Tilted Kilt mixes short skirts and sports

The recession has slowed the growth for Tilted Kilt, but it's also provided some prime sites, Lynch said. In metro Atlanta, Tilted Kilt has taken over the buildings of closed Macaroni Grills in Kennesaw and Johns Creek and a former Olde Mill Steakhouse on Cobb Parkway.

"It's the worst of times, and it's the best of times," Lynch said. "It's the worst of times in that the financial and economic climate is down a little bit. It's the best of times in that we're getting looks at real estate that a company our size might not normally get."

Started in a Las Vegas casino, Tilted Kilt features sports, servers and beer. The restaurants are filled with flat-panel TVs tuned to sports broadcasting. They feature a wide range of beers on tap and moderately priced bar food, such as hand-pressed burgers, gourmet sandwiches and chicken wings.

Its servers wear tight tops, short kilts and stockings. Tilted Kilt is often compared to Hooters, an Atlanta-based chain with more than 450 outlets, that has servers in tight white tops and orange shorts.

New concepts, such as Tilted Kilt, might draw customers in the short-term from nearby Hooters restaurants, but the company doesn't anticipate a long-term impact, said Mike McNeil, vice president of marketing for Hooters of America. Hooters, started in 1983, created the category and has grown into a global brand, he said.

"It's a part of American pop culture; it's an icon," McNeil said. "There's a big difference between this world-class brand and what Hooters means and somebody else that just happens to have some attractive females serving food and drink."

For its part, Tilted Kilt shrugs off the comparison. The company is confident it has a unique concept, Lynch said.

"I don't ever want to play the game of chasing the competition and trying to copy them," he said. "We really want to be our own thing."

Tilted Kilt puts a new twist on the basic idea behind Hooters, but it's not a "copy-cat" concept, said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, a Chicago-based restaurant research and consulting firm. The outfits, Celtic theme and menu are different, he said.

Tilted Kilt faces competition from Hooters and other sports bars, Tristano said. The chain will have to produce quality food to draw people back, he said.

The servers, though, will help it stand out, particularly with males, Tristano said. "It's a tough market to be expanding on a new concept, but a differentiated theme has some appeal in this marketplace," he said.

The Kennesaw location, which opened in mid-September, has drawn strong crowds since opening, said Alan Barnett and Victor Beall, co-owners of the franchise. The girls, TVs and cold beer bring people in, but they said they're focusing on the food to bring people back.

"We're kind of that middle of the road as far as price points," Beall said. "Now, because of the economy, we're getting a higher clientele."

The impact of the recession has been mixed on the overall chain, said Tilted Kilt President Lynch. Sales are down slightly at some outlets but up at others, he said.

Tilted Kilt expects to have 31 outlets by the end of the year, Lynch said. It originally expected to have 40 or 50 at year-end, but some store openings have been pushed into next year, he said.

Atlanta remains an attractive market, Lynch said. Tilted Kilt hopes to have restaurants in Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Buckhead and north Atlanta, he said.

"We're very aggressive about Atlanta," Lynch said. "We think it's one of the best spots to grow in the country."