The Strange tale of Hooters Cambodia
Hooters Cambodia was the talk of the town back in 2016, with the Phnom Penh Post reporting that the first branch of Hooters in the Kingdom would open in December that year. Yet 5 years later the famous wings, dance moves, and push-up bra’s that epitomize the Hooters have yet to hit the Khmer Night scene.
What’s been the delay? Cambodia Lifestyle would like to keep you abreast of the situation…
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Hooters in Asia
For those unfamiliar with Hooters, it is a restaurant chain from America that is famous less for its food, but more for its staff, who are dressed scantily and usually hired for their assets, rather than their skills. Hooters, you get it? Of course much like people used to say they purchased Playboy for the articles, some will claim they visit for the wings, but in reality it’s all about the buxom waitresses in skimpy outfits.
To read about travels with Tom click here.
Some have claimed that Asian ladies lacked the “talent” necessary for making Hooters a success in Asia, but the company opened a number of sites in China, as well as successfully launching in South-East Asia via a 2015 partnership between Atlanta-based Hooters Inc and Bangkok-based international franchisee Destination Resorts Co Ltd.
Four Hooters were opened in Thailand, including a 560 seat restaurant in Pataya (yes that Pataya), the largest establishment outside of the United States. This was supposed to be part of a 30-location deal that would include Hooters Phnom Penh, as well as a branch in the former tourist mecca of Siem Reap. Six years later and we are still waiting…
Hooters Phnom Penh
According to the Phnom Penh Post, Destination Resorts registered Hooters Cambodia in March of 2016 before refurbishing a two-story building at the corner of Sisowath Quay and Street 104 in the capital’s Riverside neighbourhood. The Riverside hardly needs any introduction when it comes to bars that offer a bit of flesh, with places such as Street 130 being particularly notorious.
To read about Street 130 click here.
Work was originally slated to be finished by July of 2016, before being gradually pushed back to September, October and December, before news of the project largely went quiet.
What happened to Hooters Cambodia?
As of 2017 Hooters were still insistent that they would be opening a branch in the capital of Cambodia, but by 2019 not only was there no Hooters in Cambodia, but the four branches in Thailand had been forced to close, making a Phnom Penh opening now all but impossible.
Why did Hooters Flunk in Asia?
The concept of Hooters is fairly simple, you get served decent food by fairly scantily clad women. Of course, you pay a premium to do so. Now whilst this tends to work well in places like Seattle or Vancouver, the concept of paying a premium to be served by hot women made slightly less sense in Bangkok, one of the sex capitals of the world.
This also rang true for the Cambodian branch, with the slated location being positioned near a string of girlie bars on Street 104. Despite this, Win Lwin, general manager of Hooters Cambodia ludicrously stated that;
“It’s an American franchise restaurant where we have chicken wings, barbecue, or something like that. So the idea that it has anything to do with sex is wrong. It is a family restaurant, so everybody is welcome.”
His intended aim appeared to be that it would appeal to middle-class Cambodians and families. This of course raises a lot of questions, such as what kind of family would pick Hooters for little Johnny’s 7th birthday bash. Also, if the restaurant had nothing to do with sex, then why put it next to the sex capital of the capital?
Did Hooters Cambodia run out of money?
There is no official or definitive answer to this, but in can probably be assumed that not only did they run short of funds, but with the waning fortunes of the franchise in Thailand, perhaps local investors also saw the folly in placing a restaurant with sexy ladies that were not “available” next to bars where quite simply they were available with cheaper drinks.
So alas whilst Hooters Cambodia has not come to pass, legendary establishments such as Angry Birds and Pony Tail’s proudly hold the torch for bars with push-up -bras!
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Author: Gareth Johnson
Gareth Johnson is the founder of Young Pioneer Tours and has visited over 180+ countries. His passion is opening obscure destinations to tourism and sharing his experience of street food.
