Hooters in Thailand - why?

I'm not saying that Hooters restaurant is a bad idea anywhere but we all kind of know why people go to Hooters right? We're not going to pretend that it has nothing to do with the near stripper outfits of the waitresses are we?

I mean, I like chicken wings and beer as much as the next guy but their business model isn't exactly a big secret is it?

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Hooters came to Thailand about 5 years ago or so, it may have been more time than that but in the meantime they have opened locations in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, and Samui and always in tourist-oriented areas (well, other than Bangkok almost all of the other areas are entirely "tourist areas.") Now let me tell you a little something about these popular tourist areas: They tend to feature, even though they wont admit it, a great deal of "nightlife" that involves women in a particular profession - the oldest profession in the world. So it does seem a bit bizarre to me that we would open a Hooters in these locations as well.

Obviously I'm not trying to suggest that Bangkok is one gigantic red-light district because that is not the case but I don't think you are going to find anyone out there that thinks that Nana or "Soi 4" is anything other than that. Of course, this is where Hooters is located.

I intentionally made the pic a bit blurry because well, Nana isn't exactly a location that dudes are exactly super proud to be a part of and yes, I will admit that i was there as well and yes, I went to some go-go bars because I am a fool and I like wasting huge sums of money on girls that don't like me but are good at pretending they are. It was my last night in the country and my pals paid for all of it. I have some good friends :)

_{The infamous Nana Plaza is located across the street from Hooters}

So what's the point?

The point is that this street has one very particular industry in mind and Hooters is obviously not in the game of peddling their waitresses out for "short times." I think this would reflect badly on their global company if they were to do so. Hooters was NOT busy, while almost everything else on the street definitely was so I wonder how long they can possibly stay in operation. They also were not very friendly in Hooters and after being ignored for 10 minutes or so in a damn near empty restaurant, me and my pals decided to go somewhere else for a fraction of the price.

I know it is cliche to say so, but I actually do like the wings... haha

Globally, they are also known as a relatively cheap place to go eat, watch sports, ogle the ladies, have a bit of a pointless flirt.... all without breaking the bank. Hooters on Nana is one of the most expensive places on the street if not the entire area / city.

To me, opening a Hooters in the red-light districts of Thailand's major tourist areas makes about as much sense as opening a Taco Bell in Mexico or a Pizza Hut in Italy. In my mind it simply can't work!