Twin Peaks, meet the Vista:Culture clash or streaming cash?

When Twin Peaks opens in the Vista next month, sports bar chains that feature women in skimpy outfits will for the first time move from the suburbs to Columbia’s city center.

So far, reaction has swayed from welcoming a thriving business into an empty building, to “no comments” and some calling Twin Peaks a dishonor to the city’s arts and entertainment district.

The arrival signals that Columbia will be getting a franchise in the fastest-growing restaurant chain in the nation, despite that some people find it offensive.

“It’s good food and good beer in a clean, upbeat atmosphere,” said Neal Smoak, instructor of restaurant management at the University of South Carolina and director of USC’s McCutchen House. “And it’s become acceptable in our culture to see scantily clad women all the time. Look at the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.

“They aren’t just selling food,” Smoak said. “Their main business is entertainment. It’s been proven in court. That’s why they can get away with not hiring male waiters.”

The first Twin Peaks opened in suburban Dallas in 2005. It has grown to 67 restaurants nationally, concentrated in Texas and the Bible Belt South. Its gross sales in 2013 were $165 million, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, the last year figures were available.

The restaurant is a mountain lodge-themed chain whose female servers wear khaki short shorts, flannel midriff-baring tops and boots. Twin Peaks advertises “Eats. Drinks. Scenic Views.” Job perks include prepaid tanning and fitness packages, according to a news release intended to draw applicants for 100 jobs.

The restaurant ups the ante for similar sports bars with a wider, made-from-scratch menu, often locally sourced. It’s been called by some publications the “foodie’s breastaurant.”

Tilted Kilt, a tartan-themed sports bar that features female servers in short plaid skirts, knee socks and midriff-baring tops, opened last spring on Columbiana Drive at the old Sticky Fingers location near the regional shopping mall.

Owl-eyed Hooters – with servers dressed in orange hot pants, white tank tops, panty hose, white gym socks and sneakers – has been in the Columbia market for more than two decades. Hooters has two locations, northwest and northeast of the city. One is near Home Depot off Harbison Boulevard, the other on Two Notch Road near I-77.

“The only thing that’s the same (as our competitors) is an all-female wait staff in the front of the house,” said Joe Hummel, a former Hooters executive who is now COO at Twin Peaks. “After that there is no comparison.” Hummel heads La Cima LLC of Addison, Texas, which owns 11 Twin Peaks in the Atlanta area and the Southeast, including Augusta, Greenville and now Columbia.

Not local, but lights will be on

The arrival of Twin Peaks will test the business climate and culture of the Vista.

“I think it’s unfortunate that large, chain, corporate entities come in and have financial resources to pay a premium on rent,” said Cindi Boiter, editor of Jasper arts magazine, which has offices on Main Street. “They squeeze out the local, homegrown businesses that reflect the values of our city. We are progressive-minded folks, but something as dishonorable as Twin Peaks doesn’t reflect who we are.

“I’m not saying we are morally superior,” Boiter said. “But something that takes 51 percent of the population and objectifies them is not healthy for a community.”

Neither a Vista Guild representative nor a spokeswoman for a bank next door would say how they feel about the arrival of Twin Peaks.

Hummel said he has heard no complaints in Columbia about the chain’s concept. “We’ve had nice, positive acceptance in the Vista,” he said.

Twin Peaks will be located at the old Carolina Ribs and Wing House on Gervais Street just west of the railroad cut. They are renovating the structure to reflect the chain’s mountain lodge theme.

A few steps away is its closest neighbor: Gervais & Vine, a fine dining establishment that has been on Gervais Street for 17 years.

While owner Roberta Prioleau said the servers represent “the dumbing down of America,” she welcome business to the building, which has stood abandoned for two years.

“I am a little sorry that it had to be a corporate restaurant, not just because it’s a breastaurant,” she said. “I wish we could have used a little more imagination” and opened something locally owned.

“I think they are doing a magnificent job of refitting the property and I’m thankful for that,” she said. “We’re going to have light and people next door.”

For Ashley Geiger, 22, a bartender at Tilted Kilt who graduated USC in August with a degree in criminal justice, it’s just a fun job in a fun atmosphere. She said she makes an average of $200 as a server on a good night, $300 or more as a bartender.

“It’s a new place,” said Geiger, who is saving for law school. “It’s in a beautiful building. I like the uniforms. The girls are like family. And the tips are great. It’s the perfect side job.”

Attracting more than gawkers

Hooters has worked in Columbia’s suburbs for more than 20 years. A lunch visit to Tilted Kilt – which bills itself as “the best-looking sports bar you’ll ever see” – seems to show the business is doing well. Manager David Wingard estimated that about 30 percent of the clientele is female. Some come with male friends or partners, others with female friends.

“We have a lot of women who come in for birthdays,” he said. “Some want to wear the costume. They just want to come in party and have a good time.”

At Hooters across I-26, manager Josh Jones said the majority of their clientele is male, but they often get couples and even families.

“Last night we had a kids’ soccer team in here,” he said. “And birthday parties for, like, 8-year-old boys. They want to get their pictures taken with the Hooters girls.”

Sam Brederode, 26, has worked at Hooters here and in Myrtle Beach since she was 18. Working at Hooters has led to a second career as a promotional model. “It’s fun, and we’re more covered up than the other places,” she said.

Will it last?

But USC’s Smoak wonders if the concept, often associated with more blue-collar clientele, will work in the Vista, a center of business, politics, art and history.

Twin Peaks will “be packed” during Gamecocks football games, and will likely draw well when USC is in session, he said. But will it become a hangout for business types?

“Every restaurant in the Vista has the same issue: What happens when the college students leave?” Smoak said.

Hooters manager Jones said that he expects Twin Peaks to draw business from them initially.

“Everybody wants to see the new shiny thing,” Jones said. “When the Kilt first opened, it definitely affected us.” But Hooters regulars “will always come back.”

Tilted Kilt manager Wingard predicted little bleedover.

“They’ll be successful right off,” he said. “But there’s a divider at the river. People downtown don’t come out to Harbison much. They’ll likely hurt other businesses in the Vista.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2015 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Twin Peaks, meet the Vista:Culture clash or streaming cash?."