Hooters has become a popular local spot, attracting visitors from across the country. Once the only UK city to host the popular US chain, Hooters was one of the interesting venues that set Nottingham apart from other major cities in the UK.
And one famous comedian is partly to thank for the site's national success. Katherine Ryan is best known as a comedian, writer, and presenter, but also played a fundamental role in Hooters' international expansion.
Katherine was born in Ontario, Canada, and left home at 18 to study city planning. But according to the Daily Mail, her first successes came when she was working as a waitress working for Hooters before she moved to the UK to open the chain's first UK branch in Nottingham.
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The bar first opened in 2006, and quickly made its presence in the town known. Katherine, along with a number of others Hooters' girls, stopped traffic as they marched from the old Hooters site, down London Road to the new bar at the Hicking Building, to mark its official launch.
But by the time of her move across the Atlantic, Katherine had already begun to climb the ranks at the organisation. She had become a corporate trainer, looking after new waitresses. The star is now a well-known face from shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie to You? but admits she got her first taste of comedy from working at the bar.
Katherine took part in a number of bikini pageants while working at Hooters, but alongside drawing the girls out, she made the punters laugh - fueling her passion for comedy.
Reflecting on her time with Hooters, as both a waitress and working on the corporate side, Katherine admits she would probably have ended up opening her own Hooters restaurant if it hadn’t been for stand-up.
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