Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill

Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill
Private
Industry Restaurant franchise
Founded Austin, Texas, United States (2006)
Headquarters Austin, Texas, United States
Number of locations
 8
Area served
 United States
Key people
 Doug Guller
Services Food and beverage
Slogan “Sports with a View”
Website bikinissportsbarandgrill.com

Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill is a chain of sports bars and restaurants located in Texas, which previously had locations in two other states.[1] The restaurant chain is known for its scantily clad waitresses, whose uniforms consist of its eponymous bikini tops, cowboy boots, and tight, short denim shorts.[2] The chain is also known for trademarking the term "breastaurant" (a common term for this and similar restaurants)[3][4] and purchasing a ghost town that was subsequently renamed "Bikinis, Texas".[5]

History

Bikinis waitress with standard uniform of bikini top and jeans shorts
Exterior view of Austin, Texas Bikinis location

Restaurant founder Doug Guller reports having gotten the idea for Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill in 2001 on an Australian vacation after being offered a beer by an attractive waitress while watching rugby. Guller theorized that a combination of sports, beer and sex appeal would be particularly recession-proof.[6] The first restaurant was opened in Austin in 2006,[7] and a total of 14 locations have subsequently opened. Most of the locations are in the Interstate 35 corridor in Texas (San Antonio (northeast location in Live Oak), Austin, Lubbock, and the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (ATX Brands operated 2 locations in the Houston, Texas metro area in the Woodlands (2012) and Willowbrook (2013) - both company-owned locations as of November 2014 were withdrawn (along with its Charlotte, North Carolina (2009-2014) and West San Antonio (2009-2014) location) leaving the Houston area without a Bikinis in operation where it was outnumbered by its rival competitors Hooters (with 10 Houston area locations), Twin Peaks (5 locations), BreWingZ (21 locations), and Bombshells (3 locations - under the aegis of RCI Hospitality Holdings)), but one out-of-state franchise also operate in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[1] The Willowbrook location was known for having an 80 foot bar - the longest in all of the Bikinis chain. As of April 2014, two locations (North Carolina and the Houston location off Interstate 45 in The Woodlands were shuttered - by September 2014, only nine locations are still in operation (the Woodlands location, along with Willowbrook (withdrawn as of October 1, 2014), and its former NW San Antonio off Fredericksburg Road have been slated for conversion to Chicago, IL-based Gino's East Pizzeria, which ATX brands acquired franchising rights to expand its family-friendly clientele in 4 Texas cities). The withdrawal of the Houston locations has made it the shortest-tenured establishment of Bikinis in the Houston, Texas metro area, not to mention the former San Marcos, TX which was totaled in a fire (a For Lease sign is currently on the former Bikinis San Marcos location which has no plans to rebuild).

Marketing

Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill has utilized a marketing campaign which has included several high-profile publicity stunts paired with aggressive press releases. While generally criticizing the use of press releases in business marketing, Forbes Magazine praised the ability of Bikinis' press releases to attract print and social media attention.[8] Several of Bikinis' marketing strategies are described below. Also, the restaurant chain had a loyalty program formerly known as the Bikinis Black Card where patrons earned points for rewards - the Black Card program was terminated March 31, 2014 in response to changes in the alcoholic beverage laws in Texas, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Patrons who had over 1000 points on their black card account would judge one of their in-store bikini contests - only once did the Black Card program offered an incentive - during the opening of Bikinis, Texas in July 2013, Black Card account holders got a chance to meet Carmen Electra in person.

The restaurant chain hosted a monthly bikini contest - some of the contests were seasonal until February 2014 when the company began phasing out the contests based on the ratio of active waitstaff who would sign up and enter (with the exception of select locations e.g. Austin during the Republic of Texas Bike Rally where the store manager would run the contest exclusive to the location independent of corporate involvement from ATX Brands (one bikini contest was held in Arlington, TX where it was not advertised on social media a few weeks after the Miss Bikinis USA Pageant) and/or the consolidation of 2 locations into one regional contest as demonstrated at the Dallas location in May 2014 during Cinco De Mayo Weekend - as of November 2014 the DFW Metroplex locations have hosted bikini contests based on the waitstaff roster) in lieu of the newly established Miss Bikinis USA Pageant. The airing of Undercover Boss on December 28, 2014 also revealed that some Bikinis locations have a low employee turnout where some of their restaurants are slow performing - ATX Brands withdrew 4 Bikinis (three in Texas (two in North Houston and West San Antonio) and its Charlotte, NC location) where the company owned restaurants which were poor performing were shuttered and/or rebranded under the ATX Brands aegis as Gino's East Pizzeria.

Producers from the TV show Undercover Boss featured Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill which aired December 28, 2014 on CBS - overall reaction to the airing of the episode have been considered controversial where social media outlets have derided ATX Brands CEO Doug Guller about the termination of a bartender who overserved a patron along with an Arlington, Texas Bikinis Babe who was rewarded a breast augmentation. The Bikinis Facebook pages (of the existing locations and ATX Brands) along with Twitter were the hardest hit - the Facebook pages were taken offline temporarily where the negative comments were excised permanently while non-social media sites have retained the negative comments. Guller and ATX Brands personnel had their own view where those loyal to his business assets have mixed reaction - the airing has affected the future of Bikinis where its nine existing locations would face uncertainty (whether the restaurant chain will continue or declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy).

Bikinis, Texas

In 2012, Guller purchased Bankersmith, a Texas ghost town, saying that he would rename the town to "Bikinis, Texas" after his restaurant chain.[5] Guller said he would turn the town into a tourist destination with the creation of a bikini hall of fame which described the swimwear's history. No plans were made to open a Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill restaurant at the location, but Guller suggested that a bar inside an abandoned bus could be possible.[5]

A "grand opening" of Bikinis, Texas has been scheduled for July 13, 2013. Country musician Jerry Jeff Walker is scheduled to perform and Carmen Electra will be present to be inducted to the hall of fame.[9] Other events which have been planned to be associated with the town include a "Miss Bikinis USA" pageant[10] and a possible reality show.[7]

"Breastaurant" trademark

In September 2011, Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill filed a request with a United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the term "breastaurant". The term was successfully registered in October 2012.[3] The Huffington Post suggested that the trademarking of "breastaurant" was a consequence of the boom in breastaurant sales figures in the early 2010s.[4]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Locations". Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ Rice, Jason (February 2, 2009). "New Sports Bar 'With A View' Opens In University Area". WSOCTV.com. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Trademarkia (October 23, 2012). "USPTO Trademark: Breastaurant". Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "'Breastaurant' Trademarked By Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill Owner". Huffington Post. April 9, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Shaw, Alexis (July 19, 2012). ""Breastaurant" Chain Owner Buys Texas Town, Renames it Bikinis". ABC News. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  6. ↑ "About". Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Garza, Vicky (November 5, 2012). "Bikinis may hit TV screens with reality show deal". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  8. ↑ Perlut, Aaron (June 14, 2013). ""Breastaurant" Stands Out In PR And Marketing Clutter". Forbes. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  9. ↑ Sun, Jasmin (June 12, 2013). "Texas Breastaurant Town Bikinis to Open July 13". Eater. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ Chan, Aleksander (May 13, 2013). "'Breastaurant' Bikinis Is Bringing Miss Bikinis USA To Bikinis, Texas". Austinist. Retrieved June 25, 2013.

Further reading

External links