The girls at Fort Lauderdale Hooters say the chain has always been family-friendly

When Hooters’ original founders took back control of the popular restaurant last year after the company filed for bankruptcy, they promised to return it to its roots.

That meant reversing what the founding member and CEO of Hooters Inc. Neil Kiefer described it as a more gendered image, re-emphasizing food and hospitality, and increasing the brand’s appeal to families and younger customers after years when other areas of the business had become, in his words, “little boys’ club stores.”

But at South Florida Hooters locations, which have always been run by the original ownership group, servers who greet customers every day say they’ve always attracted families and children.

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“Here in South Florida, nothing changes,” Gracie Williams, who has worked at Hooters for nearly six years, told Fox News Digital.

“We’re the same Hooters girls we’ve been around since the beginning,” said the 24-year-old waitress-turned-bartender who also graces the July cover of this year’s Hooters calendar.

Micayla Williams, 21, who has worked at Hooters for almost two years, walked away from her words.

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“Nothing has really changed in our areas,” he said. “We get families. We get old people. We get young people, even children.”

Their opinion provides a regional counterpoint to the national debate surrounding Hooters. As Hooters works to reshape public perception, employees at its two Fort Lauderdale locations say they’ve long served more customers than the brand’s image might suggest.

Gracie Williams and Micayla Williams say their South Florida Hooters locations have always attracted children and families. (Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)

Kiefer said restoring that broad appeal consistently to all of its remaining restaurants is central to the company’s strategy.

“We’re starting to build that broad base of consumer appeal again, like we had at the first Hooters,” Kiefer told Fox News Digital last year.

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The emphasis is on hospitality, food and community involvement, Kiefer said, while moving away from what he described as “rogue shops” that have become “oversexed.”

“We’re always creating a place for others to come. Good food, hot wings, cold beer and, of course, beautiful girls.”

In South Florida, community involvement has always been a formula, the Hooters girls told Fox News Digital.

A Hooters executive described company-owned restaurants as “traitor stores” that have become “sexist.” Hooters is looking to shed that image as the original founders regain control of the brand. (Torin Halsey/The Times Record News/USA TODAY NETWORK)

But Gracie Williams is not ignoring something that has defined the genre for decades.

“We always create a place to relax so that others can come,” he said. “Good food, hot wings, cold beer and, of course, beautiful girls.”

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Both women point to the mix of customers at the restaurant as evidence that the perception of Hooters often differs from reality.

During the day, Micayla Williams said, families make up the bulk of the crowd, especially in coastal areas.

Chicken wings and curly fries are a popular menu option at Hooters locations in South Florida. (Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)

“Obviously, we get a lot of families during the day,” but there are also a lot of nights in his area, he said, “which looks really good.”

Gracie Williams said the location near the beach attracts parents and children who spend the day at the beach.

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“Parents come to hang out, and children come out of the sea,” he said. “And when the kids come up, there’s plenty of food for all the kids.”

Gracie Williams also pointed to the company’s fundraising events, donating a portion of sales to charities and youth sports organizations.

Gracie Williams said when she’s not pouring beer, she’s helping Hooters raise money for South Florida charities and youth sports. (Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)

He recalled that he had hosted a number of rugby players and teams at a recent fundraiser, and said that those events strengthen the restaurant’s role in the community.

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“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, the average person is a guy or someone who just gives you a lot of money,'” she said. “But here at Hooters, the average person is not like that. The regulars are our family.”

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As Hooters works to convince a new generation of customers that it’s more than its decades-old stereotype, women who work at restaurants in South Florida insist it’s business as usual.