Coney Island Landlord Bravely Fights To Open A Hooters
Coney Island’s future as a gambling hotspot may be up in the air, but rumors of a forthcoming Hooters location may actually have some credence, thanks in large part to one man’s tireless fight to woo the titty-bar-slash-wings-restaurant.
That, and the fact that they weren’t allowed to open up shop in Park Slope.
After the chain was soundly rejected by neighborhood residents and property owners alike, restaurant officials have begun considering other locations, and are being publicly courted by Surf Avenue landlord Natan Bukai and his broker Joe Vitacco.
The pair have apparently been furiously working over the past few months, sending the company numerous sketches of stick figures with boobs the possible franchise location, and Bukai told the Daily News, “Maybe for Park Slope, they are right (to reject Hooters). But for Coney Island, it is very good.”
Vitacco added, “You have a Mermaid Parade with half naked people. You have a beach with bikinis. This is not a place where kids become amoral if they see a piece of leg.”
Other locals are just as eager, with an official from Luna Park’s parent company saying he “would love” the restaurant to come to the neighborhood, and Mermaid Parade founder Dick Zigun explaining, “A large drinking establishment with well-endowed women is part of our history. It belongs here.”
Well, fair enough. For their part, the folks over at Team Hooters are currently weighing their options, with other proposals coming in from locations in midtown and Queens. “It looks like a pretty interesting area for development,” said the company’s director of franchise support, who noted that the company won’t be able to make a decision on the issue until at least 2013.
To summarize: Coney Island likes boobs. Park Slope does not. Like they always say, you can’t stop progress.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
