San Angelo's Opposing Views at its Twin Peaks Restaurant

 

Some come for the oversized food portions, others for the “scenic views” and then there are those who don’t come at all.

Since its opening as San Angelo’s first and only breastaurant, Twin Peaks has received a wide range of feedback, and not all of it's perky.

“My grandparents would never have stood for an establishment to open back in their day with girls in half-dress. Society would have thrown a fit and run the owners out of town,” said Deborah Young, a former elementary school teacher. 

She explained how San Angelo, along with the rest of society, is slowly losing its morality. For Young, the opening of Twin Peaks is just another nail in the moral coffin. 

She said, “Now, people see nothing wrong with half-dressed women on TV or sex scenes being aired or minors being served by scantily-clothed females.” Young added,“I just think it's a terrible environment for impressionable children.” 

Based on reviews from the Facebook page of Twin Peaks in San Angelo, some customers aren’t too impressed by the servers. 

One user posted,“I’m here at Twin Peaks why do all the girls look pissed off?”

Another wrote,“It wasn’t the best service, was not that great, took an hour to get our food. Not really impressed...”

During his visit to San Angelo, even Christopher “Big Black” Boykin of MTV’s “Rob and Big” chimed in about San Angelo’s Twin Peaks location. He tweeted:

But the staff at Twin Peaks say that San Angelo has been overwhelmingly welcoming to the business. 

“We didn’t know if it [San Angelo] was going to be able to support such a thing as Twin Peaks,” Juan Flores, a partner in the business, said about San Angelo being a tier three city with a population at 100,000. 

Flores said that for him one of the main reasons for opening up in San Angelo was, “Because it’s home.”

He said that West Texas has been ready for something like this. The support can be seen in the numbers; San Angelo’s Twin Peaks has been ranked as one the top five locations within the Twin Peaks corporation. 

“If my partner and I didn’t think San Angelo was ready for this we wouldn’t have opened it up here,” Flores said 

He said that some have accused them of opening to catch the wave of the oil boom. But Flores says the property was bought prior to and would have opened regardless. 

Kristin Allen, the general manager at Twin Peaks, has worked for similar companies throughout Texas. On coming to San Angelo, Allen said she was constantly questioned on whether she would be able to find girls suitable for the job.

Allen said that during the interview process,“We tell them, 'okay, this what you have to wear, this is the image you have to uphold.' And they want to do it.”

She explained that their servers, referred to as performers, receive “Peaks Perks”. These are discounts offered by businesses around town for tanning, nails, hair, and gym memberships. 

Allen said, “All we ask you to do is be completely nice, look like the girl next door, keep yourself fit, look nice, wear make-up and fix your hair.”

Another part of the job is to “flirt without intent”. The girls are taught to “schmooze, sit and sell”. 

On why it seems that the objectification of women is permissible at this business, Allen said, “The girls that work here don’t feel that way.” 

“They want to do this,” she said. 

In fact, the staff members said that in going out to the swimming pool or even the mall you would probably see more than what you would at Twin Peaks. 

Allen explained that Twin Peaks should be seen as an apparatus to empower women. 

“This company is very supportive to these girls promoting their careers. We have so many girls that are in our marketing department that came from being a hostess,” Allen said

She said that the girls in San Angelo are showing interest in internships at higher level positions and talking to the CEOs at corporate in order to see how they can move up in their career. 

“There’s going to be the people out there that say ‘oh it’s just waiting tables,’ but there are so many opportunities for these girls,” Allen said. 

She explained that it’s not all about the appearance of the server.

“I can change a girl’s look...but they’ve got to have the personality and confidence to do this,” Allen said.   

The restaurant opened in late August and its success has led Flores to look into opening more locations throughout Texas. He also aspires to open the first Twin Peaks in Mexico.

But despite what anyone says of San Angelo’s newest attraction, Young continues to state, “I don't care how wonderful the food or how nice the place, Twin Peaks won't make one shiny dime off me.” 

Update: Twin Peaks is located at 1601 Knickerbocker Rd, San Angelo.

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From the sounds of it, it won't be long and the Twin Peaks restaurant will return to being an empty, yet remodeled, building. I suspect the "attitude" being projected by the employees is a result of their feelings of being treated as an object rather than a person, but then what did you expect. I've always said this type of establishment was not a good fit for the San Angelo market, "I told ya so!"
earpj5, Thu, 10/17/2013 - 08:33
For folks who want the gov't to stay out of their business, there sure are a lot of busy bodies in this town. If you don't like it, don't go. This is why we can't have nice things. Too many people who think they know what's best for everyone else.
Great food, great environment. I'm a weekly customer and I have never seen a frown yet. Service time is hit or miss but, what establishment isnt when full in capacity. I feel sorry for this woman Young whom does not know a good change of pace to the local sometimes boring established places.
To be told by management that discounts are available at gyms, nail salons, hair salons.....tell that person she is not acceptable as she is. If I go to a swimming pool, I expect to see scantily clad women. It is a shame that we had allowed it to come to this....and "flaunting" it at a "supposedly" family style restaurant is a joke. I will spend my money elsewhere....like Cheddar's.
You guys didn't even publish the important tweet about this story from him.... Why in the hell would you choose his other tweet and not publish both ?? "Twin Peaks in San.Angelo sucks Donkey Balls!" That being said, I'm a huge supporter of the restaurant and bar business and if you don't like it, don't go. If you do go, don't comment negatively until they have been open at least 6 weeks and you have been twice. Common sense.
Lorax, Thu, 10/17/2013 - 13:02
I wonder if this is the same manager who doesn't like her hostesses to sit groups of black customers next to each other. She says they get too loud and could get into fights.
Did I miss it, or did Twin Peaks just forego their grand opening? No red coats? No ribbion cutting? Why? What is it you don't want to bring attention to? btw, how come we don't see TV commercials for Twin Peaks, like we do for Applebees and Chilis?
"how come we don't see TV commercials for Twin Peaks, like we do for Applebees and Chilis?" That's easy, advertising is expensive and sex sells; as does controversy, which this town is great at creating. The way I see it, as long as there are women wearing next to nothing as well as plenty of beer and sports going on…this place will be a success with the military and college guys. The owner is doing everything right about getting people in the doors without wasting money on advertising.
azew, actually, my question about commercials was a rehtorical one, but since you chose to answer it anyway, you just exposed your ignorance as a quick search on Google indicates there a lots of Twin Peaks commericals in other markets of course.
Now you may call me old fashioned - but I’m the type of guy who hopes there’ll be a brothel at the edge of town to take my pubescent children to when the time comes. There’s only so much a parent can do with words. There are countless coaches and teachers and professionals to teach people all sorts of things yet we have culturally constrained ourselves to going into the very activity that ensures the continuance our existence… blind. I don’t know why. I wish I had a logical or justifiable reason for it but I don’t. Do you go about teaching your teenagers how to drive by going over a manual before handing them the keys? How the prevailing yet simultaneously declining culture in this country approaches and dances around sexuality is silly and hilarious - yet also disappointing, consequential and kind of creepy. Twin Peaks. ‘Two large breasts’ is synonymously if yet euphemistically the name (or dyphemistically depending on your interpretation and perspective) of the restaurant. Without mammaries we wouldn’t exist. It’s where the word Mama came from, from which Mom came about. Mum if you’re British. Nothing wrong with that. Except for your teeth. Just joshing you that’s a myth. Men and women and animals and planets the universe over share a deep fascination and adoration for breasts. Breast cancer gets twice as much research funding while killing half as many people as lung cancer because we love to be able to talk about and express our love for boobs in a socially acceptable way. Butt hole cancer gets the same treatment. I wonder why? We are adamant in stopping cancer from taking our beloved bosoms. That’s why. Anyway, Twin Peaks has cold beer. Haven’t been to the one here, some friends work there so that’s good. Can’t go wrong with job creation. Keep on lifting and separating in the name of Capitalism girls. I capitalize Capitalism - not for some highfalutin arbitrary grammatical reason - but out of respect… R.I.P. (Rein In Profit) Ronald Reagan.
They're BREASTS, people. 50% of the population has them! You see more skin on a beach or at the pool, but you don't see us shielding our children's eyes from women in bikinis! This is what is wrong with the southern U.S. Overly religious, socially conservative (and just plain awkward) people, who brought you the same belief that your body is a vesicle of evil that should never be seen, explored, or touched by yourself or anyone else. If there is any objectification of women going on in restaurants such as this, it is on the part of the customer, not the business. I've eaten at Twin Peaks twice since it's opening in San Angelo. The food was wonderful, the service was excellent, and the women appeared genuinely happy to be there. They make a conscious decision to work there and can leave at any time they feel exploited. Perhaps those who dine here who see the waitress's position as one of shame and guilt are the ones with the perverse eye. A job does not make the woman an object - Perverted, socially unintelligent, ignorant people DO. Given the local political and economic climate, I posit this - If a woman makes a conscious decision to use her flirtation skills and beautiful body to increase her income, it doesn't make her an object. It makes her a damn fine capitalist. And that's what's best for society...right conservatives?
Gimmick - something designed to attract extra attention, interest, or publicity. That's all we have here. I won't be played or lured. If you want my business then earn it! As for Mammaries, you sound like the kind of liberal that would not only take his children to a brothel but would condone them working there also. I'm disgusted by your filthy opinion but you're entitled to it and so am I!

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