BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — It may be a long time before Hooters opens a restaurant on Route 18, but it is already an issue with some residents.
Resident Robert Lehman approached the Township Council Monday night with questions regarding the restaurant, which has applied for a liquor license to open at the current site of Pier 1 Imports. Lehman asked council members their feelings about the restaurant chain, which is known in part for its “Hooters girls” who work in tight shorts and tank tops.
Lehman said allowing the restaurant to move in is a bad idea, and seemed bewildered when no one on the dais would respond to his questions.
“Can we talk about Hooters?” he asked. “Anyone got an opinion?”
Mayor William Neary was the only one to respond, saying that as member of the Planning Board he did not want to prejudice himself against a possible Hooters’ site plan application, which would be reviewed by that board.
Township Attorney Michael Baker told council members they could speak publicly about Hooters, but that their comments could “compromise” the town’s position. He later told Greater Media Newspapers that because the governing body will have to vote on Hooters’ liquor license, he did not want members prejudicing themselves by making negative remarks.
Baker on Wednesday said there would be nothing the township could do to prevent the restaurant from moving in, just because some people may be offended. The restaurant is a legitimate business, and no court has deemed it to be obscene or illegal.
The restaurant chain has not answered requests for comment about its plans in East Brunswick.
Hooters operates 375 franchise locations internationally, including a handful of restaurants in other parts of New Jersey. Its Web site does not deny that the name Hooters refers to a part of the female anatomy, but says an owl is used in the logo “to allow debate” on the meaning of the name. It also states that “the Hooters girl is as socially acceptable as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader … or Radio City Rockette.”
“Sex appeal is legal and it sells,” the site states.
Lehman is not the only resident to publicly raise concerns about Hooters coming to East Brunswick. Saying it is “not the type of restaurant that belongs in a family-oriented community,” resident Alyson Steinberg wrote to the Sentinel last week that she finds the prospect disturbing.
Lehman said he can see “every red-blooded high school kid” rushing to Hooters so they could say they were the first one there. Lehman further argued that teenagers will try to use fake identification to get alcohol, noting that he used fake ID when he was underage.
In the end, he argued, the restaurant is not good for East Brunswick.