For Hooters’ Original Founders, Saving The Chain Is A Higher Calling: “America Needs Us.”
A group of Florida friends thought it would be fun to open a restaurant in the 1980s that “they couldn’t get kicked out of.” Now in their 70s, they’re buying back franchises with a plan to restore the brand—from the signature wings to the orange shorts—to its cheeky glory. Last winter, Neil Kiefer, CEO of…