Area Hooters Franchise Sold To Australia Company

A Louisville-based company that operates Hooters franchises in four states has been sold to an Australia-based company.

RMD Corp., based at 2905 Plantside Drive in Jeffersontown, announced Wednesday that it has sold its assets to South Pacific Partners Ltd. No terms were disclosed.

SPP is the operating arm of Australian Enterprises L.P., the Hooters franchisee for Australia and New Zealand.

RMD's majority shareholder is Neal Harding, who opened Louisville's first Hooters franchise in 1988, according to a news release. Harding could not be reached for comment.

RMD, the oldest Hooters franchisee, operated 39 Hooters in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, and the transaction includes the restaurants, certain real estate holdings and future development rights for Hooters within the four states, according to the release.

Harding will continue to be involved with the Hooters through his ownership of World Wide Wings LLC, a company that owns eight Hooters in Canada, England and the Caribbean.

"Neal Harding has been a leader within the franchisee community," Coby Brooks, the president and CEO of Atlanta-based Hooters of America Inc., stated in the release. "He was our first and finest franchisee. I can't wait to see what he will accomplish now that he is able to focus his efforts exclusively on international expansion." In addition to RMD, Harding has interests in Qdoba Mexican Grill franchises and other companies, especially in the housing and construction sectors.

Hooters, famous for its scantily clad waitresses, operates or franchises 435 Hooters restaurants in 43 states and 24 foreign countries. The first Hooters opened in 1983 in Clearwater, Fla.

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