Make sure to bring an empty stomach and a fresh set of contacts if you need them to Tilted Kilt’s grand opening in Wethersfield on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
Specializing in American and Irish cuisine, patrons at Tilted Kilt will be sure to get an eyeful while filling their stomachs.
What sets Tilted Kilt apart from most restaurants is its famous costume for female employees -- a stomach-baring bikini top and a pleated skirt.
The restaurant Web site lists them as knee-high socks and short, sexy plaid kilts with matching plaid bra’s under white camp shirts "tantalizingly tied to show off the midriff."
“They’re hired as entertainers, servers and hosts,” said manager Rachel Fracassini. “They play the role of a Tilted Kilt girl.”
However, for the Tilted Kilt, employee well-being comes before business. Prospective employees are asked to try on the costume during their interview to make sure they are comfortable with the restaurant’s dress code requirements before they are hired so there are no surprises.
“We’re totally PG-rated,” said Fracassini, of the pub and eatery that features a family-friendly dining area separate from the bar and said the restaurant welcomes friends, families and kids.
In addition to the revealing costumes, Tilted Kilt is known for its “St. Practice Day” celebrations, which take place on the 17th of every month.
The celebration is intended to be an excuse to revel in St. Patrick’s Day festivities every month. The “practice day” also allows the restaurant and bar to feature the classic Irish boiled dinner, complete with corned beef and cabbage, which are not usually offered on the menu.
Other popular dishes at the Tilted Kilt include “Olde Dublin Irish Stew” and “TK Irish Nachos,” which the menu includes fresh cooked crispy potato chips covered with cheese sauce, seasoned ground beef and tomatoes.
No stranger to the restaurant business, Fracassini is optimistic about the opening and is looking forward to actual St. Patrick’s Day on March 17.
“It’s going to be crazy, definitely crazy,” Fracassini said about the St. Patrick’s Day celebration. “We’re excited though.”
For the Super Bowl, Fracassini can’t say for certain that Tilted Kilt will be doing anything in particular.
"We’re so crazy just trying to get open,” she said.
So far, the pub has hired approximately 100 new employees, including kitchen staff.
While all servers are female, there are male employees who work the bar as well as other parts of the restaurant.
The Wethersfield site will be the franchise’s first location in Connecticut.
The local Tilted Kilt has been in the works since August 2011 and is opening in the old Humphrey’s location off the Silas Dean Highway.
It will be open from Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tilted Kilt
1151 Silas Deane Highway
Wethersfield
(860) 257-8458
