Alisa Cleek, chief legal officer of Hooters of America. (Courtesy photo)

Hooters of America, the franchisor and operator of 420 Hooters restaurants in 38 states and 29 countries, has hired Alisa Pittman Cleek as chief legal officer.

Cleek joins Atlanta-based Hooters with over 25 years of legal experience, most recently as a partner and practice group leader at Atlanta-based law firm Taylor English Duma, where her work included serving as outside counsel to Hooters for more than two decades. She succeeds Scott Weber, who stepped down in March but remains an HOA board member.

Throughout her career, Cleek has primarily focused on providing legal advice to the restaurant industry on a broad range of areas, from consumer behavior and operations to worker's compensation and risk management.

Her appointment comes at a time the company says it is working to "modernize the Hooters experience while retaining the Hooters Girl as the central focus."

"I'm excited to be a part of the Hooters brand and building on its strong foundation of delivering great food and a superb customer experience with the Hooters Girls and heart of house employees front and center," she added. Heart of house referrs to employees who interact with customers in the dining room.

Hooters launched in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida. It has been owned since 2019 by Florida-based Nord Bay Capital, which acquired it from H.I.G. Capital, Chanticleer Holdings and other investors.