Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery

Tilted Kilt
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurant
FoundedLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S. (2003)
FoundersMark DiMartino
John Reynaud
Shannon Reilly
HeadquartersTempe, Arizona, U.S.
Number of locations
9[1]
Area served
United States
ProductsPub food, American food, alcohol, 24+Draft and bottled beers
ServicesFood and beverage
Number of employees
over 2,500[citation needed]
ParentArc Group Inc
Websitetiltedkilt.com

Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery is a modern Scottish-Irish-themed sports pub and franchisor-type restaurant chain in the United States.

History

Servers in typical attire before the 2015 uniform update (2008)

The first Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery was opened in the Las Vegas Rio Hotel and Casino in 2003, with servers "wearing Celtic-themed uniforms with knee-high socks and short, sexy plaid kilts", by restaurateur Mark DiMartino[2][3] and business partners and co-founders Shannon Reilly and John Reynaud.[4] The concept was a "contemporary, Celtic-themed sports Pub staffed with beautiful servers". The company has locations in seven U.S. states.[1]

Atmosphere

Waitresses wearing post-2015 uniforms (2018)

Tilted Kilt describes itself as "a modern American, Scottish and Irish sports pub". The menu mixes traditional and contemporary pub food, serving fish and chips, shepherd's pie, and "Big-Arse Burgers". Each pub features at least 24 beers on tap, including flagship beverages such as Guinness and Samuel Adams. The establishments are filled with televisions for sporting events, and games such as Golden Tee, pool, and darts are available for the patrons.

Others place Tilted Kilt into the category of "breastaurant", in the same vein as Hooters and Twin Peaks, specializing in scantily clad female servers.[5] The company's homepage heavily features so-called "Kilt Girls".[6] Community members in Evanston, Illinois, mounted a successful campaign to keep the chain from opening there.[7][8]

Undercover Boss

Tilted Kilt's president, Ron Lynch was featured on season 4, episode 2 of Undercover Boss,[9] released on CBS, November 9, 2012 in the United States.[10][11]

Facade of a Tilted Kilt adjacent to Petco Park, San Diego. This location closed in 2017.[12]

Litigation

In April 2019, a jury in Lancaster County, Nebraska awarded $1.47 million to a past waitress against Famous Brands Group LLC, a Tilted Kilt franchisee and a manager, Dustin Lindgren, for video recording servers changing in the dressing room. The restaurant closed in 2014, the year the recordings took place. This was not the first time the manager was confronted in a separate incident by a different employee. In 2015, the former manager Lindgren was convicted of a felony charge; he received 180 days (approximately six months) in jail and five years' probation "for recording a person in a state of undress". Two other lawsuits were settled for an undisclosed amount with two other victims for the same conduct; one was set to go to trial on Thursday, April 18, 2019.[13]

Sale

In 2018 SDA Holdings sold Tilted Kilt to Arc Group Inc., owner of Dick's Wings and Grill, for 1.4 million shares of stock (OTC:RLLY), $10 cash and payments in the future totaling $1.5 million.[14][15] CEO of ARC Group Richard Akam, said, "Tilted Kilt will be a strong addition to our platform and a brand for which we believe we can make a significant impact in its top and bottom line growth".[16][17] The former president of Tilted Kilt, Ron Lynch has opened a new restaurant in Tempe, Arizona called VooDoo Daddy's Steam Kitchen, a Louisiana-style fast-casual restaurant.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Locations". tiltedkilt.com. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  2. ^ Hitchner, Earle (January 27, 2009). "Tilted Kilt Opens in Cedar Rapids". The Courier. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Stevens, Muriel (March 14, 2003). "Columnist Muriel Stevens: New York-New York leads Irish parade". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  4. ^ Szakacs, Monica (March 17, 2012). "Wethersfield's 'Tilted Kilt' Catches Flak For Waitresses' Costumes". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Pedicini, Sandra (February 7, 2013). "'Breastaurants' serve up boom times for busts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  6. ^ "Kilt Girls". Tilted Kilt Pub. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  7. ^ Smith, Bill (April 27, 2011). "Tilted Kilt: Hot debate over sexy bar". Evanston Now. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "Mayor Rejects Tilted Kilt Liquor License". Evanston, IL Patch. May 2, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "Tilted Kilt". IMDb. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  10. ^ Graf, Tony (November 8, 2012). "Tilted Kilt exec to appear on CBS show 'Undercover Boss'". The Herald-News. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012.
  11. ^ Gallen, Tim (October 26, 2012). "Tilted Kilt President Ron Lynch talks about 'Undercover Boss' appearance". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  12. ^ Weisberg, Lori. "Tilted Kilt sports bar exits San Diego". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  13. ^ Pilger, Lori (April 12, 2019). "Jury awards former Tilted Kilt server $1.4M verdict over manager spying on her as she changed clothes". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  14. ^ Maze, Jonathan (November 12, 2018). "The Story of the Tilted Kilt Sale". Restaurant Business. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  15. ^ Ruggless, Ron (June 13, 2018). "Tilted Kilt acquisition on months-long path". Nations Restaurant News. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  16. ^ Sniegowski, Don (November 10, 2018). "ARC to Buy Tilted Kilt Brand for Ten million". Blue Mau Mau. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  17. ^ Klein, Danny (June 2018). "Tilted Kilt Being Sold to Dick's Wings Owner". foodnewsfeed.com. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  18. ^ Lalley, Heather (May 1, 2019). "Former Titled Kilt President Launches Cajun Fast~Casual Concept". Restaurant Business. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  19. ^ "Voodoo Daddy's brings New Orleans to EV". East Valley Tribune. May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019.