It's so funny how either anti- or pro- people are about Hooters. Barely any middle ground. Worked there for five years. It's as trashy as you make it. Yes, there were a few girls who'd give blowies in the parking lot for a couple hundred bucks, or flirt and exchange numbers with lonely old men in exchange for shopping sprees and macbooks. But most were just there because they were cute and friendly and could make good money working part time while they finished up their degree.
YMMV, of course, because quality really depends on location, franchise, and whether the kitchen staff gives half a shit, but the food at mine was decent, and I was always sure to steer people away from menu items that weren't very good.
Fried pickles and mozzarella sticks were good bets for appetizers. Also buffalo shrimp. Three quarters of the wing sauces and the ranch/blue cheese were made in house. Extra crispy naked wings with honey thai? Drool. Boneless were tasty enough, dip them in some honey chipotle. The curly fries were delicious if you get them cooked a little extra with some ranch or cheese sauce on the side. Cole slaw was the fucking bomb (also made in house), I've no joke never had cole slaw I liked better. The cobb salad is really, really good. Blackened mahi or tilapia on a Caesar is great as well. In fact, salads at Hooters are amazing. Surprising, right? The oysters were mostly good quality, steamed shrimp, can't really go wrong. Western bbq burger was either Afucking+ or inedible, I never figured out how they'd sometimes fuck that up. Burgers at my location were fresh, never frozen. And omg, get peanut butter pie and thank me for your mouth orgasm.
The entire time I worked there, they were trying to move toward a family friendly vibe/establishment. I guess corporate saw the proliferation of the breastaurant, has realized the trashiness of it, and wants to expand their market. It at least partially worked. Other than special events, the main clientele was either pervy old men regulars, families, or people on their lunch break. Also, I cannot tell you HOW MANY servers/bartenders/managers from the restaurants around us would come in either before or after shift (men and women) and oftentimes both, but I guess great drink specials will do that.
Anyways, during my time there, they changed the uniform so the tops would sit higher on the chest and the shorts were more "athletic" and less "up your ass". Of course, when you have a bunch of teen and twenty something attractive females working there, things are going to be pulled down or hiked up to increase your tips.
One of the main corporate policies for my franchise was "the lifeboat theory". Women and children first. We were HUGELY encouraged to always tend to the needs of our female and child patrons first. And plenty of moms would come in with their kids, because they knew the waitresses would absolutely gush over them and basically babysit them while they ate. So many kids. We'd run out of kid menus and balloons, and not because we didn't order much.
And I will say that most of the managers were men, but there were female ones as well, and corporate was full of women. Bar manager for the corporation? Women. Basically quality control person? Woman. They absolutely hire from within.
Yes, it's sexist. Yes, it can be skeezy. But so can any business. As much as I never want to go back there, I have the utmost respect for the corporation.