9 random thoughts about the closing of Winston-Salem’s Hooters

1. Do people still go to Hooters? Apparently not. The Winston-Salem Hooters closed this week.

2. The concept — dressing young women in workout gear circa 1980 and sexualizing them while they serve chicken wings and beer — lasted a lot longer than it should have.

3. The last time I went to Hooters, which was easily 10 years ago, my server was at least six months’ pregnant.

4. Uncomfortable disclosure: I have on at least two occasions been a judge at a Hooters bikini contest. A long time ago.

5. Remember the guy that got turned down for a job as a Hooters girl and then sued for sexual discrimination? Turns out it happens all the time — most recently in Corpus Christi, Texas, where a class-action, sexual-discrimination suit was settled for an undisclosed sum. The corporation also gets sued regularly for sexual harassment.

6. Many, many years ago, I took my art director — who was of non-traditional sexuality and gender — on their first trip to Hooters using a gift card I had received as a bonus from our employer. My art director seemed amused by this parochial display of cis weirdness, but admitted after the first bite that the Buffalo chicken sandwich was absolutely top notch.

7. Hooters has a kids’ menu. Think about that.

8. The best time I ever had at Hooters was in 2008, after covering a wrestling event at the Greensboro Coliseum — all the wrestlers were there. I saw Kelly Kelly eating chicken wings, watched the crowd swoon over the Edge and got threatened by Matt Striker. I was still drinking pretty good back then.

9. I never made it to the Winston-Salem Hooters. NBD.