The age of employees a Hooters-like restaurant chain is recruiting is creating a stir on social media.
A young woman who claims to work for the restaurant chain posted to the "Loxahatchee, Royal Palm Beach and Wellington Swip-Swap" Facebook page, writing that Twin Peaks is hiring females 16 and up as hostesses and 18 and up as servers and bartenders. With the post, she included pictures of Twin Peaks uniforms, which include low cut crop tops.
Administrators of the Facebook page deleted the post and began a conversation about whether it's inappropriate to hire girls that young to wear that type of uniform.
At the Twin Peaks Restaurant on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard in West Palm Beach, the manager would not do an on-camera interview but did say he didn't see anything wrong with his female employees' attire.
Customers walking out of the restaurant said they noticed the uniforms right away.
"I just went in for the first time just to check the place out and was kind of grossed out," said Tony Johnston. "The girls looked a little too young."
Some customers said they don't think the age limit of the restaurant's female employees is that big of a deal.
"For me it's not a problem," said Alfonso Ortiz. "I love girls. I love to see them. I saw that they are very young, yes you're right, but I come here just to have a couple beers, to eat."
Other customers said it's hard to judge when dealing with teenage girls who are old enough to know what they're doing.
"That probably is too young," said Todd Hale. "They shouldn't be in that kind of environment."
But Johnston said, "I mean that's their decision at the end of the day, but being a parent to something like that, I'm wondering how they feel. I wouldn't be too happy, especially when old men are walking in checking out these young girls."
At Twin Peakls, girls 16 and older can work as hostesses, but to serve or tend bar they have to be 18 or older. As a comparison, at Hooters women have to be 18 or older to be "Hooter's Girls" in the state of Florida.
The owners of the West Palm Beach restaurant sent this statement to WPTV:
Twin Peaks is a family oriented restaurant and sports bar. Our Twin Peaks South Florida locations follow all labor and employment laws in hiring its staff. All further inquiries concerning our employment practices can be sent in writing to our corporate office in Davie, Florida.
