The Original Hooters management company, HMC Hospitality Group, announced has signed lease agreement for first of three planned Hooters, in Sumter.What else is opening nearby?
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About a year ago, we found out that the grand-owl of the chicken-wing franchise model, Hooters, has three new locations coming to The Villages.
Much more recently, we learned about Hooters closing locations in Gainesville, Lakeland, Orange Park and West Palm Beach.
HMC Hospitality Group, which owns the new Hooters coming to The Villages, is a separate entity from Hooters of America, which closed those locations in Florida. Owned and operated by the founders of the brand, HMC Hospitality manages the 11 Tampa Bay area locations along with stores in the Chicagoland market.
The all-American sports pub-style eatery serves bone-in and boneless chicken wings, beer, wine, and has a full bar. It offers takeout, reservations, outdoor seating and wheelchair accessibility.
HMC Hospitality Group (formerly known as Hooters Management Corp), the original founding corporation, will run the new locations. Among the bar-restaurants specified in the agreement are three Villages locations and three in the Las Vegas metro.
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Where was the first Hooters?
HMC Hospitality Group opened the first Hooters in 1983 in Clearwater. It currently owns and operates 22 Hooters restaurants and a few Hoots, a fast-casual offshoot, in the Tampa Bay area and the Chicago metro area.
Sporting a name with a suggestive double-entendre and a staff of attractive female servers, the wings-and-things chain opened on April 1, 1983, which probably seemed to many as a proper April Fool's joke.
The first location, the one that started it all, is still located on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, just west of the Courtney Campbell Causeway, in Clearwater. You can read "the official saga" origin story at originalhooters.com.
Where will the first Villages Hooters open and when?
The first of the Hooters in The Villages will open at Lake Deaton Plaza, 695 Kristine Way.
"There are three locations coming to The Villages," a spokesperson of HMC Hospitality Group said, "but this is the first first one we have a signed a lease for."
When will it be open? Early 2025, the spokesperson said.
“The residents of The Villages have asked for Hooters and we are excited to bring them one in Lake Deaton Plaza," said Neil Kiefer, CEO of HMC Hospitality Group. "We are looking forward to growing and expanding in this prime market for years to come.”
Also coming to this shopping center in The Villages...
Lake Deaton Plaza is currently anchored by eateries China Gourmet, Kumo Japanese Steakhouse, Piesano’s Stone Fired Pizza, Pints & Pies and Jersey Mike’s Subs.
Villages-News announced that invitation-only bids are due July 30 for the new 1,844-square-foot Dunkin’ Donuts to be constructed at the shopping center. The start date for the project has been set for Sept. 30.
Hopefully, the food is more appetizing than the name, but the Toasted Yolk Cafe also will open soon at the plaza. The burgeoning chain strives for "perfectly poached eggs, strip after strip of crunchy bacon, and layer upon layer of thin-sliced turkey and pastrami," according to its website.
As for that "toasted yolk," it had better not be hard. Too many local restaurants make that mistake when preparing eggs Benedict.
Follow originalhooters.com for updates on hiring and opening dates.
Growth in The Villages
The metro area that includes The Villages and Wildwood grew in population from 144,767 to 151,565 between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023, according the U.S. Census Bureau. That percentage growth, 4.7%, was highest among U.S. metro areas for that time period.
This story includes information from the News Service of Florida
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