Hooters Comes to South Park

You start your appraisal shyly, staring at the ground and slowly looking up. White Skechers (the Shape-Up model), crew socks, flesh-colored pantyhose, the iconic orange hotpants, indeed there's a lot to ogle before you get to the logo Hooters tanktop or tee (or vee, as it were). With ironic self-awareness, the back of the shirt reads "Delightfully tacky yet unrefined."

Some two dozen uniformed Hooter Girls are on duty in the noonday sun for the ribbon cutting of a new Hooters in South Park, where Rascals Casino once raked it in. Same ownership, actually, since it's all about the gaming license. The fair Hooters, in all their multi-ethnic pulchritude, are but the bait. Seattle doesn't allow gaming, but Hooters is across the street from the city line.

"We're committed to the growth of entertainment in this part of town," says Rascals' Ed Pilarz, who sports a Hooters-orange tie. "Every day we throw a party, and you're invited."

So they cut the ribbon and in we go, to be served an airline bottle of chardonnay, some carrot & celery sticks with packaged ranch dressing, curly fries, a plateful of sliders, another of mildly spicy wings, and a packet containing (surely not a condom!) a handi-wipe. In front, dozens of hi-def TVs tuned to sports channels, in the back,15 tables of card games. Opens to the public Thursday. Oh, and they're still hiring.

Hooters, 9635 Des Moines Memorial Blvd., South Park, 206 625 0555