BOCA RATON, Fla. — A Hooters waitress at the Boca Raton location is a finalist to take home the title of Miss Hooters International.
Delray Beach resident Gianna Tulio was selected Monday as one of the 20 finalists nationally to compete at the Miss Hooters Pageant later this month in Orlando.
Tulio is one of three South Florida contestants to make the top 20 in online fan voting, joining Jenise Lebron from the Cypress Creek location and Uniqua Shantell Burch from the Hooters in Doral.
The 22-year-old was joined by friends and co-workers as the announcement was made during her shift at the Hooters in Boca Raton, where she has worked for the past four years.
"My favorite part of the pageant that I always look forward to is meeting all the other girls and getting to spend some time with them," Tulio told WPTV.com. "It creates new friendships for almost all of us. My first year competing in pageant was (Lake) Tahoe (in Nevada) and I made a lot of new friends that I'm still in contact with."
Among the celebrity judges who will help determine the next Miss Hooters International are competitive hot-dog eating champion Joey Chestnut and UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.
Last year's pageant was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. South Florida's Briana Smith was crowned Miss Hooters International in 2019.
The winner of the July 29 pageant will receive a cash prize of $30,000 and becomes the international face of Hooters.
