Twin Peaks In Orland Park Closes Amid Investigation

ORLAND PARK, IL — Twin Peaks appears to have abruptly closed its doors last month after three years in Orland Park. The sports bar and grill that relies on a female wait staff wearing revealing clothing to entice male clientele is at the center of a federal complaint. Former Twin Peaks Girls allege they were made to line up and be graded like pieces of meat during pre-shift body evaluations by their managers.

The restaurant chain did not respond to an email asking if the closure was permanent or if the federal complaint filed last year with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had affected Twin Peaks' business.

"I think they had issues with labor, and I think they had trouble with the village with local rules and regulations," Trustee Jim Dodge said in an email. "I don’t particularly like that concept of restaurant, and I don't think they executed it well."

The Dallas-based chain of restaurants bills itself as "not your typical sports bar" and invites patrons to experience the "lodge mantality" while being served by female servers and bartenders wearing short shorts and midriffs. The Orland Park location opened in April 2016 at 16154 South La Grange Road.

>>> Twin Peaks Sexual Harassment Detailed In Federal Complaint

Up to 60 women nationwide have filed complaints with the EEOC over claims of sexual harassment, discrimination and hostile working conditions at Twin Peaks. While the women signed a pre-employment agreement consenting to wearing the "approved Twin Peaks Girl uniform," one former Orland Park employee claimed that six months into her tenure at Twin Peaks, management implemented "dress up days, forcing me and all other female waitresses and bartenders to wear inappropriate clothing similar to what one would see in a strip club, including lingerie and bikinis."

"Ranking" consisted of lining up against the wall, where managers graded the women on hair, make-up and body tone. Those considered too fat received a low grade, which determined where servers were placed in the restaurant, thus affecting their tips, the former employees alleged.

During a Valentine’s Day celebration in February 2017, Orland Park police visited Twin Peaks after receiving a citizen’s complaint about female servers and bartenders wearing lingerie that was "very exposing in nature," according to a police report. Officers informed managers that they were in violation of the village's Conduct of Licensee ordinance. The employees changed into different clothing that covered their bodies.

When plainclothes officers returned a few days to Twin Peaks a few days later to check on the restaurant's compliance, three female employees were still scantily clad. They were ordered into the manager's office in front of patrons and other employees, where they were cited for indecent exposure, according to the federal complaint.

"These are good women, they're educated, they just want to work and be left alone," said Tamara Holder, the former Orland Park employees' attorney. "They didn't sign up for this. They signed a contract saying they were glammed up girls next door with a little bit of sex appeal. They didn't sign up to be treated like strippers and whores and putting on a free strip show for dirt bags, who'd get a free strip show and tip them a dollar."

Twin Peaks CEO Joe Hummel has called the former Orland Park employees allegations "baseless."

The restaurant chain notified the state that it intended to lay off 50 workers at the Orland Park location in June. Employers with 75 or more employees are required to give the state 60 days' notice of closures or impending layoffs affecting more of a third of their work force under the Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Twin Peaks restaurant in Wheeling also permanently closed its doors last month after six-and-a-half years without warning or explanation, according to the Daily Herald. The restaurant chain has two other Illinois locations still in operation in Oak Brook and Warrenville.

In May 2015, nine people were killed in a shootout between two rival biker clubs at Twin Peaks in Waco, Texas, resulting in 177 bikers charged with engaging in organized criminal activities. The charges were later dropped.

Holder, a former FOX News commentator, believes that the women's complaint has everything to do with Twin Peaks shuttering its corporate location in Orland Park. She described the Twin Peaks business model as catering to "angry white men with guns."

"The days of misogyny are over and the Orland Park Twin Peaks is a sign to every sleazy business out there," Holder said. "This is about putting bad guys out of business. Orland Park is a movement about businesses that exploit women going up in flames."