CHARLOTTE, NC--(Marketwired - September 03, 2013) - Chanticleer Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOTR) (Chanticleer Holdings, or the "Company"), a minority holder in the privately held parent company of the Hooters brand Hooters Of America, and a franchisee of international Hooters restaurants, has secured a prime lease in Pretoria, South Africa. This will bring the Company's total number of international Hooters restaurants to eight in three countries, including the previously announced Townsville, Australia location and this Pretoria location, both expected to open before the end of 2013.
The new Hooters in Pretoria will be built in The Willows Shopping Centre, in the eastern part of Pretoria. Gordon Jestin, Chanticleer's Chief Operating Officer for Hooters, South Africa, stated, "This is a busy, high-traffic area where its residents tend to live and shop within a 5 mile radius of The Willows Shopping Centre, making this a perfect location for a Hooters restaurant." Jestin continued, "This strip centre affords our customers convenience and ample parking in a busy traffic pattern with more than an estimated 4,000 cars passing our site per day. We have executed a 5 year lease with a 5 year option to renew for 7,700 square feet, including a brilliant outside balcony space, with very favorable terms, including landlord-provided upfits in the buildout. We are right in the middle of a number of fast food restaurants and retail stores with the perfect demographics for our Hooters." The restaurant is scheduled for opening by the end of the year.
Mike Pruitt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "South Africa, for many reasons, has been an outstanding market for our Hooters brand. Our locations continue to grow, partly due to the sports-loving nature of the South African people who can now watch sporting activities on many of the largest High Definition TVs, unique in the country, while enjoying our new menu items. That, combined with the famous Hooters girls and vibrant atmosphere, makes Hooters a destination restaurant." Pruitt said further, "We now have Hooters restaurants in Europe, South Africa and Australia, and soon to be in the United Kingdom and Brazil, demonstrating that our American brand is becoming an integral part of leisure dining in these international markets. The recently announced Letter of Intent to acquire American Roadside Burgers, a 5 restaurant chain operating primarily in the Carolinas, gives us a growth opportunity here at home and abroad as well."
About Chanticleer Holdings, Inc.
Chanticleer Holdings (HOTR) is focused on expanding the Hooters® casual dining restaurant brand in international emerging markets. Chanticleer currently owns in whole or part of the exclusive franchise rights to develop and operate Hooters restaurants in South Africa, Hungary and parts of Brazil, and has joint ventured with the current Hooters franchisee in Australia, while evaluating several additional international opportunities. The Company currently owns and operates in whole or part of six Hooters restaurants in its international franchise territories: Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Emperor's Palace in South Africa; Campbelltown in Australia; and Budapest in Hungary.
In 2011, Chanticleer and a group of noteworthy private equity investors, which included H.I.G. Capital, KarpReilly, LLC and Kelly Hall, president of Texas Wings Inc., the largest Hooters franchisee in the United States, acquired Hooters of America, a privately held company. Today, Hooters of America is an operator and the franchisor of over 430 Hooters® restaurants in 28 countries. Chanticleer maintains a minority ownership stake in Hooters of America and its CEO, Mike Pruitt, is also a member of Hooters' Board of Directors.
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