Hooters. Good or Bad for Village West?

[KCK]

I have heard about a lawsuit between Red Development and Hooters because the UG doesn't want Hooters at Village West. Personally I find this very hypocritical, especially when the UG so strongly supports a much more touchy venue that is a casino in that area.

Inside every casino there are big breasted, short skirt wearing drink servers walking around, so saying that Hooters doesn't fit in with the family theme is idiotic after suggesting a casino does fit. Here is an article

[quote]
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 424668.htm
Is Hooters really a bad fit in the Village West area?

MARK WIEBE


Did you know that Hooters has a charitable foundation?

It's called — I kid you not — the Hooters Community Endowment Fund. From a restaurant that's known more for its servers' bodies than the food they serve?

I admit, it's a groaner as far as puns go. My point is it's a rather innocuous pun, much as Hooters itself is a fairly innocuous institution. It may use a tacky and adolescent preoccupation with sex to sell chicken wings, but it does so in a way that's consistent with the thousands of ad campaigns that feature scantily clad women. That is, it relies on narrow and conventional notions of beauty (trim bodies, tight clothes) to sell its wares.

Hardly anything that, these days at least, should cause much concern.

Knowing this, and knowing that Hooters does not violate the city's commercial zoning regulations, you have to wonder why Wyandotte County's Unified Government has tried to stop the restaurant from perching one of its big-eyed owls at the shopping center known as The Legends.

The national chain has filed a lawsuit against The Legends' developers for reneging on a promise to give them a spot in the 750,000-square-foot shopping center. Hooters alleges that RED Development contracted to sell land for a restaurant but backed out of the deal after the Unified Government said it did not want Hooters in the shopping center.

The lawsuit does not speculate about why the Unified Government would fight against a Hooters. The agreement the Unified Government struck with RED, which contains the Hooters exclusionary clause, doesn't give a reason. Nor have Unified Government officials (including Mayor Carol Marinovich), who either declined comment or did not return calls for this column.

County Administrator Dennis Hays did say the Unified Government is evaluating the lawsuit and remains “hopeful that some reasonable conclusion can be reached.â€

[scooterj]

Hooters seems like a perfect fit to me. And that's not a dig on either Hooters or NASCAR.

[trailerkid]

I believe it will be a freestanding restaurant similar to what they did with Bryant's. I see no problem with allowing Hooters in on the action. Although having 4 Hooters in KC is a little much...hopefully this one can get some KU girls working there...

[chrizow]

Hooters is the lynchpin for VW's success. without Hooters, Western WyCo will not become the redneck mecca it so desires to be.

[GRID]

Come on, who cares, build one over there, it's not that big a deal, really.

After driving across Kansas and reading all the religious signs all along I-70, one could use some (edit).