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Baywatch, the restaurant
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December 18, 1998: 5:40 p.m. ET
David Hasselhoff to open chain of Baywatch-theme restaurants in late '99
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Hooters move over.
If David Hasselhoff has his way, a Baywatch-theme restaurant may soon be coming to a city near you. The world's most popular television star is hoping to resuscitate the ailing celebrity-eatery industry.
A group of investors, apparently undaunted by the dismal performance of Planet Hollywood and the All-Star Cafe, plans to open a chain of restaurants based on the world's favorite television franchise.
Spearheaded by David Hasselhoff, who plays the father-figure lifeguard on the international mega-hit, the group plans to open restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago beginning in late 1999. The chic Miami neighborhood of South Beach will host the first restaurant.
Baywatch -- bane of television critics and boon to adolescent boys around the globe -- is a weekly television show featuring lifeguard heroes endowed with .... well, endowed, saving lives, building relationships and teaching valuable moral lessons.
Finding beautiful servers shouldn't be a problem for the New York and Los Angeles franchises, cities where the vast majority of waiters and waitresses are already unemployed actors and actresses.
"We hope all our servers will look like movie stars," said John Thall, president and chief operating officer for World Entertainment Ltd. the Nevada-based company developing the chain. Hasselhoff could not be reached for comment.
Thall said workers will wear beach attire, but will not dress inappropriately. This will likely translate to shorts and casual shirts for all restaurant staff.
In news sure to disappoint a considerable portion of the show's fans -- "The waitresses will not be in the red, one-piece swimsuits," Thall said.
In the past two years, theme restaurants like Rainforest Cafe and the Country Star Cafe have been bitter disappointments to patrons and investors alike. Both the service and food at these touristy, atmosphere-intensive restaurants have received dismal reviews, and investors have seen depressing results.
From its high of about $30 a share, Planet Hollywood (PHL) has tumbled to 2-7/8 a share. Indeed, the restaurant chain has fared as poorly as some of its celebrity-investors' films: think Bruce Willis' "Hudson Hawk," Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Last Action Hero" or Demi Moore's "Striptease."
Country Star (KAFED) stock has also experienced difficulty in recent months, shedding as much as 50 percent since July.
Certainly the backers of the Baywatch restaurant are hoping that their venture won't sink as far or as quickly. And if the show's coiffed star is any indication of likely food options, you can expect a menu heavy on cheese.
-- by staff writer Campbell Foster
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