Lynn D. Stewart (businessman)
| Lynn D. Stewart | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Lynn D. Stewart October 10, 1943 (age 73) |
| Residence | Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Occupation |
Businessman Restaurateur |
| Employer | Hooters; |
| Known for | Majority shareholder and co-founder of the original Hooters Restaurant chain |
| Title | C.E.O. retired |
| Board member of | Director of Pearly's Oasis and L.D. Stewarts Custom Homes, Inc. |
| Spouse(s) | Juanita Stewart |
Lynn "L.D." Stewart (born October 10, 1943) is an American businessman. In 1983, Stewart and five associates opened the first Hooters, Inc. restaurant in Clearwater, Florida. The collective Hooters brand has since expanded to more than 430 stores worldwide. Practically every dish on the first menu was an item that Stewart developed himself.
Born Lynn D. Stewart in , Illinois in 1943, Stewart gained early fame as an offensive guard playing for the 1963 Fighting Illini squad alongside center Dick Butkus, tackle Archie Sutton, and running back Jim Grabowski. The team defeated UCLA, Michigan, and fourth-ranked Michigan State during the regular season. The Fighting Illini squad then topped Washington 17–7 in the 1964 Rose Bowl.
Following college, Stewart served three years in the U.S. Army. Afterward he took a job working for an interstate construction company in Atlanta. He also worked for a time as a coal mine foreman in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When he realized that working in a mine was extremely hazardous, he moved his family from Chattanooga to Florida, where they had relatives. He and his wife, Juanita, have two sons.
Stewart and five business associates opened the first Hooters in Clearwater, Florida on April Fools' Day, April 1, 1983, as an inside joke because they were sure they would fail at the venture, even going so far as placing tombstones bearing the names of previous tenants who failed in that location outside the entrance of their new establishment. Stewart said of opening the first Hooters: "I had every intention of being broke in six months."
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