Twin Peaks, the ultimate man cave' restaurant franchise that spawned from a former Hooter's exec, is bringing the scenic view' to Lafayette later this year. Dallas-based Twin Peaks restaurant is expanding its chain of "ultimate man caves" with plans to open a location in Lafayette later this year. With a concept almost identical to the Hooters chain - complete with an all female wait staff and cleavage galore - it's safe to say that the chicken wings won't be the main attraction.
According to a report from The Advocate, Baton Rouge franchisee C&L Enterprises, owned by Jim Clark and Cotton Lloyd, is behind the Lafayette expansion, also adding a second Twin Peaks location in Baton Rouge as part of the deal. A separate franchise agreement will pave the way for five Twin Peaks sites in New Orleans to be franchised by SBC Restaurants' Gary Solomon, Kyle Brechtel and Kyle Crochet:
The company said Twin Peaks' annualized average restaurant volumes are at a record high of $4.3 million, an increase of more than $1 million over 2011.
"Over the last few years, we've refined our site selection process, enhanced our training programs, and, as a result, new restaurant sales volumes are tracking much higher than before," said CEO Randy DeWitt.
The location for Lafayette's Twin Peaks has yet to be determined, The Advocate reports, though prime restaurant space is readily available for the lodge-like eatery on Ambassador Caffery where The Tilted Kilt recent tried - with little success - to bring a Celtic twist to boobalicious babes serving draft beer and fresh-from-the-freezer entrees.
Hooters, the restaurant chain that branded the scantily dressed waitress-chicken wing combo and still has one long-standing location in Lafayette, sued Twin Peaks late last year, The Huffington Post reports, over what Hooters claims is theft of "trade secrets:"
In their lawsuit, Hooters claims that Joseph Hummel, former Hooters vice president, jumped ship to help develop the similarly themed Twin Peaks restaurants (motto: "Eats, Drinks, Scenic Views") in July and took "sensitive business information" with him. The alleged trade secrets apparently involve more than just skimpy waitress outfits. According to the suit, in the weeks leading up to his departure to Twin Peaks development partner La Cima Restaurants, Hummel downloaded and emailed to his private account a "substantial volume" of Hooters documents, including plans related to management, recruitment, distribution and sales.
Judging from the company's website, the restaurants share many similarities with the better-known Hooters -- namely, chicken wings in the fryer, Ultimate Fighting Championship fights on the big screen, and precious little clothing on the servers. But whereas Hooters waitresses don the trademark white tank tops and orange short shorts, Twin Peaks servers tend to wear a mountain-themed ensemble of flannel bikini-like tops paired with tan hiker shorts.
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