August 11, 2023
They strutted and posed on the white Caesars Palace catwalk: First in sparkling cocktail dresses; then in iconic orange Hooters short-shorts and white T-shirts; and finally in sizzling red bikinis.
Pageant co-host Hannah Williams described the women onstage as “50 beacons of beauty to wow the audience.” And judging from the cheers and clapping at the 26th-annual Miss Hooters International pageant, the women more than accomplished that goal.
Naples Hooters server/bartender Grace Burchett was one of those 50 Hooters employees competing onstage Thursday night in Las Vegas, and she admits she was a bit nervous at first.
“It was just overwhelming, but we were really well-prepared, because we had long, long rehearsal days,” she says. “We knew our routines. And after the opening number, a lot of my nerves went away and I was more excited than anything.”
The pageant was livestreamed at participating Hooters restaurants nationwide, including the one in Naples.
In the end, Burchett didn’t make it into the Top 10 finalists in Thursday's pageant or win the Miss Hooters International crown. That honor ― along with the $30,000 grand prize ― went to Emily Johnson of Orange Park, a Jacksonville suburb.
Even so, Burchett says she had a blast during her eight-day stay in Vegas, which included photo shoots, pageant rehearsals and self-improvement workshops.
“Win or lose, we’re in Vegas,” says Burchett, 25, of Fort Myers. “It was my first pageant. It was a great experience. I met a ton of great girls.
“And the winner was one of the best people I’ve ever met. So I’m very, very happy with how everything turned out.”
Burchett had previously been featured as Miss March in the 2023 Hooters swimsuit calendar. But she’d never competed in a pageant until now.
She says she loved how she and everyone else looked onstage Thursday night.
“We had a great hair and makeup team,” she says. “Everybody who was helping put the whole production together was phenomenal.”
Most of the women competing Thursday work at Hooters in the United States ― and many were from Florida, the birthplace of the popular restaurant chain.
The event was hosted by two former pageant contestants: Sable Robbert (the 2016 Miss Hooters International winner) and Williams (first runner-up that year).
Other awards went to Cassidy Marginean from Dallas, Texas (Miss Photogenic); Roisin Leach of Liverpool, England (Miss Congeniality); and Lindsay Lynch of Merrillville, Indiana (Fan Favorite).
