Restaurant -- by ADM -- 1100 words.A proposed Hooters restaurant in the Downtown North neighborhood abutting Beacon Hill has some residents worried that the revitalization of that area may be endangered.The controversial restaurant chain plans to open a Hooters on Portland Street within the next six to eight months, at the current site of the R.J. Fitz Saloon. The Downtown North Association (DNA), an organization composed of over 130 local businesses and residents, has expressed concern over the project. According to Robert O'Brien, Executive Director of the DNA, many members of the Association object to "the manner in which Hooters treats the role of women in their marketing, promotion, and operations."Some DNA members contend that the Hooters restaurant may have a negative impact on Beacon Hill's impression of Downtown North. "Having a Hooters in Downtown North could diminish the perception of our neighborhood in other areas of Boston such as Beacon Hill," said O'Brien. "We don't want that to happen." [[[[Downtown North is bounded by Cambridge Street, North Washington Street, Sudbury Street, and the Charles River, and includes Massachusetts General Hospital, Government Center, North Station, and the Fleet Center. Mayor Kevin White named it "Boston's newest neighborhood" in 1981.]]]][[[[WHERE SHOULD THIS PARA GO?]]]]]The Hooters restaurant chain is controversial because its atmosphere focuses on its waitresses, the so-called "Hooters Girls" according to Mike McNeil, Vice President of Marketing for Hooters of America. "The essence of our business is female sex appeal," McNeil said. McNeil stresses that female nudity is in no way part of the concept of Hooters, and never has been. To the contrary, he says Hooters girls are "wholesome, AllAmerican". Despite the girls' wholesomeness, the Hooters' employee handbook says that Hooters Girls are "required to interact with and entertain the customers", "the Hooters concept is based on female sex appeal" and that "the work environment is one in which joking and innuendo based on female sex appeal is commonplace." "Our restaurant is similar to Bennigan's, or TGI Fridays," McNeil said. "But the Hooters girls make us unique."This unique quality is not necessarily a benefit to Downtown North, according to DNA Executive Director O'Brien. The DNA has helped facilitate the spending of over $100 million in the neighborhood since the 1980s as part of a vast, long-term revitalization project, and now some fear their progress may be jeopardized. After a presentation by Hooters to the DNA in early December, the DNA began to seriously question the value of Hooters in the area. "Some of our members found the concept of Hooters distasteful and offensive. Over the years we've spent a lot of time any money rebuilding the area, moving it forward. With Hooters, we're not certain if it's a step forward or a step back," O'Brien said. Although pledging to withhold final judgment until members of the DNA tour the Hooters in Warwick, RI on January 30, O'Brien said if they were asked to render a decision on Hooters now, it would be "unequivocally negative". "Hooters does not seem to be consistent with the image of our community we want to project," O'Brien said.Beacon Hill businesspeople agree. Ivy A. Turner of Ivy Turner Associates, Inc. Real Estate on Charles Street worries that Hooters would decrease the value of residential and office space near Portland Street. "Recently, Downtown North has enjoyed an enhanced reputation as a nice area with good restaurants and other qualities.," Turner said. Turner is a resident of Charles River Park, and she considers Downtown North her neighborhood's "backyard." "Hooters will make it harder to sell and lease the properties there," Turner said.Hooters' atmosphere is not the only troubling issue at hand, according to some Downtown North businesspeople and residents. Since R.J. Fitz Saloon decided in September to expand its operation to include a restaurant, there have been rumors that Hooters would be the restaurant to fill the space. Yet, R.J. Fitz waited until mid-January to reveal to the city's Licensing Board its plans to open a Hooters, and some say that came only at the prompting of the DNA. "They seem to have been less than forthcoming throughout this process," said one DNA member.This may not be the first time that a group hoping to open a Hooters in the Greater Boston area has given the impression of being "less than forthcoming." In February 1995, the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission denied a petition to transfer a liquor license from Godfried Home Bakeries, Inc. to the Saugus Group

Limited Partnership, doing business as "Hooters of Saugus, MA". According to the ABCC's decision, "Hooters' application was incomplete in that Saugus Group Limited Partnership failed to disclose the identity of its limited partner(s)." The decision further states that Massachusetts law requires that license applicants disclose "all persons or entities who will have any direct or indirect beneficial or financial interest in the license" Yet, according to the ABCC, "The applicant only listed its general partner, Vincent Santoro." According to Tad Dixon, Public Relations Manager for Hooters of America, Vincent Santoro is affiliated with New England Wings, the company now hoping to franchise the Hooters on Portland Street. Stephen Miller, an attorney who represents New England Wings, says the delay in mentioning Hooters in this most recent case occurred only because negotiations with Hooters had not been finalized until December, so it would not have made sense for them to notify the DNA or the licensing board before then. Once the deal was finalized, R.J. Fitz, Inc. promptly made a presentation to the DNA.The DNA, however, had only one formal opportunity to voice its objection to the proposal. This came at a Licensing Board meeting on January 22, when R.J. Fitz, Inc. petitioned the board to transfer its liquor license to R.J. Fitz, Inc. as general partner of R.J. Fitz Limited Partnership. At that time, the DNA presented a letter to Ellen Rooney, Chairperson of the Licensing Board, expressing its concern that a Hooters restaurant would be opened at the R.J. Fitz site. Despite the DNA's objections, the Board voted 3-0 to transfer the license. The Board based its decision on a September hearing at which R.J. Fitz, Inc. was granted permission to include a restaurant in its business operations.Miller believes that if everything goes as expected, the restaurant will open in six to eight months. "We just have a few business operations to work out," Miller said. Miller also said he would be willing to reach out to the community to address some of their concerns, regarding marketing, signage, and atmosphere. Meanwhile, concerned groups in Downtown North are deciding what their next step might be. Update: the guy at the center of this article had a heart attack the day after this story appeared. Originally appeared in the Beacon Hill Times