Something to Hoot About

Another reason to visit Israel: Hooters


For most people, the Hooters restaurant chain immediately conjures up images of all-American blondes with ample cleavage carrying pitchers of beer and chicken wings, or rambunctious men cheering on sports teams. Point in case, the Hooters company Web site characterizes Hooters as "a neighborhood place, not a typical family restaurant," with 68 percent of its clientele male, mostly between age 25 to 54. But it seems that the Israeli franchise owners have re-fashioned the local Hooters as an atypical family restaurant - in more ways than one.

Ofer Ahiraz, a gray-haired 48-year-old, wears a finely-pressed white button-down shirt and flashes a warm, all-around-good-guy smile. He and his wife Ilana live with their three children, ages 17 to 22, in Givatayim. They opened the Hooters franchise last November, putting Israel on the list of over 40 nations that have imported the American icon.

Ilana, also 48, is not a waitress, although her admiration for the Hooters girls is clear - especially since the Ahirazes' daughter, Gal, works as head waitress and trainer. Like any good Jewish parents, the Ahirazes sent their eldest daughter to college - at Hooters University in Atlanta, Georgia, where Gal studied for three months to learn the principles behind the Hooters mystique.

The Ahirazes have adapted the chain's food and atmosphere to suit Israeli tastes and mentalities. They replaced Hooters' crab, pork and oyster dishes with more salads and grilled meats, but they still serve up world-famous Hooters chicken wings, along with Philly steak and chicken burgers. Wings are made with the time-tested Hooters buttery-vinaigrette hot sauce and come in five levels of spiciness.

A roll of paper towels is wisely placed on each table so diners can wipe the butter off their hands and mouths after gorging on the crispy wings. The décor suits the first part of the restaurant's slogan, "delightfully tacky," although with its clean lines and hi-techy overtones, the Israeli Hooters comes across as pretty refined for a Hooters joint. A bright Hooters sign flashes flamboyantly outside and passers-by can ogle the restaurant owl-eyed through the plate-glass windows.

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The reason I bring this up is for the fun factor. Hooters is an international restaurant chain in over 40 nations and in every state. Yet how come there are no Hooters in any of the Muslim nations? It can't be the food. Is it the waitresses? Could you see any of those lovely ladies wearing a burka and trying to serve food to me? Would it be allowed under Islamic law? And yet Muslims would enforce Islamic Law (Shar'ia) in every nation of the Earth. Pity. Those ladies would be out of work.

For those men who wish to visit all the Hooters in the world, and you know who you are, this is a good reason to visit Israel.

The Little Nation With the Big Hooters!