Redneck Heaven was a

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

of sports bars and restaurants based in

Lewisville, Texas Lewisville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Denton County with portions extending into Dallas County. As one of the Mid-Cities within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the 2020 census reported a population of 111,822. O ...

, and with locations in several other

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

cities. The chain was known for its controversial promotions, Southern theme and scantily-clad waitresses. It was the subject of an

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

reality show and it was frequently categorized as a

breastaurant A breastaurant is a restaurant that requires female waiting staff to be dressed skimpily. The term dates from the early 1990s after restaurant chain Hooters opened in the United States. The format has since been adopted by other restaurants, inc ...

History and concept

Opening in 2008 in Lewisville, Texas, Redneck Heaven marketed itself as a rowdier, more sexually provocative version of the typical breastaurant like

Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with Tr ...

Tilted Kilt Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery is a modern Scottish-Irish-themed sports pub and Franchising, franchisor-type restaurant chain in the United States. The company has six locations. History The first Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery was opened in the Las V ...

, or

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

. Restaurants featured Southern and

Redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term mainly applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, ''Dictionary of American ...

-themed interior elements such as car doors from the General Lee (from ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'') and other automotive and sports memorabilia. They also featured scantily clad servers who engaged in what the chain termed as "mischief" (including

line dancing A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other.Knight, ...

hula hooping A hula hoop is a toy hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. It can also be wheeled along the ground like a wheel with careful execution and practice. They have been used by children and adults since ...

and

spanking Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or implem ...

). The typical uniform consisted of skimpy cut-off shorts (resembling those of ''Dukes of Hazzard'' character

Daisy Duke Daisy Duke is a fictional character, played by Catherine Bach, from the American television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. She is the cousin of Bo and Luke, the third main protagonists of the show, and the three live on a farm on the outskir ...

) with

crop top A crop top (also half shirt, midriff top, belly shirt or cutoff shirt) is a top that reveals and exposes the waist, navel, or abdomen. History Women The origins of the clothing are unknown, but midriff tops go back to at least the Bronze Age, d ...

s, bikini tops or

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, ; ), is a type of form-fitting underwear that is primarily used to support and cover a woman's breasts. A typical bra consists of a chest band that wraps around the torso, supporting two breast cups ...

s. Redneck Heaven had many special events, however, where the typical attire was bikinis,

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

or other themes. The chain also held "Anything But Clothes" events where servers wore only

panties Panties are women's form-fitting underpants. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genitalia (usually lined with absorbent material such as cotton), and a pair of leg openings that, like the waistband, ...

and

body paint Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of mehndi or "he ...

. Some reviewers characterized Redneck Heaven as bridging the gap between tamer breastaurants and

strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...

s, though the owner said the experience had become less extreme since the early days of the restaurant. The ''Dallas Observer'' listed it as being one of the best bars in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

''Big Tips Texas''

During 2013,

ran a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series called '' Big Tips Texas''. The show followed a number of Redneck Heaven waitresses from the Lewisville, Texas location and ran for 14 episodes (one season).

Controversial promotions

Anything But Clothes

Redneck Heaven ran periodic "Anything But Clothes" events where waitresses were topless except for

covering their breasts. In response to this, at least three different municipalities in Texas changed their laws about what constitutes nudity, preventing body paint from being considered an "opaque covering". Classifying the waitresses as partially nude would have required that Redneck Heaven be regulated as a

sexually oriented business In United States law, a sexually oriented business (S.O.B.) is a business that is part of the sex industry, such as sites of erotic performance and erotic paraphernalia stores. Often regulations of SOBs enter law as part of zoning regulations by jur ...

Minnow Bombs

In addition to the regular menu, Redneck Heaven featured two unusual items which could be considered

food challenge Food challenges, such as the gallon challenge or the saltine cracker challenge, are specific challenges or competitions involving food. Milk chugging is a popular competitive eating challenge on college campuses, and was promoted by MTV's Jacka ...

s. One was a burger weighing called the "Bubba's 'Tower in an Hour' Burger Challenge". The other, more controversial, item was a drink called the "Minnow Bomb". This drink consisted of a

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

of liquor containing a live

minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genus, genera of the family Cyprinidae and in particular the subfamily Leuciscinae. They are also known in Ireland as wikt:pinkeen, pinkeens. While ...

. This item drew protests from the

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal rights ...

(PeTA) who argued that it was both unsafe and inhumane to consume these live fish.

References

{{reflist Regional restaurant chains in the United States Theme restaurants Companies based in Dallas 2008 establishments in Texas Restaurants established in 2008 Defunct drinking establishments in Texas Defunct restaurant chains in the United States