Woman Quits Job To Scrub Hooters Fridges For $5 An Hour, Gains Immortal Fame
KEY POINTS
- â˘Lynne Austin was recruited in 1983 after winning a bikini contest to become the original Hooters Girl in Clearwater, Florida.
- â˘Facing licensing delays that postponed the restaurant opening until October, she was put to work scrubbing kitchen appliances for $5 an hour.
- â˘By spring break 1984, clever guerrilla marketing and surprising public demand transformed Hooters into a local sensation with long lines.
In 1983 Clearwater, Lynne Austin, then 22, juggling telephone operator duties and bikini contests, was hacked off a beach beauty contest by Ed Droste's secretary for the billboard girl gig at the soon-to-open Hooters. Trading mystery for 'world fame,' Lynne quit her security blanket job before the restaurant opened due to licensing delays. Instead, she got paid $5/hour scrubbing stoves and fridgesâbecause 'world fame' apparently doesn't pay rent yet. Marketing went from capsized boat graffiti to Ed rocking a chicken suit in Tampa, while Lynneâs face exploded on billboards and Playboy. By spring break 1984, chaos turned crowds into hourslong lines, cementing Hooters' ironic legacy in winged retail madness.
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Quit your steady job for fame and ended up scrubbing refrigerators at $5/hrâbecause global brand superstardom starts in mop buckets. The original Hooters Girl wasn't just showing skin, she was getting hands deep in kitchen grime. Romance and wings, but mostly grime.
Nothing screams 'star power' like a dipped chicken suit, a capsized boat billboard, and a waitress wondering if she's paid in napkins yet.
Hooters' marketing plan: paint a boat, wear orange shorts, and hope scrubbing fridges turns into a cargo-sized ego boost.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 12/13/2025 | Author: Brittany Stephanis,Maggie Cai,Liz Rowley,Jessica Orwig
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