I had the privilege of being invited to the VIP grand opening party at Hooter’s on the east side of Madison. It was nice to see all the waitresses outside of the main entrance for photos and video shoots. Unfortunately, I didn’t watch much of this because the line to get in wrapped around the restaurant.

Though the start time was supposed to be 7 p.m. (the line was at least 60 deep at that point), no one was let in until 7:20 p.m. (thank God it stopped raining). Also, I’m not sure how some people got invited, as they looked totally out of place (I’ll be nice and not explain what I mean). I was amused to see random people thinking that the Hooter’s was actually opened to the public, only to get turned away when they didn’t produce an invitation.

Upon entry, $10 was collected as a donation to the UW Carbone Center. Then we got four drink tickets and grabbed a table. Despite the late opening, and the fact that the restaurant was opening for the first time, it took another 20 min. for (free) appetizers to be served. At least we got our drinks right away!

Everyone got to sample the deep fried shrimp, fried cheese curds, hot wings, BBQ wings, regular wings, quarter burgers, quarter chicken sandwiches, onion rings, deep friend pickle slices and desserts. It actually wasn’t that much food, but since it was brought out over a span of two hours, people (including me) were really full.

As expected, they brought out the A-list waitresses for this event, some of whom don’t actually work at this Hooter’s. The President of Hooter’s was there, too, though I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.

Once the event got rolling, it was a fun time (esp. since I shared a table with five other friends), but the first 30-45 min. could have used a lot of improvement. I’m still glad to have experienced such an event.

Hooter’s actually opens to the public at 11 a.m. Thursday.