BUNS AND BUTTER

Small-time Bombshells eyes exploding growth

Bombshells wants to bust out.

Management of the fourunit Houston-based restaurant and bar wants to take its military-themed concept — and its scantily-clad waitresses and ice-cold beer — on a cross-country tear that could result in as many as 100 new franchised locations opening in the next five years.

The timing of the move would appear to be perfect.

While revenue of Bombshells grew 6 percent in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, it spiked 10.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

The momentum appears to have shareholders upbeat.

Shares of RCI Hospitality, which owns Bombshells as well as a host of adult-friendly nightclubs and cabarets, have increased nearly 40 percent since the presidential election through Dec. 23, to $15.95.

This is all good news for RCI brass — but just don’t start referring to their Bombshells chain as just another so-called “breastaurant,” the name for a burger and beer joint with scantily-clad waitresses, like Twin Peaks and Hooters.

Management would rather you think of the familyfriendly Dave & Buster’s as their inspiration — never mind the bullet-belts hanging from its servers waists and the cleavage-baring zippered tops.

“It is not a so-called ‘breastaurant,’ ” insisted spokesman Gary Fishman.

OK, we won’t mention that the staff is encouraged to sidle up to customers or that they have to sign an employment contract that allows the restaurant to say what lipstick colors are acceptable and require them to wear their hair down.

To be sure, the WWII-themed eatery is trying to tap into the family crowd by hosting Little League gatherings and the like in a way that its breastaurant peers are not, say industry watchers.

“It’s drawing people in at lunch and going all the way to 2 a.m.,” said Frank Camma, a retail analyst at Sidoti, who notes that Bombshells attracts more women than Hooters. “It has cross-appeal.”

RCI Hospitality operates more than 40 gentlemen’s clubs, including jiggle joint Rick’s Cabaret in Manhattan, Jaguars, Tootsies Cabaret and XTC.

Among all the RCI brands, it is the 3-year-old Bombshells that is being groomed for growth.

RCI recently poached Shannon Glaser, a franchising expert from the Twin Peaks chain. Glaser helped her former employer win acclaim as the fastest-growing restaurant chain over the past several years.

At a time when the restaurant industry is experiencing anemic growth and buzz, phrases like “restaurant recession” have crept into the lexicon, RCI — and Bombshells in particular — seem to be bucking the trend.

“I think overall the election is turning out to be very, very, very positive for us so far,” Bombshells Chief Executive Eric Langan told Wall Street in a recent conference call.

“We think the franchising and growth of this concept will greatly enhance shareholder value, and [we] view Bombshells as a buried ‘gem,’ ” Camma wrote in a report.

The company doesn’t even think those skimpy Bombshells outfits go too far.

“Our uniform is like a cheerleader outfit,” director of operations David Simmons offered.