release on Israel, the company makes no attempt to debunk the fact that Hooters may be opening in Dubai (or India). And trust me, if a company didn't want to expand in a particular country or region, their web techies would immediately take off all and any references to Dubai on its release.
It's unclear whether Kuwaiti investor Jamal Al Shaheen - who holds the franchise rights to Hooters in Dubai - will still be at the forefront of the plans?
According to the Associated Press, Hooters charges a franchise fee of $75,000 per location. Initial investment in a restaurant ranges between $800,000 and $1.5 million.
But lets not aviod the elephant in the room. The big questions is: Will the Hooters girls be wearing the standard orange hot pants and tank top?
No word on that yet -- but if you ask me -- I think the BURQUINI would be quite restrictive for servers, no?
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