By Emily Graffeo, Bloomberg News

The men who founded the Hooters restaurant chain in Florida in 1983 have finalized their reacquisition of the brand, promising to return it to its beachy roots after it went through bankruptcy.

Their first steps in what they call a “re-Hooterization” of the chain after its failure this year: a simplified menu, renewed focus on local communities — and server uniforms that “return the original look,” the founding group said in a statement Monday.

“We’re not just acquiring restaurants — we’re taking back the Hooters name to show the world who we really are,” Neil Kiefer, chief executive officer of Hooters Inc., said in the statement.

The acquisition of Hooters of America, the private equity-controlled entity that owned the brand, closed Friday.

The Florid

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