“We are very excited about coming to Fulshear,” said Leamber Yisrael, of Hooters of America, after attending the board meeting last February. “Fulshear has seen tremendous growth, and good things are happening in Fulshear. We want to be a part of that.”

The restaurant will create between 75-80 full- and part-time jobs, she said then.

The delay in construction came about because the company changed the design of its restaurants, which meant the approval process through the city’s planning department had to start over.  The public relations firm that handles media inquiries for the company did not return an e-mail seeking comment for this story.

Some residents have questioned if Hooters is a good fit for Fulshear.

“I don’t know, Fulshear seems kind of small for a Hooters,” said Stacy Davis, of Weston Lakes. “The Hooters down in Katy closed several years ago. If they couldn’t make it, I don’t know why somebody would think a Hooters in Fulshear will make it.”

Fulshear had an estimated population in 2017 of about 6,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hooters location in Katy closed in 2018, after operating for about seven years. The Katy location was among nine restaurants in the southeast closed because of licensing disagreements with the new parent company, Hooters of America.

Eric Williamson, also of Weston Lakes, thinks the location will do well.

“I think Fulshear has grown up to the point where a Hooters really won’t raise that many eyebrows,” he said. “And they are out there by the new Tollway, so that will give them a lot of traffic.”

Johnny Quarles, of Katy-Fulshear Real Estate, added “on behalf of Katy-Fulshear Real Estate I want to wish everyone a great April 1st, and remind you that you can’t believe everything you read today! April Fools!”