HOOTERS

[prasad2]

How would Hooters operate in some states where liquor is prohibited........

May be The New Hooters JUICE BAR....................

[Monica Bhide]

Editorial - Keep it clean gang

[jbonne]

What food will they be serving?

as the guy who had the privilege, i guess, of writing the above-mentioned article, this was exactly what i wondered. i suggested that perhaps the steak sandwich might not fly, but they seemed to wander right into it.

i also wonder what the social implications of this could possibly be. but that's most certainly off-topic ...

[Monica Bhide]

What food will they be serving?

as the guy who had the privilege, i guess, of writing the above-mentioned article, this was exactly what i wondered. i suggested that perhaps the steak sandwich might not fly, but they seemed to wander right into it.

i also wonder what the social implications of this could possibly be. but that's most certainly off-topic ...

Jon - I am so glad you posted. I was just getting ready to send you a message. Can you tell us a bit more about this piece? Your opnions on some of the "cleaner" questions asked here... I personally would like to talk a little bit about the cultural impact that a place like this could have - good, bad and ugly I guess.

Welcome to the India forum btw and what a way to begin!

[jbonne]

Can you tell us a bit more about this piece? Your opnions on some of the "cleaner" questions asked here...

not sure how much else there is to tell, actually. the Hooters folks are simply licensing their name and branding to the Indian franchisee, who'll actually run the restaurants, do the hiring, &c. i got no sense from the press release and other material exactly whether they're going to infuse the Indian Hooters with any particular local flavor, aside from perhaps a bit (but not much) latitude on the menus.

my guess is that many of these decisions are yet to be decided.

on the cultural front, well, i'm probably the worst person in the world to ask. i'm a born New Yorker and not so much a Hooters patron, so i'm rather poorly set for dissecting the social implications.

so far as i can tell, there's two issues here:

(1) the export/import of yet another big American brand, complete with very American food and what some have described as a corporately imperialistic ethos (not Hooters in particular, but American brand generally), to a place that already has its own traditions. now, there's nothing inherently wrong about cross-cultural pollination, and i'm sure if the Indian equivalent of P.F. Chang's managed to spread mainstream Indian fare across America, many Indians would prefer to see that than another McDonald's being built (though of course there are plenty of proud McDonald's franchisees of Indian heritage). personally, i'm puzzled that the Indian middle class would opt for buffalo wings over the multitude of cuisines available to them, but if that's what they want, far be it from me to say they shouldn't have it -- major nutritional issues aside.

(2) whether half-naked women and Jalapeno chili cheese fries are the hallmarks of American culture and something we should be offering as a cultural symbol. i wonder about the wisdom of that -- especially in an era where America is so pervasively seen as a subverter of other nations' values. but i didn't get a clear sense this would raise the same cultural hackles in India that it might in, say, Pakistan. as i said, i'm probably the worst person imaginable to determine such things. and as you noted above, Monica, whether Mumbai or elsewhere, it's quite likely to imagine places where Hooters won't be welcome. the as-yet-unannounced locations might well be unannounced because they don't want to start *that* debate quite yet.

for better or worse, my sense is that the market -- though that may be influenced by some rocks thrown, protests held, &c. -- will determine whether Hooters should be there. i think the Italians have telegraphed that Starbucks isn't welcome, and yet the French seem to reluctantly be accepting the 'Bucks incursion onto Gallic soil.

but i'd be very curious to hear what anyone else thinks ...

[Geetha]

I think this issue is being overthrown

Mostly people in India tend to disagree about anything at first and have major cultural social issues of all types it is almost impossible how this issue will be received in public since you will have to face it some time you will go in market.. but there are certain pointers from other successful ones already thriving in those business zones (may be Hooters is differen from all existing ones in India and that will be good if that is the case) like for instance pizza corner has branches that are family favourites even though it isn't the most culturally accepted form of food it is grandly been taken in to our midst and the min set s are changing too.. the success is not the item in itself but the mode in which it is offered, it had a nice culture felling attached that people going there can enjoy and be accustomed to..

I believe in the manner of the service matters a lot to Indians are they really respected here makes a major factor to take account, apart from that the tastes differences are easy and will later blend well enough Indians are by far very accepting to other cultures as long as they receive the respect that they deserve to in effect helps the outer business to thrive well in India.

Love to see it make a haunting~!! one too (for generation to come that is)

[prasad2]

That's it. I have decided to move on and make my journey to India. I am filling a job application to head the kitchen at HOOTERS.

I assume they hire men for poduction.

[FaustianBargain]

going to hooters for the food is like buying playboy for the articles. imo(and it might as well be outdated) is that those brave souls(indian society is kinda hypocritical...the males have always had their 'live entertainment' venues..and they always operate after dark) and young men who'd venture into a Hooters eating joint will probably not care whether there is an indian element to the food. why not simply retain the original hooters menu. it is ridiculous to insist on desi fare. surely, hooters is not going to enjoy the success of a mcD or pizza hut indian franchaise.

not that i dont know fine indian men..but does hooters really expect the visiting populace to respect the 'dont touch..only look' policy?

indians will probably find buffalo wings a novelty...something new and different..i doubt if the guys and gals will flock hooters every saturday night...now if hooters also offered beer..that would be a different story..call me a prude and a kill joy, but i am not sure you want to have boobs and beer parading in the same room(not just in india..but pretty much anywhere)..unless you have already hired a bouncer...

re the french accepting starbucks onto gallic soil...well..they also have disney..doesnt mean that *they* actually visit it....from my own observation..subways and starbucks in london are not exactly slumping with their sales figures..but i'd bet that most of their customers are american tourists..i rest my case.

and oh...chippendale? not bloody likely?

[tryska]

i don't know. the whole premise seems like bad juju to me. When women, fully clothed still can't walk down some streets without being eve-teased, when kissing is still taboo on film screens, i jsut can't see that a restaurant based on scantily clad female waitresses is gonna work. Unless they have bouncers and it becomes the Indian version of a stripclub. And again, what women other than those desperate for any sort of income, are going to willfully put themselves in a position to get pawed on a regular basis?

as for buffalo wings - they will be a big hit with the non-vegetarians, so on that level it could work. even if it is just plain old bad food.

Edited August 31, 2004 by tryska (log)

[gingerly]

just as i suspected

On a more serious note, the law is anti-woman — not only are women not allowed to serve liquor, they cannot even aspire to become bar managers, which means women hospitality professionals work with a serious handicap, because a sound knowledge of bar operations is a must for a smooth climb up the career ladder. Ironically, hotel management students can’t train in a bar because the law bars anyone under 25 to serve liquor.

does anyone know otherwise?

buffalo wings in 'family style'dining already at tgif methinks!

[FaustianBargain]

On a more serious note, the law is anti-woman — not only are women not allowed to serve liquor, they cannot even aspire to become bar managers, which means women hospitality professionals work with a serious handicap, because a sound knowledge of bar operations is a must for a smooth climb up the career ladder. does anyone know otherwise?

yo gingerly..I dont know anything about the indian hospitality industry..but somehow..the highlighted bit along with the badly researched article tells me to take this 'journalist' with a mountain of salt..

if i were to quiz the author of this piece, i'd start with.."name *the* law that is mentioned ad nauseum in the article?" if indian women want the joy of dispensing booze *that* badly..let them file a case to repeal this "law"..just like google tells me that others have done elsewhere in the past..somehow, i feel that there would be little interest..

if i were an indian woman living in india, a loose "law" banning women serving alcohol would be at the very bottom of my list titled "anti-woman atrocities that occur in india"..

but first..even with my sparse knowledge of the central excise act, i'd question every single statement made in that article..

[gingerly]

if i were an indian woman living in india, a loose "law" banning women serving alcohol would be at the very bottom of my list titled "anti-woman atrocities that occur in india"..

certainly but people still have their priorities..

Lalitha-apologies for the abysmal quality of that link-not even sure of it's vintage!should have done some highlighting of my own-i had a vague idea that women were either banned from or severely resticted from serving alcohol(and i don't know what 'law for their own good'that is /was either but fact in india does quite often have the edge on fiction )and was curious to know if anyone here is more well up on that detail, which i think would be a factor in any hooters operations in india if they intend to serve wine and beer and still have an all female staff.and will the police wagon parked at their door a la kfc in bangalore be ..manned or womaned?

now here's what i dug out

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2...92900170100.htm

Shatbhi, a Mumbaikar, started her career as a chef in a Chinese restaurant, but was thoroughly disillusioned when she was not allowed to enter the bar area. "Women were not permitted to serve alcohol then," she recalls. But she had her moment of glory, when she became the manager of the restaurant and changed the policy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/242421.stm

At present, a local law stops women from serving alcohol after 8.30pm in restaurants and pubs.

Bombay's barmaids say that they want to work an extra four hours beyond midnight because most customers come in after nine.

-that's from several years ago so it seems like there is no official ban but local restrictions apply.

[FaustianBargain]

that's from several years ago so it seems like there is no official ban but local restrictions apply.

some restaurants have restrictions against casual attire...

altho' i have to say that its a bold woman who chooses to bartend in a not-so-upscale bar in india...have things changed recently? my views are probably outdated...

[gingerly]

altho' i have to say that its a bold woman who chooses to bartend in a not-so-upscale bar in india...have things changed recently? my views are probably outdated...

or as upscale as they come-remembering the case of a former model and bartender at a swank delhi club who was shot for refusing a customer a drink.i can't convince myself her gender had little to do with it.

[FaustianBargain]

i have to add something else.

If in the middle of live entertainment in a restaurant, you wish to order food, you’ll be charged 40 per cent sales tax, instead of the standard 8 per cent.

I am guessing this is probably because live entertainment invites entertainment tax. makes perfect sense.

If you ask for wine in a bar, you can’t be served a bottle. If an Indian wine gets corked, you can’t do what chefs do all over the world — use it for cooking; instead, you have to destroy the bottle in the presence of the District Excise Officer.

this bit is the one that intrigued me most. even thought i dont work in indian kitchen, i did spend a fair amount of time trying to memorise sections of the central excise act as a student in a past life. i knew for a fact that the excise officers have no interest in what happens to that bottle of liquor after it leaves the bonded warehouse. they have absolutely no jurisdiction. they issue and regulate liquor licencing and collect excise duties....thats it....the following sentence was confusing even though it had nothing to do with excise. so i made a phonecall.

If it’s an imported wine, however, you can do whatever you wish with it, for the Punjab Excise Act, 1914, and the Delhi Liquor Licensing Rules, 1976, believes in the existence of only Indian Made Foreign Liquor.

indian made foreign liquor is basically fake liquor. supposing the IMFL is vodka, it is not *real* vodka and it is not processed the way vodka is made in liquor factories abroad. indian liquor companies have the right to sell IMFL vodka which they manufacture by adding the 'flavour' of vodka to a liquid which will contain the exact same percentage of alcohol as in real vodka. this attracts excise duty and even though excise officers have no business questioning what happens in a kitchen...IMFL simply cannot be allowed as a cooking liquor. now does it make sense why you cannot use IMFL in cooking?

the idea of cooking with wine is to retain the flavour of the wine while burning off the alcohol. the flavour of IMFL is a chemical and rest is pure alcohol. having said that, i am not aware of the existence of IMFL wine altho' hard liquors like gin and vodka can be IMFL.

phew! now, i can sleep.