Hooters Origin Story to Become Buddy-Comedy Film with Founders' Involvement
The upcoming film will dramatize the founding of Hooters, following friends Ted and Lenny as they launch the chain and encounter a romantic subplot. Co-founder Edward Droste is producing and co-writing the screenplay, with Jon Rosenbaum directing. Production is slated to begin in November in Tampa and Clearwater, Florida.
The film's narrative centers on Ted spotting Diane in a television commercial and persuading his friend Lenny to drive to Clearwater Beach, where they recruit her as the first Hooters Girl. Droste, one of six original founders alongside Stewart, DiGiannantonio, Ranieri, Wimmer, and Johnson, is co-writing the screenplay and producing.
Production begins in November in the Tampa and Clearwater region, where the inaugural Hooters location opened in 1983. The chain has since expanded to roughly 200 domestic restaurants and 60 international locations spanning the Bahamas, Japan, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
This film could reshape public perception of Hooters, steering conversation from its uniformed waitstaff model toward an entrepreneurial underdog narrative. It may appeal to nostalgia-driven audiences while potentially reigniting debate about the chain's branding. The buddy-comedy framing could soften criticism, though it may also prompt reflection on how American business origin stories are romanticized in entertainment.