Another chain of restaurants called “drink milk” has suffered a sharp drop in its income.
News of Bombshells’ woes comes after news two weeks ago that its larger rival, Hooters, had closed about 40 restaurants.
Bombshells is a military-themed restaurant chain founded in Texas, where waitresses wear crop tops and bullet belts.
Sales at Bombshells fell 16.2 percent in the April-June quarter compared with the same period last year.
The blow to parent company RCI Hospitality was softened by a 1.7 percent rise in profits from its second business, a series of strip clubs under different names.
Sales at Bombshells, a Texas-based Hooters rival, fell 16.2 percent
Bombshells said sales had fallen by about a sixth, reducing takings by more than $2 million in three months.
RCI brought forward its earnings report after it emerged rival Hooters had closed about 40 locations in four states this year as customers stayed away.
There are eight Bombshells open in Houston, two in Dallas and one each in Austin, San Antonio, Stafford and Lubbock – 13 in total.
Bombshells has not grown as quickly as planned. In 2016, executives said they expected to open more than 100 new stores following Donald Trump’s election victory.
“I think overall the election is going very, very well for us so far,” RCI boss Eric Langan said at the time.
Photographs of Bombshells personnel show them wearing tight-fitting green military blouses and short black skirts, as well as knee-high black boots and a gun belt around their waist.
In several photographs taken in 2016, the young waiters posed next to simulated bombs, on the back of military trucks, beside the American flag and, bizarrely, standing inside shipping containers.
Hooters two weeks ago announced the abrupt closure of 40 branches across the United States.
They included locations in Florida, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.
According to Techonomic, Hooters will have about 300 restaurants worldwide after the closures, down from 333 in 2018.
The first Hooters opened in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983. The restaurant, nicknamed ‘breastauraunt’ in the 1990s, was initially conceived as a joke.
Conceived by the now famous ‘Hooters Six’, who had no restaurant experience between them and were even arrested for impersonating restaurateurs, Hooters has undergone significant changes and achieved magnificent success.
Hooters has recently closed about 40 restaurants
The first Hooters opened in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983.
Conceived by the now-famous ‘Hooters Six’, who had no restaurant experience between them and were even arrested for impersonating restaurateurs, Hooters has undergone significant changes.
The sports bar, which was founded in Clearwater in 1983 (pictured), celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023, but the restaurant was initially conceived as a joke.
The founders included L.D. Stewart, a painting contractor; Gil DiGiannantonio, a liquor salesman; Ranieri, known as Uncle Billy, a retired gas station owner; Ed Droste, a real estate executive; Dennis Johnson, a bricklayer by trade; and Ken Wimmer, a partner in the L.D. Strange Group’s painting business.
And although they were excited about their venture, the six did not expect the restaurant to last.
When Hooters exploded in popularity, it spawned an entire entity: putting its name on calendars, casinos, airlines, NASCAR races, and even products in supermarkets.
But the chain’s success has not been without controversy, including gender discrimination in the 1990s, studies into the mental health of waiters and complaints about skimpy uniforms.